Tuesday, January 25
Vegetable Soup Part 2
So I knew when I finished the first installment last week that I was missing one but couldn't find it. I found it :-) This one is my most favorite of them all because I prefer the texture of barley over rice. Make it a day ahead though since the first day does not do this soup justice -- all veggie soups seem to be this way.
Dilled Vegetable Barley Soup
serves 8
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
**Heat oil and saute onion in a large soup pot.
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup pearled barlety
2-3 medium carrots, sliced
1 large red potato, peeled and diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
**Add all of these to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 45 minut4es. Stir occasionally.
1 16 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 T. chopped fresh dill (or 3 tsp. dried dill)
**Stir these in and simmer till barley puffs -- about 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. This soup will thicken as it rests so add water to thin as needed.
Dilled Vegetable Barley Soup
serves 8
2 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
**Heat oil and saute onion in a large soup pot.
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup pearled barlety
2-3 medium carrots, sliced
1 large red potato, peeled and diced
2 large celery stalks, diced
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
**Add all of these to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently for 45 minut4es. Stir occasionally.
1 16 oz can crushed tomatoes
3 T. chopped fresh dill (or 3 tsp. dried dill)
**Stir these in and simmer till barley puffs -- about 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. This soup will thicken as it rests so add water to thin as needed.
Monday, January 24
Systems :: Toys
This post has been in the works for a while, waiting for a day when my house wasn't absolutely a disaster so I could take some decent pictures. Surprisingly in the months following Christmas a lot of good toy organization always seems to happen here since the kids get very focused on their new things and sort of forget the rest. As always, if none of this applies to you or you don't really care about our toyboxes, come back tomorrow for more stories about the kiddos :-)
That was us about 18 months into parenting. We had one very small kid and our toyboxes and shelves were full to bursting. We were feeling smothered and knew it could only get worse if we didn't do something. Since then, we have figured some things out that really work for us and keep the STUFF to a minimum so no one has to suffer from choice overload!!
One key strategy we found early on was toy rotation. We used to have three big plastic tubs with all the big plastic toys divided up between them, and we just pulled one tub of stuff out at once for playing. We also had art supplies and play-doh in the kitchen. Frequently we would remove toys from the bins that he had outgrown or didn't play with or were broken (this usually followed a birthday or Christmas when we were blessed with more).
All of that worked pretty well, but as Evan got older he seemed to have favorites that we wanted to keep out and some miscellaneous stuff that was just fun to keep on display. From this we discovered that the favorites were actually collections (like blocks and legos) that lent themselves to creative plays so they were used more often so some re-organizing needed to happen.
Then we had Chloe and it got more complicated.
With a small house (and an itty bitty bedroom) we needed to rethink our toy dilemma. This has been a problem for three years (one of which we were recovering our home from the ridiculous flood of '09 so I guess that one doesn't really count) but we have finally gotten it right I think.
Just recently, we did an experiment to make sure we didn't have too much. We had read a book called Simplicity Parenting that recommended piling up all your toys in the middle of a room to see how much you really had. We knew it wasn't going to be as bad as some of the stories in the book, but still it was an interesting thing to do. Here's what our living room looked like:
This was everything (plus a pile of miscellaneous stuff in the corner behind the piano and a rice box not in the picture). We didn't think it was that bad -- not that we expected it to be, but you never know when it's spread out everywhere. I wish we had actually made a pile like it was suggested, but we got the job done.
The idea behind this is to get to the root of what our kids love -- not just to have a bunch of trivial things that make them excited from moment to moment, but to help them cultivate a long attention span as well as an appreciation for what they own. Some people may find this thought ridiculous, but it correlates well with our family values. It's fine if this is not your thing!
Our kids are old enough to have a say in what stayed and what went, so we did it together. Stuff they weren't sure of went in a rotation box, permanent storage (keepsake type of box), or their personal treasure box depending on how small it is.
Our system ended up being -- everyday favorites upstairs and the rest downstairs to mix and match with.
They don't actually play in their bedroom since there is no floor space for it, but we do keep the toys in there for nightly clean up. This is from between their beds to the 'storage wall.'
The display shelves hold mostly Evan's stuff since Chloe is not really into displaying anything yet. The top shelf is too high for them, bu they ask if they want what's up there.
