Monkey-isms

I am in awe of the brain my little Monkey has. The things he says, the way he plays with his toys, the way he interacts with friends and family, it all amazes me.

Today was particularly hilarious for his "Monkey-isms". I was already impressed when he showed me his painted American flag with presidential silhouettes, and he could readily identify George Washington and Abe Lincoln. SO cute.

In the car, I told him that he was the best little boy I knew. His response?

"I'm not a boy anymore, I'm a MAN."

As we drove closer to home, he saw the usual cows out for their daily pasture time.

"Hi cows!! Enjoy your grass! Eat lots and make good milk!"

And finally tonight as I was reading stories and singing songs to him and Small Fry. I sang "Hush Little Baby", a favorite of mine. At the end of the song, the Monkey told me...

"Mommy, you don't need to buy us all that stuff"

"Why?" I asked

"Because we're already the best little boys in the town. And if you buy us the glass (the looking glass), we won't break it!"

I think that I fall more in love with my boys as each day passes.

Shhh...I have a secret!

Well, it's not so much a secret anymore, but our family of four is going to soon be expanding to a family of five!

We're not very far along yet, only 9 weeks, but after seeing a baby with a heartbeat and all, I breathed the biggest sigh of relief imaginable (I've had two miscarriages, one in March '07 and one in June '09).

Our latest addition is due to arrive in early September, which is super exciting since Small Fry and the Monkey have January and February birthdays...no more joint birthday parties!

I don't have anything else exciting to share right now, but I'll be sure to keep updating as the appointments progress.

I must say, telling the Monkey was lots of fun, because now that he's almost 4, he has MANY more questions about the baby growing in mommy's belly then he did when he was two (when his brother was born). He did ask if the baby was going to grow into my lungs (he is fascinated by the human body, science nerd like his mama).

Happy weekend all!

Banana Cream Pie

Everyone has their favorite pie. My dad's is cherry. My husband's is pumpkin. My pie is banana cream pie. But in my almost 30 years of life, I have never made one.

I have a strange love affair with the Williams' Sonoma "Baking" cookbook. I've had it for maybe eight years or so, and it has the best challah recipe EVER. It has lots of other tasty recipes too, and I've often desired to make each and every one a la "Julie and Julia", but I fear I'd gain 100 pounds. There is a recipe for Banana Cream Pie in the cookbook, and this weekend, while doing some major weekly meal planning, I decided to take the plunge and make the pie. I even got a half-dozen perfectly ripe bananas at the store for only $0.75!

This pie uses pastry cream, which I've never made, and any time you're cooking milk, and adding eggs to that hot milk, there's always a chance of disaster. But I make lots of things that use that technique, so I figured I could do it.

The recipe starts with the pastry cream...whole milk and the insides of a vanilla bean. The Monkey was my sous chef and told me the vanilla bean smelled like a raisin (it did kind of).


After the milk had heated, we added egg yolks, cornstarch and some salt, cooked it until it thickened (this was amazing, I was afraid it would never thicken and then, voila! All of the sudden it was like custard!).


The cream was pressed through a fine mesh sieve, covered with plastic wrap and cooled.


I layered the pastry cream on to the baked pie crust, then bananas that were tossed with orange juice, then more pastry cream. I covered that and let it chill all afternoon.

Then it was time to make the whipped cream. My boys have seen this lots, I never buy pre-made whipped cream because it's just SO much better made fresh.


I covered the pie with the whipped cream, and neither of the kids could WAIT for dessert.


We finished our homemade pizza (so tasty), and the kids couldn't stop asking for pie. Clearly Small Fry and the Monkey LOVED it. And as for me and hubby....we've each had two pieces. I'm sure the pie won't last through tomorrow!

Joining a CSA

I've talked to so many people about the great experience we had with our CSA this past season, and thought it would be worth it to write it all down in a blog post so everyone could learn in detail what we did and how we liked it.

As some background, we've been using Door-to-Door Organics for a little over 18 months. I heard about them through word-of-mouth, and they deliver various size boxes of produce (fruit, veggies, or a mix) to your doorstep once a week. It has been really a fun experience, and made having fresh produce even easier than going to the grocery store (especially because we don't really have specialty organic store around here, soon though!).

