Fun With Foods

is a regularly scheduled Relief Society meeting our ward puts on once a month. Last month they did a whole class about crock pot cooking that got my wheels turning, but I've yet to put it into practice. Two months ago they did a whole class about everything one can make using a basic bread recipe [dinner rolls, cinnamon/orange rolls, pizza crust, etc]. Last night was all about grains. I am fascinated. I am intrigued. I am going to tell you the single, most doable, thing that had the biggest impact on me and leave the rest for another day:

Soak grains before cooking.

Apparently this makes the grains more digestible and activates the grain enzymes which increases their nutritional value and flavor. Who knew? So, going to make wheat pancakes for breakfast? Put the wheat to soak the night before. Rice with dinner? Put it to soak in the morning.

Easy peasy.

ps. I don't think you've heard the last from me on this subject... I just requested three books from the library about grains. Consider yourself warned. :)

Make It Do

Have you ever paused to wonder where exactly the forks go? Or the spoons for that matter? I do this quite often. I can never remember. I suppose if I were more diligent at setting a nice table on a regular basis I wouldn't have this problem, but I don't... So I do. Plus, I believe I've mentioned that it's The Girl's job to set the table, so throw being three into that mix and it becomes quite the puzzle. How to help her set the table without leading her around the table indicating each item for her? Enter the interactive placemats I shared a couple of weeks ago for JS.

This project was really simple to make and has yeilded huge results. I created an 11 x 17 template [obviously the most time consuming part of the project] that included the makings of an informal place setting in proper placement + spacing, dropped in some cute papers, and printed + laminated at Staples. Done and done.

A few things to consider:

1. I originally intended to use this template as an embroidery pattern to put on linen placemats. I still think that would be really cool.
2. Don't have Photoshop? Cut out the individual elements and trace around them onto the paper of your choice. Adhere to the background of your choice + voila.
3. Cut the shapes out of fabric instead and applique/ use a fabric glue like Fabri-tac, Aleene's Fabric Fusion or Heat 'n Bond to stick them on [side note: it's been a while since I used Heat 'n Bond and I've never tried Aleene's Fabric Fusion or Fabri-Tac - they just seemed like what I would look for if I were to do this project. All products got overall good reviews with a few terrible ones. I am not necessarily endorsing the products, just brainstorming]. 
4. Print the page, as is, and let your kids color it.
5. Template = Pattern. So many options.

Finally, the true test - can The Girl set the table properly? Well, see for yourself:

ps. I wanted to fit everything on the placemat [including the cup] so I went with a salad sized plate vs. a larger dinner plate. In my trial you may notice that things are a bit tight. I've made the necessary adjustments to the template.

pps. The song in the video is All The Ways by Frances England from her Mind of My Own album.

ppps. The template is in the box. Please leave a comment if you grab it. I've been getting a bunch of people downloading my templates and I think that's awesome. I'd love to know who's using them.

Make It Do

So the other day my kids had a lesson on the food guide pyramid complete with art project. Really. I had nothing to do with it. They sat down at the table - the two younglings on one side and the older "teacher" on the other - and they had a lesson. I was here, working on the computer, and listening [occasionally throwing a comment or two in].  It was decided by the teacher that they would do one food group every day this week. Today they did grains. What does this have to do with my established Make It Do series you might be asking...

In my mind, talk of grains led to thinking of sprouts. In fact, it keeps popping up. See, the other day I was at the neighbor's house getting a can of tomato sauce. While we talked she took out a jar of sprouts and proceeded to rinse them. Of course we started talking about sprouts... And for the past few days I've been reading Whole Living Magazine and there's a recipe with sprouted quinoa so they were already on my mind a bit. And then I remembered that Mom gave us a sprouter for Christmas last year. Awesome. So here I am. A sprouter [as of three days ago]!

