Cooking lessons

One of the things I like to do with the kids is that they get one meal a week. One meal to plan, making sure it is at least somewhat balanced, and then they prepare it with my help.

So I asked Daisy and she wanted to make "noodles that look like a shell, with the white sauce on it."

Ok, pasta with alfredo sauce, that's fairly easy. What protein?

Her first idea was ranch style beans. Now I love ranch style beans, but I don't know about loving them with alfredo sauce. After some more thought, she decided on chicken.

And mushrooms.

And onions.

(I know there was also a vegetable but I have forgotten what it was.)

It turned out well, she enjoyed it except it took so long to cook. Possibly it took so long because she kept bumping the burners down to low.


Then for Junior's meal he chose spaghetti with meat sauce. And Broccoli as a veggie.

Before we started cooking, I sat down with him and asked if he liked how I made spaghetti sauce. Then "are you sure you like it? Do you want to make it just like Mommy always makes it?" He said yes, and then I told him I always cook it with onions. Always.

He burst into tears because he "hates onions." He did decide that if I always cook it with onion and he likes it, the onions can't be completely evil. Sometimes I also use bell pepper, but I thought that would be pushing too much.

So we got out the mandolin and he put in the onions that were then fried up with ground beef. The pasta was boiling in a separate pot and he asked if he could put in the sauce.

Yes, I confess we use jarred sauce. Specifically Ragu Super Chunky Mushrooms (don't tell Junior, he also "hates" mushrooms).

So I tell him sure he can pour in the sauce.

And he did. Right into the pasta water.

I stopped him before he got very much in there but . . . apparently he really needs the cooking lessons.

Then the broccoli was just frozen broccoli cooked in the microwave, then we sprinkled salt and real parmesan cheese (not that stuff in the green can, real parm yumm).

Both meals turned out beautiful, and so each was satisfied with their efforts.

Try letting your kids cook, they might enjoy it.

And maybe even learn onions aren't completely evil.

Shooting sports

Since I knew nothing about what "4-H shooting sports" is, I am guessing that most of you don't either.

So I'm gonna tell you.

Pretend you care.

The kids learn weapon safety (i.e. don't point the gun at anybody, don't carry a loaded gun, stuff like that).

Then depending on their age, they have different positions to shoot in. Daisy's age they only do prone, which is laying on their belly. In a couple/few years she will be able to do all three: prone, kneeling, and standing.

Sounds pretty simple huh?

Except the targets are little. They are about the size of a silver dollar. The grown ups use binoculars to see if the kids are hitting the target.

And not just good binoculars. They use high powered binocular.

And you want to hit as close to the center of the target as you can (think of a dart board with its bulls eye. Except the bulls eye is smaller than a pencil eraser.)

And you are 50 feet away.

Wanna see?



I circled her targets with red. They have 3 sheets of paper with 12 circles - 2 practice targets and 10 real targets.

I am not telling you all this so you think "WOW! Daisy must be a great shot."

Cause she isn't.

She is awful a pretty bad shot on these targets.

Then again, I suppose being able to hit the piece of paper means she could hit a deer.

Never say quit

I am pretty sure that this February was the longest month ever in the history of the world. At least it sure seemed that way because of how packed it was. Some was good (wedding), some was bad (cancer and death), some was just busy (youth fair), some planned, some unexpected.

Which reminds me, I have posted the recipes for the baguette bread and pineapple bread pudding. They are over at my recipe blog. I don't yet have Junior's applesauce bread up, hopefully that will be up soon.

Anyway . . .

Our busyness continued until the very last day of February. Junior had a tae kwan do tournament down in Houston. We had to be there at 8:30 and it is a 2 hour drive (Hubby had to work the night before). So the kids and I got up at 5, Hubby got home at 5:30 and we were out the door by six.

