Eat those Greens!

We are in the midst of a greens attack! We have greens fresh and ready to eat everyday. I am braising, sauteing and grilling greens for at least 2 meals a day. I felt the need to change it up the other day while facing a big pile of mustard greens. Hmmm a quick scan of the cupboards revealed some walnuts that would add oomph. And I found feta in the fridge, because you know everything is betta with feta!

This was pretty easy to whip up yet it was so good. My husband and I ate 2 servings each and my little boy packed it away. Middle boy "didn't like it" but still ate a bit, a small bit.

Don't like greens? You should really try them again! This might help you take that first bite. "Mustard greens are jam packed with nutrients. They provide good to excellent amounts of 9 vitamins, 7 minerals, dietary fiber and protein. And if that were not impressive enough, being a member of the Brassica family along with broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, they also feature the health-promoting phytonutrients known as glucosinolates. One of the unique features of mustard greens is that they are an excellent source of three notable antioxidants: vitamin E, vitamin C and vitamin A (through their concentration of beta-carotene). These three nutrients team up to scavenge free radicals, which are excessively interactive molecules that not only cause damage to the molecules with which they interact, but have been linked to a host of different diseases and health conditions. Beta-carotene and vitamin E exert their protective actions against free radicals in the lipid-soluble areas of the body, while vitamin C balances out the job by working in the body's water-soluble environment. By providing antioxidant protection in both the water and fat-soluble areas of the body, mustard greens may offer great benefit to individuals with conditions ranging from asthma to heart disease to menopausal symptoms ...just to name a few" (direct quote from the website Worlds Healthiest Foods)All that and 1 cup only has 21 calories, I'm in are you?

Mustard Greens with Feta and Walnuts

1/2 cup of walnuts
1 large bunch of fresh mustard greens
1/2 cup of crumbled feta

in a heavy bottom skillet cook the walnuts over medium high heat until they are evenly toasted, or slightly burnt if you like them that way...or they go that way
meanwhile wash and gently shake out the greens, removing any tough stems
when the walnuts are done remove them to a plate to cool
wipe out the skillet and toss in the greens
let them slightly steam while you gently stir them around
when they are wilted to your liking remove them form the heat
spread half of them on a plate
scatter on 1/4 cup of feta and 1/4 cup of walnuts
repeat
serve quickly

You now 2 years ago I would have died if anyone had told me I would be not only eating greens but telling other people to eat their greens. If I can change anybody can, try some greens today!

Also check out my Amazing Grass giveaway. I am sharing my bars and powdered green superfood drink mixes. You're welcome.

Peace and Love,

Tuesdays Tips For Summer Survival-Sing, Sing Out Loud

My husbands grandmother has a twin sister and for the last couple years 'the grandmas' have come to Alaska to visit their northern family. They are always singing wonderful old songs and teaching them to our boys. Back when they were just young girls they used to sing during movie house intermission and they are still singing today. They have a parrot, Lorenzo, who will only sleep if they serenade him with "Springtime in the Rockies". Haven't heard of it? Neither had I but my boys came away from an afternoon with 'the grandmas' being able to sing that song. Not well enough to put Lorenzo to sleep mind you but they had the basic idea. They also learned a sweet and almost lost tune called "20 froggies".

I wanted to sing these with my sons but the words were impossible to remember correctly and they didn't know them well enough to teach me. I felt lame and miserable because my sons had this awesome resource and I couldn't be trusted to learn the words and sing along.

Enter the song box. Basically I took an old recipe card box and turned it into a song box by copying the words onto 3X5 cards that I can easily pull out and sing with if I need to. It has made nightly singing at bedtime so easy! I can actually learn the words to the songs quite quickly but will soon forget them when we quit singing them every night. Inevitably my kids will LOVE a song for weeks and then seemingly over night refuse to sing it again and want another song that I have forgotten the words to. HA! Now I never stumble over rarely sung songs, I am on top of it.
I have lots of songs in the box and we can quite happily sing oldies to our hearts content now without ever missing a beat. Whew! One problem down, 2.8 million left to go. If only there were all so easily solved by a recipe box.

Here you go the first song in your song box is on me!

20 froggies

20 froggies went to school
down beside the rushing pool
20 coats all pressed and green
20 vests all white and clean.