In April of 2009, I started to hear the "buzz" about joining a CSA. A CSA stands for "Community Supported Agriculture". It is a way to support a local farm and enjoy fresh, local and often organic produce for the season that the farm is producing. You buy a "share" of produce (all CSA's are different in what they offer), and in return you get a variety of the current bounty from the farm on a (usually) weekly basis.

We got a booklet in the mail, I honestly can't remember who wrote it, but it had a HUGE list of CSA's, farmer's markets, local meat producers, everything agricultural in Colorado. I poured over that booklet for weeks, researching on the internet, talking to friends, talking with my husband, just seeing what would be a good fit for us. My sister had mentioned joining a CSA also, so I looked further into it, knowing that we'd likely be able to split a "share".

After lots of research, I decided to buy a share at Grant Family Farms in Wellington, CO. Okay, so Wellington is pretty far north of us, but it is still local, and a LOT more local than buying produce from out of the USA or even from California. If you buy at Whole Foods, you may even have bought Grant Family Farms produce, as they sell to many of the Whole Foods in the state, and even to a lot of the local restaurants (they have a restaurant list on their site).

We purchased a "Family Share" for the entire 26 week season. This share is the largest they offer, and includes only vegetables. The variety of veggies would vary depending on what was ripe when they packed your boxes each week. We also added a "Single Fruit Share" which was 22 weeks of local fruit. Some of the fruit comes from Grant Farms, but most is obtained from other small, local farms around the state (like Ela Family Farms...we used to buy their applesauce at Whole Foods!). I called when buying the share and was able to split the payment of the shares into three payments over the course of the season. They're really nice about helping you out. All of their fruit and vegetables are certified organic.

There are many other share sizes, from small to single shares, even working shares, where you can work on the farm as a way to pay for part of your share. They very clearly detail the options on their website.

There are dozens of "pick-up" locations, so we were able to choose one that is only about 5 minutes from our house (just a few blocks past the local grocery store!). We were able to pick up our veggies and fruit each Wednesday from 3-6pm. (Other locations had different pick-up days, but all the times would work for those who work full-time!).

Each Monday afternoon, I'd receive a wonderful email in my inbox. There was a great note about what was going on at the farm that week, and a description of what to expect in the boxes that week (of course, it could vary depending on what was ready to be harvested). The boxes are picked the day before you pick them up, so really you can't get any fresher. Also in the email would be facts about maybe some strange veggie that we'd be receiving that week (kohlrabi anyone?), and recipes. Often there would be two recipes that utilized the veggies we were expecting. And they'd even include interesting articles that related to earth-minded people.

I printed out each email and kept it in a binder so by the end of the 26-week season I had almost a cookbook full of recipes along with descriptions of veggies, how to ripen various fruits, and how best to store all of my produce.

Every Wednesday, around 5 pm, I'd drive over to my pick-up location. I'd bring four or so reusable bags with me. The family share bin was HUGE. I'd sign the check-in binder, and open my bin of produce. We had so many different kinds of veggies, I don't know if I could list them all. A month after we started the veggie share, we started getting fruit, so I'd pick up our single fruit share during this time too. I'd put everything into my reusable bags and leave the bin there, to come back to a full one next week.

One of the early pick-ups in mid-June. (See the strawberries? They were the best I'd ever eaten)

Sometimes, the amount of veggies, the amount of green stuff, the amount of apples was unbelievably overwhelming. But my husband said it perfectly when I told him I had 56 apples to do something with, and he said, "I welcome the challenge". It was a challenge. I spent more time in the kitchen than I could remember spending in recent years (and I cook dinner 5 nights a week).

When I was cooking a meal, I'd have to add on usually an extra 40-60 minutes for prepping veggies, something I wasn't used to, but became much easier with practice. I experimented with vegetables I'd never eaten or even heard of in my life. We made kale chips, brownies with beets (they were good), mashed kohlrabi, and more. Thankfully, my children are adventurous eaters, so they would always try what we had planned.