On the toy shelf we decided they would keep their everyday favorites on the bottom three shelves. Chloe's were horses, playmobil and matchbox cars. Evan's were transformers and legos. Playmobil, since it's in a huge box, is in the closet. Horses and transformers are in big lidded boxes and the legos are divided up the way Evan likes them, by set, and the rest are in a grab box in the closet. The cars are in a green basket.
There are a couple other things on there that didn't fit on the display shelves or that we just didn't want getting mixed up in stuff downstairs like Evan's microscope or Chloe's pop beads, so those went on the top two shelves. It also allows freedom to change their minds and put other favorites here too.
We don't really want to keep this cube shelf much longer but can't think of any other toy storage method right now that works for their age. You'll see that the closet is way small as you keep reading, but we may end up doing something different in there.
In the closet we keep games up high. They really don't initiate these any more frequently when they are down low, so this makes sense since our shelf space is at a premium. A bunch of our games are in the rotation box and a couple others are downstairs. (The storage boxes up there have rock and shell collections in them.)
The big boxes are legos, playmobil and a misc toybox. Their personal treasure boxes are on the shelf too. Evan's off-roaders are kept in here for the moment (down on the bottom) because he thought they were a favorite but he hasn't chosen them in over a month, so I'm just moving them around till they find a home. I wanted the bottom to be mostly open so they could play hide-and-seek in here without crushing everything.
Downstairs this is all the rest of the stuff with the exception of one toy-rotation tub with a few big things in it that is in storage.
We have plans to sell these cube shelves and build some long open wall shelves soon.
The big collections are in the boxes on the floor. Wooden train stuff is also stored on the toy shelf right next to it since it's our biggest collection.
In the corner are small stuffed animals (there is another box of bigger ones by the couch I forgot to take a picture of), duplo legos, lincoln logs and big cars and trucks:
Dress-ups are in these baskets for now. I want some other kind of hang up system but that's for later on too. Our dress-ups are not costumes, but rather open ended pieces they can do what they want with. Their vests are in the wicker basket and the rest (hats, shoes, gloves, wings, purses, play jewelry and random pieces of fabric are in the laundry basket).
Here are the toy shelves:
They love having a CD player to dance and run around to music!
The green baskets hold smaller collections -- airplanes, Magnetix set and card/dice/solitaire games. The rest of this shelf is puzzles, games, pegboard, beanbags and blocks.
Our art space has moved to the living room since we do a lot of sitting on the couch together or laying on the floor. I like that we have easy access to the coloring notebooks or tracing books. We've done so much more art together since I moved it here.
The box holds all the supplies except colored pencils which get used the most. All this is the non-messy stuff.
In the kitchen we still keep messier things like glue, glitter, markers and paint. Also the play-doh is in here.
And of course the rice box is still sitting where it has been for years. We mostly used bath or beach type of toys in here when the kids were younger, but now it's funnels and tubes and scoops and army men :-)
We mostly play upstairs as a family. When the kids get tired of being with me or Todd they will run off downstairs together to dance and climb. Then when they tire out, they will sit down and build something or put a puzzle together and come back up in an hour or two. We finally feel like we can breathe!
Because we have much less stuff now, we truly LOVE what we have. Keeping only what you love makes it easier to decide what to play with. Our kids have been so content with the few things that are out, even though that seems contradictory to what the media would have us believe.
The other day I said to Todd, "The only thing the kids played with ALL day was horses and bead necklaces." They were making elevators on the piano knobs. That was it. I had read some books to them and we colored together a bit, but as far as them choosing to play and staying with it.... one thing all day.
It's working so good!
****************************
Living in a world where excess is normal (especially when you have children), it is far too easy to find ourselves buried under masses of STUFF wondering, "Where did all this come from??"That was us about 18 months into parenting. We had one very small kid and our toyboxes and shelves were full to bursting. We were feeling smothered and knew it could only get worse if we didn't do something. Since then, we have figured some things out that really work for us and keep the STUFF to a minimum so no one has to suffer from choice overload!!
One key strategy we found early on was toy rotation. We used to have three big plastic tubs with all the big plastic toys divided up between them, and we just pulled one tub of stuff out at once for playing. We also had art supplies and play-doh in the kitchen. Frequently we would remove toys from the bins that he had outgrown or didn't play with or were broken (this usually followed a birthday or Christmas when we were blessed with more).