We must be in time said they;
first we study then we play
That is how we learn the rules
as we froggies go to school.

Master bullfrog brave and stern
taught us each all in our turn;
taught us how to leap and dive
also how to nobly stride;

Taught us how to dodge below
from the sticks which bad boys throw.

20 froggies grew up fast
big frogs they became at last,
polished to a high degree
as each froggy ought to be.

Now they sit on other logs
teaching other little frogs.

Make sure you go check out the rest of the Tuesday Tips for Summer Survival at Carey's blog. There are lots of good ideas in the previous weeks too, just click the TTSS tab at the end of her post.

Also make sure you check out my review of Amazing Grass below and enter to win some for your self! Don't be afraid of healthy food it really is good.

Peace and Love,

Amazing Grass Giveaway

The awesome people at Amazing Grass recently sent me a box 'o goodies to try out. Yum! I received several varieties of their powdered drinks, 2 kinds of bars and a perfectly sized cup for shaking up my own superfood infused drinks. Don't worry at the end of this post I'll tell you how you can win your share of my loot! The basis for most of the Amazing Grass products is Green Superfood which has a powerhouse of nutrition in each serving. You really need to click the link and check them out because I can't quite do them justice.


I'll start with powdered drinks. They have Wheat Grass, Green Superfood, Kids Superfood and Chocolate Superfood, these all mix with water, milk, soy milk or juice. They can also be added to smoothies. The drink mixes are not meant to replace fruits and vegetables in your diet only supplement and round out your daily diet. 90% of Americans don't eat enough fruits and vegetables. They really pack a healthy wallop with their Green Superfood providing the antioxident power of 7 fruits and veggies.
The day we got the package we tried the Kidz Superfood drink mix and it was well received. It has a nice chocolate flavor and we mixed it 50/50 milk and water. One boy loved it, the other was not so sure but he drank some. Mom and dad loved it, too, especially knowing it had 33 different fruits and veggies, heh. The drink mixes are all organic too.

After trying the drink mix my kids were fixated on trying the Whole Food Energy Bars, I thought it was a good idea too. These may be the most health conscious bars I have ever had the pleasure of trying. Check this out, they are: raw, cold processed, alkaline, vegan, gluten free and dairy free. Add delicious to that list. The bars are so good. They come in 2 varieties Whole Food Energy Bar and Chocolate Whole Food Energy Bar. Both are were loved by my kids and I actually think I liked the regular non-chocolate covered bar a little better. It just had a really great taste. Every bar has 2/3 of a serving of green superfood in it plus tons of other healthy goodies like acai and macca. Again these are not meant to replace whole food fruits and vegetable only to supplement your diet. I have to admit this was my first run in with commercial raw food and I was totally impressed, thanks Amazing Grass!

The next day I shook up a cup of Green Superfood to enjoy while working in my garden. I was pleasantly surprised at the light and slightly sweet taste. It was easy to drink and gone before I knew it. I mixed this one with straight water. I think next I'll try it in a smoothie.

While I do have a few more drink mixes to try out and some more bars to enjoy I want to share the wealth! If you want to win your own stash o' healthy goodies here is your chance. I will be running this contest through July sixth and posting a winner on July 7th. Before entering just go to the Amazing Grass site. Check out all the ways to get extra entries, here we go!

• first entry must be a comment on which product you think you'd like best after visiting their site
  
• all followers recieve an extra entry, leave a seperate comment that says follower
• any Alaskan gets an automatic extra entry, leave a seperate entry that says Alaskan
• follow me on twitter, leave a seperate comment that says twitter follower
  
• tweet this contest or pass on a retweet from me anytime I tweet it, come back here and leave a seperate comment for each tweet, these will really add up!

Peace and Love,

Art On Fire

Well I didn't cook ONCE today, weird. We spent the morning in hell. Yes folks, drain hell, with stopped up sinks, backing up dishwashers and short tempers. We pulled through OK and after a few hours got everything cleaned up and were ready to start our day...at noon.
Our big plans for the day were to go to Art On Fire and then out for date night. We did just that but with a later start and already tired. What is Art on Fire you ask? Well think kilns, molds and molten iron and you'll be going in the right direction.
Art On Fire is an art show put on by the Valley Arts Alliance featuring, well, fire. There were blacksmiths, glass blowing demos, Raku pottery workshops and the big event, a massive iron pour. That was an amazing show! Lots of sculptors and foundrymen pouring molten iron into all shapes and sizes of molds.

foundrymen at work



blacksmith contingent


For 10 bucks you could carve a hard sand block and have it poured into an iron tile. Or you could paint a piece of bisque pottery for the Raku kiln. We did both and had a grand time watching the boys pottery go through the kiln, fire and water bath. We missed seeing our tile poured but it was still warm when we picked it up to go home. What's going on is your hometown?