The HUGE summer squash that was larger than my first born son at birth.

In the first half of the season, it was a LOT of greens. Large bunches of romaine and red leaf lettuce every week, plus kale and chard. In the middle of the season, we were overwhelmed with corn. Thankfully we like corn, but we were getting about a dozen ears a week (and organic corn can have worms, which scared the bejezus out of me the first time!). It was good, just a LOT. Sometimes (I hate to say it, but it's true), we didn't eat everything. Even splitting it with my sister for the first half of the season, it was a lot. But it was always wonderful, and if there was something we really didn't care for (like cilantro), we knew others who would use it and we were happy to share the bounty.

One thing to note that this was a very bountiful year for Grant Farms. They told us that not all years are as plentiful as this, and some CSA's were hit by horrible hail and had to suspend delivery for a time because they didn't have enough to fill boxes. This is the risk with a CSA. If nature doesn't cooperate, you may see a slim picking of produce.

I think the only problem we had the whole season was with the tomatoes. If I recall correctly, they picked them too ripe and they didn't do well while waiting to be packed. They were all very mushy and no longer good when we got them. But that was only one week.

The fruit. OH MY GOODNESS the fruit. Unfortunately, apricots and nectarines didn't make it to the share this year due to an early freeze (the risk of joining a CSA), but we ate the most unbelievably delicious cherries, peaches, pears, plums, apples, melons, watermelons and more. I baked a lot of it, but often we'd eat it all up before I had a chance to bake anything.

A pick-up from late September.

Even as the snow came in, we still had delicious produce to pick up. Our pantry was bare, no processed foods came into our house all season. Instead we bought local meat (sorry, we love beef), and made dinner every night with our CSA bounty. It was healthy, tasty, organic and a culinary challenge. Some things didn't always turn out for the best, but 99% of the time, we had a fantastic meal, with rave reviews from all family members.

We also got many "perks" throughout the season. We would get a half-dozen eggs to try their wonderful egg share (they were SO good), or a small pint of raspberries or strawberries tucked in the box. A HUGE summer squash (along with a good recipe for using it). When they were promoting their fall festival, we received a bottle of local beer, along with free-tickets to the festival. During the fall, we got pie pumpkins, many decorative gourds, and a taste of the most wonderful bread they'll be offering as a share next season. As winter approached, we received a bottle of wine and a beautiful hand-tied pine bough wreath, made with pine boughs from the farm. (Oh, and I even got a credit for referring someone to the CSA!)

One of the last pick-ups in late November - still a HUGE bounty!

I visited the grocery store maybe once a month (if that - I started to notice because I never earned enough to get my $0.10 discount on gas, haha!). I'd get some pasta or meat, and maybe a few grains. But I was so inspired by the need to put more prep time into the meal, that I started baking our own bread too. We get our milk delivered, so I didn't need to rush to the grocery for that.

Sadly, the season turned cold, and the crops were done. Grant Farms does offer a monthly, winter share, but we chose to forgo the winter crops and wait until the summer. We miss it dearly though. They were right when they said we'd have "culture shock" having to shop in a supermarket produce section again. I missed just knowing that I was eating local, organic, fresh produce, instead of having to pour over labels and find out what I was eating, where it was from, and has it been sprayed or treated with something? It was really hard for both my husband and I to buy produce at a supermarket again.

We can not wait until the season starts again in June 2010. In addition to veggies and fruit, Grant Farms offers SO many other options. They have an egg share, which we are definitely going to purchase next year. In addition, they are now offering, bread, baguette and pastry shares. All are made with local, organic ingredients (even local wheat from Grant Farms) and baked the morning the share is delivered to the pick-up location.

They also have meat: duck, chicken, turkeys, lamb and goat all available for purchase. All are raised right on the farm without antibiotics. (Not all is certified organic yet, but they give details about that on their site). You can even get your Thanksgiving turkey from them!

So that's it. We're beyond pleased with the amount and quality of produce we received as well as the amazing communication from the farm. I felt such a part of an important local business, and am so happy with everything it did to raise my ecological awareness. We're counting the days until the share starts up again, and wondering exactly which bread and pastry shares we're going to get this year!