All of that worked pretty well, but as Evan got older he seemed to have favorites that we wanted to keep out and some miscellaneous stuff that was just fun to keep on display. From this we discovered that the favorites were actually collections (like blocks and legos) that lent themselves to creative plays so they were used more often so some re-organizing needed to happen.
Then we had Chloe and it got more complicated.
With a small house (and an itty bitty bedroom) we needed to rethink our toy dilemma. This has been a problem for three years (one of which we were recovering our home from the ridiculous flood of '09 so I guess that one doesn't really count) but we have finally gotten it right I think.
Just recently, we did an experiment to make sure we didn't have too much. We had read a book called Simplicity Parenting that recommended piling up all your toys in the middle of a room to see how much you really had. We knew it wasn't going to be as bad as some of the stories in the book, but still it was an interesting thing to do. Here's what our living room looked like:
This was everything (plus a pile of miscellaneous stuff in the corner behind the piano and a rice box not in the picture). We didn't think it was that bad -- not that we expected it to be, but you never know when it's spread out everywhere. I wish we had actually made a pile like it was suggested, but we got the job done.
The idea behind this is to get to the root of what our kids love -- not just to have a bunch of trivial things that make them excited from moment to moment, but to help them cultivate a long attention span as well as an appreciation for what they own. Some people may find this thought ridiculous, but it correlates well with our family values. It's fine if this is not your thing!
Our kids are old enough to have a say in what stayed and what went, so we did it together. Stuff they weren't sure of went in a rotation box, permanent storage (keepsake type of box), or their personal treasure box depending on how small it is.
Our system ended up being -- everyday favorites upstairs and the rest downstairs to mix and match with.
They don't actually play in their bedroom since there is no floor space for it, but we do keep the toys in there for nightly clean up. This is from between their beds to the 'storage wall.'
The display shelves hold mostly Evan's stuff since Chloe is not really into displaying anything yet. The top shelf is too high for them, bu they ask if they want what's up there.On the toy shelf we decided they would keep their everyday favorites on the bottom three shelves. Chloe's were horses, playmobil and matchbox cars. Evan's were transformers and legos. Playmobil, since it's in a huge box, is in the closet. Horses and transformers are in big lidded boxes and the legos are divided up the way Evan likes them, by set, and the rest are in a grab box in the closet. The cars are in a green basket.
There are a couple other things on there that didn't fit on the display shelves or that we just didn't want getting mixed up in stuff downstairs like Evan's microscope or Chloe's pop beads, so those went on the top two shelves. It also allows freedom to change their minds and put other favorites here too.We don't really want to keep this cube shelf much longer but can't think of any other toy storage method right now that works for their age. You'll see that the closet is way small as you keep reading, but we may end up doing something different in there.
In the closet we keep games up high. They really don't initiate these any more frequently when they are down low, so this makes sense since our shelf space is at a premium. A bunch of our games are in the rotation box and a couple others are downstairs. (The storage boxes up there have rock and shell collections in them.)
The big boxes are legos, playmobil and a misc toybox. Their personal treasure boxes are on the shelf too. Evan's off-roaders are kept in here for the moment (down on the bottom) because he thought they were a favorite but he hasn't chosen them in over a month, so I'm just moving them around till they find a home. I wanted the bottom to be mostly open so they could play hide-and-seek in here without crushing everything.Downstairs this is all the rest of the stuff with the exception of one toy-rotation tub with a few big things in it that is in storage.
We have plans to sell these cube shelves and build some long open wall shelves soon.The big collections are in the boxes on the floor. Wooden train stuff is also stored on the toy shelf right next to it since it's our biggest collection.
In the corner are small stuffed animals (there is another box of bigger ones by the couch I forgot to take a picture of), duplo legos, lincoln logs and big cars and trucks:
Dress-ups are in these baskets for now. I want some other kind of hang up system but that's for later on too. Our dress-ups are not costumes, but rather open ended pieces they can do what they want with. Their vests are in the wicker basket and the rest (hats, shoes, gloves, wings, purses, play jewelry and random pieces of fabric are in the laundry basket).
Here are the toy shelves:
They love having a CD player to dance and run around to music!The green baskets hold smaller collections -- airplanes, Magnetix set and card/dice/solitaire games. The rest of this shelf is puzzles, games, pegboard, beanbags and blocks.
Our art space has moved to the living room since we do a lot of sitting on the couch together or laying on the floor. I like that we have easy access to the coloring notebooks or tracing books. We've done so much more art together since I moved it here.