Raku pottery before firing



one after firingthe iron tile



Peace and Love,

Daring Bakers Challenge Bakewell Tart

The June Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict and Annemarie of Ambrosia and Nectar. They chose a Traditional (UK) Bakewell Tart... er... pudding that was inspired by a rich baking history dating back to the 1800's in England.

Bakewell tarts…er…puddings combine a number of dessert elements but still let you show off your area’s seasonal fruits.

Like many regional dishes there’s no “one way” to make a Bakewell Tart…er…Pudding, but most of today’s versions fall within one of two types. The first is the “pudding” where a layer of jam is covered by an almondy pastry cream and baked in puff pastry. The second is the “tart” where a rich shortcrust pastry holds jam and an almondy sponge cake-like filling.

We were dared to make the second "tart" with seasonal fruit. Apparently chocolate is ALWAYS in season, well in MY world anyway. When I started on the crust a bag of chocolate chips dove out of the baking cupboard in to the middle of my work space. I considered it for about 2.3 seconds and decided my tart would be chocolate and almond and quietly put the rhubarb back in the refrigerator.

I thoroughly enjoyed my day of baking. Although I don't think I particularly cared for the Bakewell Tart...er pudding in the end. It was eggy. The crust had egg in it, which was weird for me. I don't really care for eggs. I like a good omelet now and then but I just don't care for the egg taste in sweets. Yes, I still use them in cookies and such but this was a bit much. It felt a bit quiche-ish, crust then sweet blobs(or jelly if you are normal) then a whipped egg almond crunch thing on top.

Bakewell Tart…er…pudding

Makes one 23cm (9” tart)
Prep time: less than 10 minutes (plus time for the individual elements)
Resting time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 30 minutes
Equipment needed: 23cm (9”) tart pan or pie tin (preferably with ridged edges), rolling pin

One quantity sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe follows)
Bench flour
250ml (1cup (8 US fl. oz)) jam or curd, warmed for spreadability
One quantity frangipane (recipe follows)
One handful blanched, flaked almonds

Assembling the tart
Place the chilled dough disc on a lightly floured surface. If it's overly cold, you will need to let it become acclimatised for about 15 minutes before you roll it out. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry to 5mm (1/4”) thickness, by rolling in one direction only (start from the centre and roll away from you), and turning the disc a quarter turn after each roll. When the pastry is to the desired size and thickness, transfer it to the tart pan, press in and trim the excess dough. Patch any holes, fissures or tears with trimmed bits. Chill in the freezer for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C/400F.

Remove shell from freezer, spread as even a layer as you can of jam onto the pastry base. Top with frangipane, spreading to cover the entire surface of the tart. Smooth the top and pop into the oven for 30 minutes. Five minutes before the tart is done, the top will be poofy and brownish. Remove from oven and strew flaked almonds on top and return to the heat for the last five minutes of baking.

The finished tart will have a golden crust and the frangipane will be tanned, poofy and a bit spongy-looking. Remove from the oven and cool on the counter. Serve warm, with crème fraîche, whipped cream or custard sauce if you wish.

When you slice into the tart, the almond paste will be firm, but slightly squidgy and the crust should be crisp but not tough.

Jasmine’s notes:
• If you cannot have nuts, you can try substituting Victoria sponge for the frangipane. It's a pretty popular popular cake, so you shouldn't have any troubles finding one in one of your cookbooks or through a Google search. That said, our dear Natalie at Gluten a Go Go has sourced some recipes and linked to them in the related alt.db thread.
• You can use whichever jam you wish, but if you choose something with a lot of seeds, such as raspberry or blackberry, you should sieve them out.
• The jam quantity can be anywhere from 60ml (1/4 cup) to 250ml (1cup), depending upon how “damp” and strongly flavoured your preserves are. I made it with the lesser quantity of home made strawberry jam, while Annemarie made it with the greater quantity of cherry jam; we both had fabulous results. If in doubt, just split the difference and spread 150ml (2/3cup) on the crust.
Annemarie’s notes:
• The excess shortcrust can be rolled out and cut into cookie-shapes (heck, it’s pretty darned close to a shortbread dough).