But the tournament went well, it was a real confidence booster. For Junior's age group - tiny tigers, how cute is that - they all get first place for something. Junior got first place for "fastest kicks and punches" which is a polite way of saying he was hyper. So Junior came home with a medal. And Mr. Negativity actually told me it was fun. He said he was scared but it he had fun.

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Then today the other kid, the one who never rarely complains gave a huge sigh when I said she had shooting sports today. I asked what was wrong and her answer was "I don't like shooting sports."

She doesn't like the practicing, she doesn't like shooting in the prone position (the only one she is allowed to shoot in for her age), the gun is heavy and hurts her arm, the strap that helps hold the gun hurts . . . and so on.

So whats good about it? Getting to touch a gun.

Hubby and I discussed letting her drop out since she is usually game for any project and rarely complains. He wanted her to learn gun safety which she had, I wanted her to quit nagging about trying it. We agreed that she could drop out if she wanted.

So we called her in and gave her the choice.

She doesn't want to drop out.

I don't know why.

I am not sure she knows why.

But she is staying in shooting sports.

Even though she doesn't like it.

I dearly love booklists

As a confirmed bibliophile, I have to admit one of my favorite things is booklists. Children's booklists, adult booklists, Christian booklists, I love them all.

So when Ang over at Hanging Out The Wash posted a booklist of classic children's literature, I had to look it over. She got the list from Best Children's Literature.

I am going to italicize those that we have already read and bold those I have read. If it is bolded, I will probably read it to my kids, or have them read.

Classic children's literature - Kindergarten through Grade 6

* Recommended children's literature for K-3, either for reading by children or for reading to them.

• Adamson, Joy * Born Free



• Aesop * Fables*



• Alcott, Louisa May * Little Women



• Andersen, Hans Christian * Fairy tales



• Atwater, Richard and Florence * Mr. Popper's Penguins*



• Bailey, Carolyn Sherwin * Miss Hickory



• Barrie, J.M. * Peter Pan



• Baum, L. Frank * The Wonderful Wizard of Oz



• Bemelmans, Ludwig * Madeline series*



• Bond, Michael * A Bear Called Paddington



• Boston, L.M. * The Children of Green Knowe



• Brink, Carol Ryrie * Caddie Woodlawn



• Brown, Margaret Wise * Goodnight, Moon*



• Brunhoff, Jean de * The Story of Babar*



• Burnett, Frances Hodgson * The Secret Garden



• Burton, Virginia Lee * Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel*



• Butterworth, Oliver * The Enormous Egg



• Clark, Ann Nolan * Secret of the Andes



• Cleary, Beverly * Henry Huggins series



• Coatsworth, Elizabeth * The Cat Who Went to Heaven



• Dalgliesh, Alice * The Bears on Hemlock Mountain*
  * The Courage of Sarah Noble*
  
  
• De Angeli, Marguerite * The Door in the Wall



• De Jong, Meindert * The House of Sixty Fathers
  * The Wheel on the School
  
  
• Dodge, Mary Mapes * Hans Brinker, or the Silver Skates



• Du Bois, William Pene * The Twenty-One Balloons



• Edmonds, Walter D. * The Matchlock Gun



• Estes, Eleanor * Ginger Pye
  * Moffats series



• Farley, Walter * The Black Stallion



• Field, Rachel * Hitty, Her First Hundred Years



• Fritz, Jean * The Cabin Faced West



• Gilbreth, Frank B. and Ernestine G. Carey * Cheaper By the Dozen



• Gipson, Fred * Old Yeller



• Godden, Rumer * The Mousewife*



• Grahame, Kenneth * The Reluctant Dragon*
  * The Wind in the Willows



• Gray, Elizabeth Janet * Adam of the Road



• Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm * Grimm's Fairy Tales



• Hawes, Charles * The Dark Frigate



• Haywood, Carolyn * Betsy series*



• Henry, Marguerite * King of the Wind
  * Misty of Chincoteague



• Keith, Harold * Rifles for Watie



• Kelly, Eric * The Trumpeter of Krakow



• Kipling, Rudyard * Captains Courageous
  * Just So Stories for Little Children*
  * The Jungle Books