Chocolate-Covered Marshmallow Dreidels

A co-worker found these in a Martha Stewart magazine for me and of course the Monkey (a marshmallow lover) couldn't WAIT until I made them. I decided to make a big batch for his Hanukkah party at school this week.

They are basically a Hershey's Kiss stuck on a marshmallow, with a pretzel handle, all dipped in chocolate.

The boys loved helping me count out the Hershey's Kisses and they were actually quite proficient at unwrapping them too (except when they discovered if they licked the kiss, I'd make them eat it instead of putting it on the marshmallow, everything went downhill).

I used some melted chocolate to stick the Kisses to the marshmallows:

After those were cooled, I used a knife to cut a slit in the top of the marshmallow and inserted a thin pretzel stick:
I melted chocolate (I cheated and used the candy melts, which are so much easier to work with than real chocolate), and dipped the dreidels in:

I left those in the fridge for about 20 minutes (or longer, I think one kid had a temper tantrum, and another needed a snack), and then melted white chocolate candy melts. I put the melted white chocolate in a zip-loc bag and cut off the tip to pipe on the Hebrew letters.

In retrospect, I should have let the candy melts cool a little so the chocolate wasn't so runny (or used real white chocolate which may have been a little thicker), because my letters were far from perfect. But when you're feeding them to 3 and 4 year-olds, not-quite-perfect is just fine.

The kids (and my husband) devoured them and I've already been asked to make another batch even though Hanukkah is over on Friday night. I'm thinking I need to work on a Christmas-y version.

Too much HGTV

I must have watched too much HGTV tonight. I watched (well, listened) to a few hours of design shows while working in my studio tonight. And now at almost 2:30 in the morning, I'm planning a complete move of the studio.

We have a vacant bedroom upstairs, adjacent to a large loft that is technically the office, but really a JUNK haven (I hate it). I decided tonight to figure out if I could move my studio to the extra bedroom, and organize the loft to an actual office and shipping center.

All of that movement would require that we clean and completely organize our basement (1100 square feet of disorganization), which is beyond overwhelming. But that needs to be done, so maybe all this is a good thing.

The funny part is that I have absolutely NO idea when I'd have the TIME for any of this. Or money to add the stuff in the studio that I want, like additional shelving, paint, etc.

Maybe I need to submit this to an HGTV show and they'll come and make it over for me. Yah, it's late, I need to go to bed.

Boulder

I'm SO bad about blogging, but I've been thinking often about it, and how I really want to keep it up, so I've made a goal to blog at LEAST once a week until the end of the year. I need to remember all the things in my life that aren't related to my work. Should keep it interesting.

Hubby and I both graduated from University of Colorado, and absolutely LOVED living in Boulder. When you're not a college student though, the housing prices are outrageous. We'd love to live there again, but need to make A LOT more money in order to do that!

So, we decided on a beautiful late summer day, it was an ideal time to venture up there with the kiddos in tow.

We just spent a few hours there, and played on Pearl Street (in the fountains). Small Fry was reluctant at first, but hubby showed him how fun it was, and he soon warmed up to the idea and played with the Monkey for quite a while.


Of course for us, no trip to Boulder is complete without a trip to Hapa Sushi (even though they have two other locations MUCH closer to us, but this one holds so, so many memories). We ate our standard fare, and the boys got peanut butter & jelly sushi (with a strawberry topped whip-cream pile in the center). Small Fry was loving learning to use his chopsticks. He then finished off a few California rolls and Philly rolls. The kid really DOES eat anything.


(I tried to take better photos but of course didn't have my good flash, so the photos aren't so great).

After lunch we met up with our neighbors, who one of their dogs and her two puppies with them. We all walked around and stopped off at my favorite candy store (I got a Flake, one of the only places I can get them in the US), and the boys each got a "Bubble Gum" flavored candy stick. I must have been in one good mood to let them have that!

Small Fry loved his, and even managed to enjoy it with the puppy sitting on his lap.

About 15 minutes into our 1 hour+ drive home, both boys were completely fast asleep. Pretty sure that means they had a good time too.