Sweet shortcrust pastry

Prep time: 15-20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes (minimum)
Equipment needed: bowls, box grater, cling film

225g (8oz) all purpose flour
30g (1oz) sugar
2.5ml (½ tsp) salt
110g (4oz) unsalted butter, cold (frozen is better)
2 (2) egg yolks
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract (optional)
15-30ml (1-2 Tbsp) cold water

Sift together flour, sugar and salt. Grate butter into the flour mixture, using the large hole-side of a box grater. Using your finger tips only, and working very quickly, rub the fat into the flour until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set aside.

Lightly beat the egg yolks with the almond extract (if using) and quickly mix into the flour mixture. Keep mixing while dribbling in the water, only adding enough to form a cohesive and slightly sticky dough.

Form the dough into a disc, wrap in cling and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes

Jasmine’s notes:
• I make this using vanilla salt and vanilla sugar.
• If you wish, you can substitute the seeds of one vanilla bean, one teaspoon of vanilla paste or one teaspoon of vanilla extract for the almond extract

Frangipane

Prep time: 10-15 minutes
Equipment needed: bowls, hand mixer, rubber spatula

125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter, softened
125g (4.5oz) icing sugar
3 (3) eggs
2.5ml (½ tsp) almond extract
125g (4.5oz) ground almonds
30g (1oz) all purpose flour

Cream butter and sugar together for about a minute or until the mixture is primrose in colour and very fluffy. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter may appear to curdle. In the words of Douglas Adams: Don’t panic. Really. It’ll be fine. After all three are in, pour in the almond extract and mix for about another 30 seconds and scrape down the sides again. With the beaters on, spoon in the ground nuts and the flour. Mix well. The mixture will be soft, keep its slightly curdled look (mostly from the almonds) and retain its pallid yellow colour.

Frugal Friday-Cheap Eats

Hummus is such a great quick meal for summer time. OK anytime really. When I was a poor single mom with only one boy in my life I couldn't afford tahini or store bought hummus. I could afford beans. We ate beans. I kept my house from going to the bank by learning to eat cheap, good food and raise a healthy kid. I still love this hummus and was pleased to see that hummus without tahini is good enough for Alice Waters.

Feel free to add other things if red peppers and chives are not available. I have at different times added leftover cooked carrot, pitted olives and cumin. Each were a great addition! Serve this with veggie chunks, pita bread or assorted crackers.


Chive and Red Pepper Hummus

1 can garbanzo beans
lemon juice (to taste)
salt (to taste)
1/2 of a large roasted red pepper, about a 1/4 to 1/2 cup
1 Tablespoon chopped chive or one large blossom(to taste)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
garlic granules 1/2 tsp(to taste)

drain half the fluid from the can of beans
pour the beans into a food processor
dump in everything else but the oil pulse to chop
add the oil
then whirl it on high until processed to your liking

pre whirling - I love chive blossoms!

Is this not gorgeous?


I was given 2 blog awards this week. I wanted to say thanks to Christina @ Dinner at Christina's and G.G. The Foodie @ Uncovering Foods for the great awards, my first for cooking! I have not had time to sit and figure out who I will pass them to. Soon. I swear! And I won't put them up until I pass them on.

Peace and Love,

Butter Braised Greens with Garlic

One reason I enjoy our 1/2 share of the CSA is the great recipes we get in the newsletter. Probably things I would never think of or find in a cookbook. Who would think of cooking 12 whole cloves of garlic, um yeah, not me. OK, OK I did but the CSA made me do it, I swear!

The recipe called for a pound and a half of spinach but since we split a share I used mesclun mix and mizuka mustard greens in place of part of the spinach. This is a great way to use a good chunk of greens if you happen to be inundated with them, I am. Besides the CSA greens I have 4 types of kale, mustard, bokchoy, chard, beet greens and butter lettuce so any recipe that uses a fair share of greens is a winner. Hope you are finding fresh and local veggies where you are, are you? Leave me a comment and let me know what's fresh in your area.