The box holds all the supplies except colored pencils which get used the most. All this is the non-messy stuff.
In the kitchen we still keep messier things like glue, glitter, markers and paint. Also the play-doh is in here.
And of course the rice box is still sitting where it has been for years. We mostly used bath or beach type of toys in here when the kids were younger, but now it's funnels and tubes and scoops and army men :-)
We mostly play upstairs as a family. When the kids get tired of being with me or Todd they will run off downstairs together to dance and climb. Then when they tire out, they will sit down and build something or put a puzzle together and come back up in an hour or two. We finally feel like we can breathe!Because we have much less stuff now, we truly LOVE what we have. Keeping only what you love makes it easier to decide what to play with. Our kids have been so content with the few things that are out, even though that seems contradictory to what the media would have us believe.
The other day I said to Todd, "The only thing the kids played with ALL day was horses and bead necklaces." They were making elevators on the piano knobs. That was it. I had read some books to them and we colored together a bit, but as far as them choosing to play and staying with it.... one thing all day.
It's working so good!
Friday, January 21
Snapshots & Random Stories
I love this picture. Such beauty. I mean, seriously, she takes my breath away sometimes. 
Chloe and I had a fight last night over the socks I picked out for her to put on after bath time. She threw a massive fit (wailing and throwing the socks....). What was my crime, you ask? They were white. She hates white socks. And you know what, this morning when she came out of her bedroom wearing them, she didn't look like Chloe. She looked like someone I dressed up. So we put them in the hamper and I told her I'd give them to someone else. I love her colorful craziness not because of it craziness but because of what it means. It is her and she loves it.
Evan has been wanting to have a bit of a say in what he wears too. He helped pick out some new shirts recently and told me he loves shirts that button up like he sometimes wears for church. So he picked out this green one which happens to be the exact shade of green that he declared to be his favorite when he was not yet two years old.
He also got himself a nice flannel and a star wars lego shirt. It's interesting to see his tastes developing (since Chloe has had an opinion since she learned to talk) and I'm glad to be giving him some more freedom.
This was some pretty serious reading time. Superman studying his Superman book. (Uncle Keir -- this book was one of his all-time favorite gifts. Thank you so so so much!)
He always seems to hover between knowing something is pretend but sort of wishing and believing it is real. Maybe it's his age. Maybe it's the realist in him. I don't know but each time he puts that costume on (which is still almost every single day) he claims he has powers. But if I call him Superman, sometimes he'll correct me: "Mom, I'm not Superman. I'm just Evan in a costume." Cute.
Evan loves to arrange a nest of stuffed animal kittens before bedtime -- this has been a near-continual ritual since he was four and got his first kittens. I've never seen a boy so attached to stuffed animals :-)
These two are getting better at cooperating with me and smiling nicely for the camera. How many years does this take?? By the time they get it just right Evan's hair should be able to be tucked away behind the ears I hope.
Here's Evan playing with Roy, which makes him laugh so hard! Our kitties become quite frisky in the winter when they don't stay outside much. They require that we entertain them or they threaten to eat each other. The kids do so love the sound of a good cat fight.
We got a stack of Breyer Stablemates horse books from the library for Chloe (and Evan too since he never wants to be left out of ANY reading time). She just sits with the stack next to herself and studies each page carefully. It's quite difficult to get her to stop in order to do other things, you know, like eat.
Evan walked into the library with me recently and headed straight for this "cute little robot book" on the display shelf. I love to sit down with him and ask him to just tell me about Wall-E... and he does. Everything he knows, he explains to me and points to little details. He has not yet seen the movie, so I think it's time to rent this one.
He has already declared that he would like to collect all the toys from the Wall-E universe after he finishes collecting all the Star Wars Lego universe. :-)
Whenever we have pulled out the toy rotation boxes it's always like having a party. All those toys they forgot about just become new again and they explore them in different ways each time. If you (moms of young kids) don't rotate toys yet, start now!
These pretty pop beads always entertain all of us together. We click and snap beads and talk and laugh and decorate each other. Chloe connects beads that are miles long to make leashes (for when she pretends to be a dog) or horse leads (for every other moment of the day). You saw that one coming, right?