• Kjelgaard, Jim * Big Red



• Knight, Eric * Lassie Come Home



• Krumgold, Joseph * ...and Now Miguel
  * Onion John



• LaFarge, Oliver * Laughing Boy



• Lamb, Charles and Mary * Tales from Shakespeare



• Latham, Jean Lee * Carry on, Mr. Bowditch



• Lawson, Robert * Ben & Me
  * Rabbit Hill



• Leaf, Munro * The Story of Ferdinand*



• Lear, Edward * Book of Nonsense*



• Lenski, Lois * Strawberry Girl



• Lewis, C.S. * Chronicles of Narnia series



• Lindgren, Astrid * Pippi Longstocking series



• Lofting, Hugh * Doctor Doolittle series (I remember reading one of these on a drive from Sydney to Melbourne, so it is hard for me to think of these without remembering the Aussie countryside)



• London, Jack * The Call of the Wild
  * White Fang



• MacDonald, Betty * Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle



• MacGregor, Ellen * Miss Pickerell series



• McCloskey, Robert * Blueberries for Sal* every year when we go pick blueberries
  
  * Homer Price
  * Make Way for Ducklings*



• McSwigan, Marie * Snow Treasure



• Meigs, Cornelia * Invincible Louisa



• Milne, A.A. * The House at Pooh Corner*
  
  * Now We Are Six*
  
  * When We Were Very Young*
  
  * Winnie-the-Pooh*



• Minarik, Else Holmelund * Little Bear



• Montgomery, L.M. * Anne of Green Gables



• Mukerji, Dhan Ghopal * Gay-Neck, the Story of a Pigeon



• Norton, Mary * The Borrowers series



• O'Hara, Mary * My Friend Flicka



• Pearce, Philippa * Tom's Midnight Garden



• Perrault, Charles * Cinderella*



• Potter, Beatrix * The Tale of Peter Rabbit*



• Pyle, Howard * The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood



• Rey, H.A. * Curious George series*



• Richter, Conrad * The Light in the Forest



• Selden, George * The Cricket in Times Square*



• Seuss, Dr. * The Cat in the Hat*



• Sewell, Anna * Black Beauty



• Sorenson, Virginia * Miracles on Maple Hill



• Speare, Elizabeth George * The Witch of Blackbird Pond



• Sperry, Armstrong * Call It Courage



• Spyri, Johanna * Heidi



• Steinbeck, John * The Red Pony



• Stevenson, Robert Louis * A Child's Garden of Verses*
  * Kidnapped
  * Treasure Island



• Travers, Pamela L. * Mary Poppins series



• Van Loon, Hendrik * The Story of Mankind



• White, E.B. * Charlotte's Web
  * Stuart Little



• Wilder, Laura Ingalls * Little House series



• Williams, Margery * The Velveteen Rabbit*



• Wyss, Johann * Swiss Family Robinson



• Zion, Gene * Harry the Dirty Dog*

how differences can work for us

After the first day of competition we went to a late breakfast at Ihop and Daisy wanted to try something new, so she got the cheese omelet. She really liked it, but was interested in trying one of the fancier omelets (specifically the spinach and mushroom with hollandaise sauce, yep my kids eat weird).

I told her that her dad makes awesome omelets. So while he was telling her how (cuz she asked), I started thinking about our drastically different cooking styles.

Hubby excels at stuff like omelets, chicken fried steak, one pot "throw togethers," hamburgers and stuff like that.

My omelets look like scrambled egg, I am doing better at the throw togethers but its not my comfort zone.

But I made my first loaf of yeast white bread at 13 (Mom was out of town and Dad had no idea what a mess it would make). Baking is still one of my favorite ways to cook.

Until recently a good portion of the meals I cooked used pasta in some way (hubby didn't really like pasta that much in the beginning).