Butter Braised Greens with Garlic

12 whole cloves of garlic peeled, truly have them peeled do not assume you can whip them out while the water boils, you will be frustrated and possibly say things you might regret
1 1/2 pounds mixed greens of your choice
3 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

in a small sauce pan bring some water to a boil add the cloves of garlic an boil one minute
pour off water remove the garlic
in the same sauce pan bring more water to a boil and return the cloves
reduce heat and boil for 10-15 minutes
meanwhile clean your greens and either wilt them in a steam basket or gently saute them until soft and wilted
set them aside and drain if needed
when the garlic cloves are done boiling remove from the water and pat dry
put the butter in a skillet and melt over medium high heat
when heated add the garlic cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown
stir in your greens and heat through
salt and pepper to taste

pre-wilting
the finished product

In other news we had 2 eagles soaring over our little farm-let this afternoon. I think these are the parents of the immature bald eagle that killed our goose and ducks. Finally got them on film. They were quite a sight to see playing in the drafts of the thunder heads that were forming.




Peace and Love,

Curried Shrimp and Barley + Making Homemade Yogurt

I love barley it might be my favorite whole grain. This recipe idea came from my husband who thought a friend was eating curried barley with shrimp in it. Turns out the friend was eating leftovers and NOT barley with shrimp but apparently it sounded so good to my husband he came home and told me about it. And apparently it sounded so good to me I put it on the menu this week. It was a great combination and the yogurt was a perfect topper. I took a yogurt making class last week at the Cooperative Extension Service and we used the last of it today. I have made yogurt in the past but I went to brush up on my skills. I will be making my own from now on because we have fresh milk from a local creamery and we are all about eating whatever the local farmers can produce.

Curried Shrimp and Barley

1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 green pepper chopped
1/ 2 onion chopped
2 1/2 cups water
1 16 oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder more to taste
1 1/2 cups pearled barley rinsed
1 pound 51-60 count cooked shrimp, peeled

heat the oil in a 2 qt dutch oven or sauce pan over medium heat
saute the onion and green pepper in the oil for 5-10 minutes
add the water, tomatoes, salt and curry powder
bring to a boil then add the barley, return to a boil
reduce heat, cover and simmer gently for 35-40 minutes
add the shrimp and simmer another 5 minutes

This tastes great topped with plain yogurt! Making your own is easier than you think, cheaper than store bought and tastes so good.

Easy Homemade Yogurt

You will need the following
1) Double boiler that holds at least 5 cups
2)instant read thermometer with a range of 100 degrees Fahrenheit to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
3) A container for yogurt that holds at least 5 cups this can be glass, crockery, food-grade plastic or stainless steel **it should be clean and kept hot until yogurt is poured in** Simply wash it well, rinse it well and fill with boiling water
4) A large spoon, large bowl, and aluminum foil or plastic wrap to cover yogurt containers if they don't have lids
5) An incubator to maintain a constant temperature of 108 degrees Fahrenheit to 112 degrees Fahrenheit when incubating yogurt-incubators listed below

This recipe makes about 5 cups. Yogurt can be stored in the refrigerator for about 21 days

Ingredients
1 quart milk whole, lowfat or skim
Nonfat dry milk powder -- use 1/3 cup powder when using whole or lowfat milk, or use 2/3 cup powder when using skim
1/4 cup plain commercial yogurt with live cultures

place cold, pasteurized milk in top of a double boiler and stir in nonfat dry milk powder
heat milk to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring gently and hold for 10 minutes, reduce or turn off heat Don't boil
place top of double boiler in cold water to cool milk rapidly to 112 degrees Fahrenheit to 115 degrees Fahrenheit
watch the temperature carefully it will fall rapidly once it reaches 125 degrees Fahrenheit
remove pan from cold water
remove one cup of the warm milk and blend it with the commercial yogurt with live cultures
add this back to the rest of the warm milk. Temperature should now be 110 degrees Fahrenheit to 112 degrees Fahrenheit
pour immediately into the clean hot container(s), cover and place in prepared incubator
Incubate about 4 to 7 hours
yogurt should be set after 4-7, if it is not thick enough let it sit a bit longer and check again
when it is to your liking pop it into the refrigerator
--Incubation Methods--
1)To incubate a small amount of yogurt pour the yogurt mixture into a wide-mouth thermos and cover with a tight lid. When the yogurt is ready, loosen the thermos lid before storing it in the refrigerator so the yogurt can cool rapidly.
2)Set filled container(s) of yogurt on a towel-covered heating pad set on medium heat in a sheltered corner on a kitchen counter. Cover the jars with several towels. Keep drafts away **my preferred method**
3)fill a cooler with the water from the double boiler, shut the lid while working on yogurt, when yogurt is ready check the temperature of the water if it needs cooling add some cold water and stir, set your sealed jars in the water and shut the lid**this is another good method I have tried**