Chloe and I had a fight last night over the socks I picked out for her to put on after bath time. She threw a massive fit (wailing and throwing the socks....). What was my crime, you ask? They were white. She hates white socks. And you know what, this morning when she came out of her bedroom wearing them, she didn't look like Chloe. She looked like someone I dressed up. So we put them in the hamper and I told her I'd give them to someone else. I love her colorful craziness not because of it craziness but because of what it means. It is her and she loves it.
Evan has been wanting to have a bit of a say in what he wears too. He helped pick out some new shirts recently and told me he loves shirts that button up like he sometimes wears for church. So he picked out this green one which happens to be the exact shade of green that he declared to be his favorite when he was not yet two years old.
He also got himself a nice flannel and a star wars lego shirt. It's interesting to see his tastes developing (since Chloe has had an opinion since she learned to talk) and I'm glad to be giving him some more freedom.This was some pretty serious reading time. Superman studying his Superman book. (Uncle Keir -- this book was one of his all-time favorite gifts. Thank you so so so much!)
He always seems to hover between knowing something is pretend but sort of wishing and believing it is real. Maybe it's his age. Maybe it's the realist in him. I don't know but each time he puts that costume on (which is still almost every single day) he claims he has powers. But if I call him Superman, sometimes he'll correct me: "Mom, I'm not Superman. I'm just Evan in a costume." Cute.Evan loves to arrange a nest of stuffed animal kittens before bedtime -- this has been a near-continual ritual since he was four and got his first kittens. I've never seen a boy so attached to stuffed animals :-)
He tells me: "I love robots and superman and star wars.... and kittens." I love that.
These two are getting better at cooperating with me and smiling nicely for the camera. How many years does this take?? By the time they get it just right Evan's hair should be able to be tucked away behind the ears I hope.
Here's Evan playing with Roy, which makes him laugh so hard! Our kitties become quite frisky in the winter when they don't stay outside much. They require that we entertain them or they threaten to eat each other. The kids do so love the sound of a good cat fight.
We got a stack of Breyer Stablemates horse books from the library for Chloe (and Evan too since he never wants to be left out of ANY reading time). She just sits with the stack next to herself and studies each page carefully. It's quite difficult to get her to stop in order to do other things, you know, like eat.
Evan walked into the library with me recently and headed straight for this "cute little robot book" on the display shelf. I love to sit down with him and ask him to just tell me about Wall-E... and he does. Everything he knows, he explains to me and points to little details. He has not yet seen the movie, so I think it's time to rent this one.
He has already declared that he would like to collect all the toys from the Wall-E universe after he finishes collecting all the Star Wars Lego universe. :-)
Whenever we have pulled out the toy rotation boxes it's always like having a party. All those toys they forgot about just become new again and they explore them in different ways each time. If you (moms of young kids) don't rotate toys yet, start now!
These pretty pop beads always entertain all of us together. We click and snap beads and talk and laugh and decorate each other. Chloe connects beads that are miles long to make leashes (for when she pretends to be a dog) or horse leads (for every other moment of the day). You saw that one coming, right?
Thursday, January 20
Vegetable Soup
I have three really great vegetable soup recipes I wanted to pass along to my good friend Leslie and figured they might as well go on the blog instead of just an email only to her. The pattern for all veggies soups is basically the same, but some of us like a recipe for a guideline or so we can remember what ratio of stuff tasted really good!
I am typing out the recipes as they appeared when I copied them into my own cookbook. I have changed things a bit in my own side notes to make them suit our family's taste where needed but they are great just as they are printed here. As always, the salt and pepper is to taste, not just what the recipe says ;-)
Vegetable Soup with Rice (and dumplings)
serves 10
2 T. olive oil
1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
3/4 cup sliced celery (about 2 big stalks)
**heat the oil in a soup pot and saute veggies till tender
7 cups chicken broth
1 28 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
**stir all these in and bring to a low boil
1 16 oz. bag frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots, green beans)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1/2 cup white rice
**add these, reduce heat and cover; simmer 15-20 minutes
I am going to put my own notes here since this one I changed how we do the rice to accomodate a healthier brown rice. I lower the broth to 6 cups in the soup pot and cook my rice in a separate saucepan -- 1 cup broth with 1/2 cup rice cooked for 50 minutes makes 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, which I stir in at the very end and simmer 15-20 more. I've never cooked it in the broth but I may try it one of these days.
This recipe also originally calls for dumplings to drop into the simmering soup if you are interested. We make this all the time without the dumplings without altering the soup recipe at all. It's great both ways. If you are using the brown rice version drop these on right after you stir in the cooked rice.