I do stuff with the odd tools in the kitchen, I do canning, pressure cooking, and alot of stuff in the crock-pot.

I love experimenting with new recipes. Hubby will look up a few versions of a recipe and then go in the kitchen and make something up.

These drastically different cooking styles are great when looking at our kids. Hubby can teach them how to flip stuff in the pan (he says he can teach me too) and I can teach them how to bake, not just following the recipe but if it looks right.

I can teach them how to make an amazing homemade gravy (hubby uses a mix) but he can teach them how to do the chicken fried steak.

By the time we have taught our kids what we each know, they will be amazing in the kitchen and will hopefully be fearless.

And that is one way differences can work for us and not against us. What about you?

Classical Christmas music

Ok, I just have to brag for a moment.

I was listening to XM classical Christmas (through our satellite) and Nutcracker came on. Junior was excited and said "It's the Nutcracker!" I asked who wrote it and he said "Tstashtotkee"

(In fairness Tchakovsky is very hard for many adults to say)

Then he said "He wrote some really good songs before he died."

Yes he did, Junior.

I might should mention Junior is 5. Kind of cool that he likes Tchaikovsky at 5.

100 species challenge - Sweetgum and Greenbriar

I am finally doing my first 100 Species Challange post. With dead camera batteries and too much other stuff going on, this has taken longer than I thought.

1. Sweetgum


2. Greenbriar

Name: Sweetgum

Also known as redgum, american sweetgum, starleaved gum, gumtree and alligator wood. A deciduous tree with leaves that are deeply palmate, or star shaped. When crushed, the leaves have a very strong fragrance, kind of peppery, minty, mentholy. The leaves somewhat resemble maple but are alternately arranged rather than opposite.(see below for an explanation of alternate and opposite)

Sweetgum has a fruit that you would recognize if you ever stepped on one, looking more like a weapon than a fruit. It’s a spiny ball that will clutter up the yard.
Except for the messy balls, it is a beautiful landscape tree and is one of the top producing hardwoods. It is used to make flooring, veneers, furniture, paper pulp and basket making.
The sweetgum sap has been used by oldtimers to make a chewing gum. Supposedly, the leaves when chewed and applied as a paste will releive fire ant bites. I have tried this on Junior and he said it helped, but it took awhile before I had the taste out of my mouth (think really, really strong mint gum). Since I avoid fire ant beds, I haven't tried this on myself. Yep, I am a wimp.

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Name: Greenbriar

Also known as as horsebrier, catbriar, stretchberry, tramps troubles, blasphemy vine and hellfetter.

A common woody vine that grows in the same area as sweetgum. The leaves are very glossy, almost waxy looking and are broadly rounded. It is the only vine in the United States that has both thorns and tendrils.

The vine can form a thick thicket that is home and food to a variety of wildlife. The deer graze upon the leaves, birds eat the berries and cottontails make their home in its thick cover.

The berries can be mixed with the sap of the sweetgum tree, to make the gum stretchier. I have broken open these berries and there is a thin, clear stretchy membrane that really is elastic-like.

The young shoots, tendrils and leaves can be cooked as asparagus, ro eaten raw. The roots when crushed, washed and strained produce a red powder that can be used as a gelatin. This powder can be added to soups as a thickening agent or mixed with tannic acid as a soothing salve for bites, minor burns, or abrasions.

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While looking this information up, I found this book which looks like a wonderful resource. I love the look of this book, I was able to veiw some of it and found it a huge wealth of information. That is where I got alot of the info on the Greenbriar.
Ok I must confess, I just borrowed the graphic from Amazon. So if you want to see inside the book, you have to go to Amazon. You can just click here.



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I promised to explain alternate and opposite. Here goes. Then you look at a branch that has leaves they will be either alternate or opposite. Opposite leaves would be like your 2 arms. They are on opposite sides of the body. Alternate means they are not opposite. They can be very close to opposite, but if they aren't even, it is alternate. Here is a little diagram I threw together to give a visual.