Peace and Love,

TTSS Tuesdays Tips for Summer Survival-eat your veggies

To start off here is the picture from the Monkey Bread yesterday I guess I was having so much fun with all the crazy pictures I forgot the food. That's not like me.


It's Tuesday so join Carey for more fun and tips on Tuesday's Tips for Summer Survival!

My son, Union, recently spied an old cookbook on my shelf. "How to Garnish" is an '80s book that someone gave me long ago when I was a budding chef. For some reason I never chucked it out in all these years and it has been moved from house to house and taken down with all my cookbooks for painting and it still remains. I pulled it out for my son to look at and he got all cranked up to make something from it. Basically it shows step by step how to make these garish but still cool garnishes.
He fell in LOVE with making crudites this past winter so this was an easy hop for him. I hauled out the cutting board, peeler, serrated butter knife, a carrot and a bell pepper and we were in business.
He set to work peeling the carrot and I cut the pepper in half. While he was carefully cutting bark on the carrot I cut the pepper in to leaf shapes then we topped his carrot with my pepper and !voila! edible palm tree! It was fun working together and eating our mistakes. Plus eating veggies is so much more fun when you make them look awesome, right? The youngest boy looked on happily eating scraps and chatting with us. He has almost moved up to crudites chef and he will be there when he starts using a knife for cutting instead of his teeth. Yeah that's a nice visual right? Chewed up carrot in a pile with a boy stating "no, that's not for the chickens it's my crudites. I cut it with my teeth" Then smartly snaps his teeth together, chomp chomp. Life is NEVER dull here, ever.

Love and Peace,

Monkey Bread+my blog debut

In my family we kind of shun gift giving for Hallmark holidays like mothers day and fathers day. Personally it's all the wonderful things my husband and kids do for me throughout the year that make me feel loved and special. We don't don't need ONE day when we show it everyday.

That being said we do get the kids up early and let them fix breakfast for the other parent. This year I hit the bonanza on mother's day when my husband did a little backyard camping and I got to sleep in QUIETLY which is rare with our 2 boys struggling through making breakfast. An added bonus was I didn't even have to eat the camping breakfast, I slept right through it!
This year we got up and made our yearly batch of monkey bread. Everyone agreed it was the best one yet and surprised dad with a feast of sausage, sunny side up eggs, English muffins and monkey bread. We ate so late that lunchtime was past before we even knew it. Time flies when you are cleaning the garage I guess.
I'm going to pass on the recipe for this bread because all the recipes I tried before were 'highly rated' on allrecipes, made with dry pudding mix and they were just ~~enhhh~~. A big plus was that I got to use my new Kitchen Aid 6qt mixer, YES!

A few notes on monkey bread. This is a pull apart self serve bread that is really easy to make and great to share. Perfect for a pot luck, just serve it with a couple of forks so the germ factor is reduced. When making this with kids be ready to melt extra butter and get out more sugar, we went through it today. These measurements are what I would normally use but with kids and erratically shaped balls we easily doubled those amounts. Any extra toppings can be sprinkled right on top of the bread before baking so there is no waste (except your waist).