Dumplings:
2 cups flour
3 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
**blend these in a mixing bowl
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp. fresh minced parsley
**add all of these to the dry ingredients and mix into a ball; drop by tablespoonfuls onto gently simmering soup; cover and cook 10 minutes then uncover and cook another 10 minutes
Lots of Veggies Soup
serves 4-5
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
**heat oil in a soup pot and saute veggies till tender
5 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 lb. Yukon potatoes, diced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
**add these and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover partially and simmer 15 minutes
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 lb. green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup chopped broccoli (bite-size pieces)
**add to pot, return to simmer for 5-10 minutes
Vegetable & Lentil Soup
serves 6-8
1 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, thin sliced
**heat oil in soup pot and saute veggies for 5 minutes
2 cloves garlic, minced
**add and saute 1 minute more
1 1/2 cups green lentils
8 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
**add and heat to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered 20 minutes
3 medium yellow potatoes, diced
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
**add and simmer 20 minutes more
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 packed cups spinach or swiss chard cut into 1 inch ribbons
**remove bay leaf and add these; simmer 2 minutes more till greens are wilted
Served with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a slice of whole wheat bread with butter these are great-tasting and also filling dinners or lunches :-)
I am typing out the recipes as they appeared when I copied them into my own cookbook. I have changed things a bit in my own side notes to make them suit our family's taste where needed but they are great just as they are printed here. As always, the salt and pepper is to taste, not just what the recipe says ;-)
Vegetable Soup with Rice (and dumplings)
serves 10
2 T. olive oil
1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
3/4 cup sliced celery (about 2 big stalks)
**heat the oil in a soup pot and saute veggies till tender
7 cups chicken broth
1 28 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
**stir all these in and bring to a low boil
1 16 oz. bag frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots, green beans)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1/2 cup white rice
**add these, reduce heat and cover; simmer 15-20 minutes
I am going to put my own notes here since this one I changed how we do the rice to accomodate a healthier brown rice. I lower the broth to 6 cups in the soup pot and cook my rice in a separate saucepan -- 1 cup broth with 1/2 cup rice cooked for 50 minutes makes 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, which I stir in at the very end and simmer 15-20 more. I've never cooked it in the broth but I may try it one of these days.
This recipe also originally calls for dumplings to drop into the simmering soup if you are interested. We make this all the time without the dumplings without altering the soup recipe at all. It's great both ways. If you are using the brown rice version drop these on right after you stir in the cooked rice.
Dumplings:
2 cups flour
3 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
**blend these in a mixing bowl
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp. fresh minced parsley
**add all of these to the dry ingredients and mix into a ball; drop by tablespoonfuls onto gently simmering soup; cover and cook 10 minutes then uncover and cook another 10 minutes
Lots of Veggies Soup
serves 4-5
2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
**heat oil in a soup pot and saute veggies till tender
5 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 lb. Yukon potatoes, diced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt
**add these and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover partially and simmer 15 minutes
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 lb. green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup chopped broccoli (bite-size pieces)
**add to pot, return to simmer for 5-10 minutes
Vegetable & Lentil Soup
serves 6-8
1 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, thin sliced
**heat oil in soup pot and saute veggies for 5 minutes
2 cloves garlic, minced
**add and saute 1 minute more
1 1/2 cups green lentils
8 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
**add and heat to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered 20 minutes
3 medium yellow potatoes, diced
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
**add and simmer 20 minutes more
1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 packed cups spinach or swiss chard cut into 1 inch ribbons
**remove bay leaf and add these; simmer 2 minutes more till greens are wilted
Served with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a slice of whole wheat bread with butter these are great-tasting and also filling dinners or lunches :-)
Ribbons
Chloe was blessed this Christmas with a collection of ribbons for her hair (from Miss Liz). I forgot to take a picture of the adorable handmade ribbon holder which is in her closet while she is napping, but it's really cute! Streamers have been the hair style of choice recently, and although I don't get a picture of every cute hairstyle, here a few that have turned up so you can see her new favorite accessory:
Monday, January 17
Our Weekend
Evan made these dragsters out of two of his creator sets. We are always thrilled to see what he comes up with and of the dozens of designs he's thought of, these are in his top three of all time. R2D2 and C3PO are the drivers :-)
This little girl woke up early Saturday morning with a sore throat, a fever and a headache. She only took one nap on the couch (just a little over an hour) and didn't do any playing at all. Weird.
We watched some old Thomas the Tank Engine shows on DVD, read dozens of books, cuddled, watched part of Mary Poppins, read more books, colored in coloring books together, snuggled some more.... The fever was gone by Sunday morning but her throat and head still hurt. At least she was a bit more playful and active.
This was the scene at the kitchen table for a few hours. Family Play-doh time!
I had left the house to do some kid-free shopping and when I came back, Todd (who had cleaned up the kitchen and started lunch) said to me, "Is it always that messy when they get play-doh out?" I just love these realizations he has when he is home for long stretches and not working :-)
Evan has been a bit agitated by the hair that flops into his eyes and tickles his cheeks all the time. He toys around with the thought of a hair cut, but then just grabs a sweatband instead.
Who does this look like???
Chloe is feeling better today and everything seems back to normal.
Friday, January 14
Playing Horses
Every day it is the same request: "Mom, will you play horses with me?"
I try to say yes most of the time and enjoy peeking into this little window her heart.
Sometimes I watch and learn what to do and sometimes she gives me strict orders to follow, but it is always HER ideas, not mine that we play out.
In the barn, she sets up their stalls with fresh "hay" (aka paper scraps) and bits of plastic food.
The windowsill is a narrow ledge of rock high above a rushing river. Old Whiteface leads the pack as Chloe gallops the others to the ledge to join him.
Sometimes a lucky horse at the farm gets to put on the saddle and bridle and the cowboy gets ready to do some "herding."
The horses enjoy some grazing time, but not for long!
She nudges each horse into place until they are all in a herd. Just look how pleased she is after a hard day of work!
When she is not sitting on the floor pretending with her set-up, she is galloping around the house being Old Whiteface, Gallop-er, Speedy, Strong, Prancer or some other favorite (male) horse of the day.
She will tell us what the horse looks like and how fast he is, whether he has a lame leg or a slick hoof (??) or needs a treat of oats or a carrot, and whether he is wild or tame.
Sometimes she makes a harness and lead rope (out of bead necklaces or pop-beads) for me to hold so that I can walk her and take her out to the pasture. I wish I had pictures of things like this....
Even now as I'm typing she is running around upstairs, neighing loudly and stomping her hooves with Evan.
To say she LOVES horses is just not enough.
I try to say yes most of the time and enjoy peeking into this little window her heart.
Sometimes I watch and learn what to do and sometimes she gives me strict orders to follow, but it is always HER ideas, not mine that we play out.
In the barn, she sets up their stalls with fresh "hay" (aka paper scraps) and bits of plastic food.
The windowsill is a narrow ledge of rock high above a rushing river. Old Whiteface leads the pack as Chloe gallops the others to the ledge to join him.
Sometimes a lucky horse at the farm gets to put on the saddle and bridle and the cowboy gets ready to do some "herding."
The horses enjoy some grazing time, but not for long!
She nudges each horse into place until they are all in a herd. Just look how pleased she is after a hard day of work!
When she is not sitting on the floor pretending with her set-up, she is galloping around the house being Old Whiteface, Gallop-er, Speedy, Strong, Prancer or some other favorite (male) horse of the day.
She will tell us what the horse looks like and how fast he is, whether he has a lame leg or a slick hoof (??) or needs a treat of oats or a carrot, and whether he is wild or tame.
Sometimes she makes a harness and lead rope (out of bead necklaces or pop-beads) for me to hold so that I can walk her and take her out to the pasture. I wish I had pictures of things like this....
Even now as I'm typing she is running around upstairs, neighing loudly and stomping her hooves with Evan.
To say she LOVES horses is just not enough.
Monday, January 10
His Hair
Evan's hair is currently the longest it's ever been (even more so than in the summer when he let it grow and then got tired of it in his eyes and requested a trim). He is committed this time to getting it l-o-n-g and we are letting him because it's his hair and this is what he wants it to look like.
I'm just not sure why this bothers so many people.
I have had some interesting conversations ("He wants long hair and... you're okay with that???") and confrontations ("He looks like a girl." OR "You have such beautiful daughters.") and cases of mistaken identity (in which my son has been labeled "Goldilocks").
What's the deal with all this?
We are glad our son is making choices that he is proud of and to hear it belittled by grown-ups with strong opinions is difficult.