The Monkey's Monkey Bread
4-5 cups flour-divided
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon instant rise yeast or 1 packet regular yeast

1 cup warm water
3/4 cup of milk
1/4 olive oil or vegetable oil or applesauce

topping-prepare before assembly
1/4 cup butter melted in cereal bowl(for rolling)
1 cup brown sugar in a cereal bowl (for rolling)
1/2 cup of walnuts

put two cups of flour in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or regular mixing bowl
add the next 3 ingredients
quickly stir them together
in a pan on the stove gently heat the milk, water and oil until they are to room temperature
add the wet ingredients to the mixer and mix on low
stop the mixer and scrape down the sides then continue mixing
add flour 1/2 cup at a time until the dough is no longer runny, gooey and sticky about this time it will come together in a nice neat ball
turn the mixer to the knead level(mine is the 2 position) or knead by hand sucker!
when the dough is kneaded place it in a greased bowl put it someplace warm to double in size or place in the refrigerator over night for early morning breakfasts

to assemble-heat the oven to 350 degrees
dip a pastry brush in the melted butter and grease a bundt pan
sprinkle with the 1/4 cup of brown sugar and the walnuts
punch down the dough and start dividing it into small 1 inch balls
roll the balls in the melted butter and then the brown sugar then drop in the bundt pan
continue rolling until all the dough is rolled and in the pan
pop in a 350 degree oven and bake for 30-40 minutes
check for doness by gently poking a fork in the bread and pulling it apart slightly, you are looking for dough spots if you find any continue cooking for a few more minutes and check again

Yes this is a sugary recipe but once a year won't kill us, right? RIGHT?!?

So the solstice blew in with 60 mph winds that are systematically whipping my gardens to death. I am afraid to go out and see the damage. I think I like spring better this year we had 80 plus degree days that we oh so promising. It was so cold and nasty today I decided to make homemade mac n cheese for dinner. You know hat that means? Yep I busted out my Le Creuset French Oven and it was divinely perfect! A great way to end a cold and blustery day. So with having come we are now on the downhill slide to winter. Everyday we lose a little more daylight and gain a little more night. I get a little manic with so much daylight so I am actually kind of glad to see more night coming our way. 19+ hours of daylight just can't be good for a person, we need a dark balance in there. We did spend some fun quality time on the computer playing with iphoto, check me out making my blog debut!

We call this 'evil boy genius taking over the world...and his mother'

smile! pour little freak with 3 eyes and 2 tongues

am I down there?

Peace and Love,

Entertaining Tourists

No I don't mean laughing at tourists I mean keeping visiting friends busy and happy. We were recently the happy hosts for my sons bff (heh) who moved to Florida 4 years ago, he stayed for 2 weeks and now we need a second mortgage to pay for all the groceries we went through. On his last night here we had a great opportunity to go to the Alaska Zoo after hours. It was an adoptive parents appreciation party and we invited our guest to tag along.

For Christmas we adopted the Magpies for our sons as a present. They received official adoption papers and they are the proud parents of 2 Magpies, one of which can speak if you walk away at just the right time. So we took our 16 year old visitor with us while my 16 year son had to work. The Zoo had several meet the animal experiences with wolves, owls and a red fox. Cake, coffee, soda and cocoa we free flowing and the whole night was a blast.

There were perhaps 50-100 people altogether but they were spread far and wide across the zoo and it was very peaceful and quiet. In two different spots they had "go behind the scenes" encounters. One was with the 2 Amur tigers and the other was with the Polar Bears Aphun and Louie. Basically we got to go up the zoo keepers path to the backside of the cages and observe them up close. Quite a privilege to be so close to one animal that only has 350 wild relatives left and the others who are so close to being endangered themselves. It moved me.

After out little zoo jaunt we still had hours of daylight left (you have a lot to burn up here right now!) so we decided to hit the the Alaska Wild Berry store. This is the home of the largest chocolate waterfall in the world. Pretty impressive for two little boys and our tourist. They stood in awe while I snapped pictures of the cascading chocolate. They of course wanted to dip in a finger but alas no tasting there! But over to the left or the chocolate fall you will find a huge selection of chocolates and candies and free samples!! Many of the chocolates are made on sight and they used to offer tours of the kitchen. I forgot to ask if they still did, I guess I was to busy wrangling little hooligans and eating free samples to remember. Oh well. I let them pick out a candy treat or two, OK fine, three. They were small and perfect for kids. They each wanted a chocolate dipped cherry, a small salmon shaped solid chocolate and a turtle and they were delighted with the treats.




I picked out some chocolates for my friend in Florida with some help from the sweet girls behind the counter. They seemed to know what went well together and picked up on my two of everything theme quickly. I asked if I could snap their picture for my blog and they were very obliging while smiling sweetly. Thanks for all your help girls, you were so nice and the perfect way to end a touristy day in my own state!
Peace and Love,