I guess this hair thing is just a precursor to what we are in for in our upcoming homeschool adventures. We have a difficult time explaining our natural-learning philosophy for education and finding acceptance about it in a world that likes things to be done in a certain way and seems to feel threatened by those who go against the grain.
In a way, Evan's hair defines our family values and if no one else gets that, we don't mind at all.
We value self-confidence and we believe that kids who grow up free from a controlling environment (school systems, parenting methods, the opinions of others...) establish a solid sense of security. That is our vision.
We want our children to discover their passions and God-given gifts and pursue them with their whole hearts. They can only do this if they are strong enough to trust themselves and believe that they are capable of making choices for their own lives. We want them to think for themselves -- to be individuals -- and not go along with any crowd. We want them to be independent, strong-willed, free thinking children who become adults with a solid sense of personal responsibility.
And, for us it's all built on choices... like his hair.
I'm just not sure why this bothers so many people.
I have had some interesting conversations ("He wants long hair and... you're okay with that???") and confrontations ("He looks like a girl." OR "You have such beautiful daughters.") and cases of mistaken identity (in which my son has been labeled "Goldilocks").
What's the deal with all this?
We are glad our son is making choices that he is proud of and to hear it belittled by grown-ups with strong opinions is difficult.
I guess this hair thing is just a precursor to what we are in for in our upcoming homeschool adventures. We have a difficult time explaining our natural-learning philosophy for education and finding acceptance about it in a world that likes things to be done in a certain way and seems to feel threatened by those who go against the grain.
In a way, Evan's hair defines our family values and if no one else gets that, we don't mind at all.
We value self-confidence and we believe that kids who grow up free from a controlling environment (school systems, parenting methods, the opinions of others...) establish a solid sense of security. That is our vision.
We want our children to discover their passions and God-given gifts and pursue them with their whole hearts. They can only do this if they are strong enough to trust themselves and believe that they are capable of making choices for their own lives. We want them to think for themselves -- to be individuals -- and not go along with any crowd. We want them to be independent, strong-willed, free thinking children who become adults with a solid sense of personal responsibility.
And, for us it's all built on choices... like his hair.
Friday, January 7
Windy Day Walk
We decided to take a walk (and bike ride) before lunch the other day even though it was really cold and pretty windy. We would just bundle up and make sure we had our faces covered.
This funny converstation took place as we were getting suited up:
Todd: Evan, you should put some jeans on because those Superman pants are pretty thin.
Evan: But Dad, I don't want to. I want to wear my Superman outfit.
Todd: Alright. But that wind will cut right through your pants.
Evan: Um.... (running to his clothes drawer) I didn't know wind could cut thread! I'll go put some sweatpants on over top.
Thursday, January 6
A Sister and A Brother
She is:
a colorful rainbow in a house of brown and tan and all things neutral
a strong personality with a need to be in control
scared to be downstairs by herself
constantly talking in a never-ending stream of words
in tears multiple times a day
opinionated and determined to have her voice heard
still benefiting from a daily afternoon nap
He is :
often taking life a bit too seriously
always trying to make someone laugh
using phrases like "to my dismay" and "my heart leapt for joy"
sensitive and easily saddened
a fight-picker when he knows he can win
patient... until he can't take it anymore
They are:
rarely apart
playing side by side all day long
always saying they love each other
both tough as nails in an argument
fighting like wild dogs at least once a day
ready to say sorry and give a hug after every vicious fight
opposites and yet so much the same
a sister and a brother
family forever
Wednesday, January 5
Together
The kids have been loving their Dad time over the last month as Todd has been mostly off of work (by choice and also because no one hires a contractor between Thanksgiving and New Year's). Lots of wrestling matches and robot fights, horse rides and cuddles, book reading and meal sharing. Their Dad does it all and I know not every kid is so blessed to grow up knowing their father genuinely cares for them and wants to spend time with them. He does!
After our mini photo session Chloe wanted to end with a picture of "me and Dad tickling each other's armpits." Here you are:
Love.
Tuesday, January 4
A Week with Superman
Evan has worn his Superman costume every day (except one) since Christmas.
He has worn it on outings to my Mom's Christmas party, a visit with friends, to the grocery store and also outside to play.
To say he loves it would be an understatement.
He does take it off at bedtime.
That's when he puts on his Superman pajamas (or Batman pajamas).
My little superhero.