Did you know there are pages and pages of information/research touting the benefits of sprouts? For example, did you know that there are 10 to 100 times more enzymes in germinated grains and beans than in raw fruits and vegetables? Sprouts abound with antioxidants, they are full of protein, chlorophyll, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. When a seed sprouts, stored food & enzymes needed for growth of the mature plant are mobilized. Protein, carbohydrate & fat is broken down (pre-digested) to free amino acids, simple sugars & soluble compounds. Vitamins, including A, B-complex (B-12), C, E & K, increase to meet the growth needs of a young plant. For example, B-complex in wheat increases 600 percent, vitamin E triples & vitamin C increases six-fold. Vitamin C in a 100 gram serving of peas goes from 0 to 69 mg. in 48 hours! Essential minerals - calcium, magnesium, iron & zinc are supplied in organic form, "chelated" for better assimilation.

So now I'm asking myself, "why haven't I been eating/feeding my kids sprouts all along?" I think I thought it was complicated. Apparently it isn't.

This is the sprouter I have. Three days ago I put in 1/4 c quinoa [that's quinoa - pronounced keen'wah - in the first photo] and filled it up with very warm water to soak for 3 hours [I set a timer because I knew I would forget]. When the beeper beeped, I emptied the water, put on the lid and sat it on  the counter. It's called the EasySprout and it's supposed to speed up the process. 24 hours later this is what they looked like [I put some in a jar so you could see them better + I love the photos you'll see in the link below. I wanted some of my own]. My kids love them. I want to try beans next. I love bean sprouts in stirfry.

Don't have a sprouter? Here's a great link to a very simple + kid friendly sprout project. All you need is a mason jar, breatheable fabric [like cheesecloth or a piece of a pair of old nylons], a mason jar ring and, of course, seeds. But not the kind you buy for the garden. Those typically have stuff on them.

In comparison the only real difference is time. With the jar you have to rinse the sprouts 1-2 times per day while the sprouter claims the airflow is such that it's not necessary to rinse at all. It also claims that my quinoa sprouts will be ready in 12-24 hrs, but Whole Living says quinoa takes 2 days in a jar. I suppose there is one more difference: You probably have everything you need to start sprouting in your house right now [wheat berries/lentils/black eyed peas/pinto beans, etc], but you would have to order a sprouter if you wanted one - there are endless options available.

What does one do with sprouts anyway?
•Add to tossed salads
•Use in coleslaw
•Try in wraps and roll-ups
•Stir-fry with other vegetables
•Blend with vegetable juices
•Stir into soups or stews when serving
•Top omelet or scrambled eggs
•Add to sushi [because, you know, we eat that all the time :)]
 
Enjoy!


ps. Want to know more? Here's a great link with tons of info about sprouting at home.

pss. the photo above shows the stage we ate them in. I read somewhere that the most nutritional stage is 1/4 roots. I'm not convinced that what I'm seeing is roots. I'm working on doing more research to see how to go about getting them into the bigger great on a sandwich stage. The sprouting at home link in the postscript is the place to learn it I think. Just a matter of time.

Make It Do

So... Apricots. Did you know the apricot is a native of China and has been cultivated for over 4,000 years? Today, the United States produces close to 90% of the world’s apricots, most being grown in California. Apricots are an excellent source of betacarotene (vitamin A) and also provide vitamin C, iron, potassium, and fiber.


I am of the opinion that the best thing to do with apricots is to make jam. And as far as jams go, apricot is one of the easiest. Right up there with strawberry. A couple of weeks ago my grandpa called and said he had some apricots if I wanted them. Um, yes please. Fast forward 38 half-pints later and I've got a few things to say about jam making.

The instructions that come in the pectin box are lame divided into two sections, laid out so as to accomodate many types of fruit and include both jam and jelly instructions. Translation: I messed it up. Every time. If you tend to get overwhelmed with too much information and resort to skimming instructions until you feel like you have the gist of it [like someone else I know] I suggest translating the recipe portion into a simplified form like this:

1. In a large sauce pan mix X cups pitted + chopped apricots with 1/X c lemon juice. Gradually stir in pectin*. Add up to 1/2 tsp butter to reduce foaming if desired. Over high heat bring mixture to full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir constantly.
2. After the fruit/lemon juice/pectin have reached full rolling boil stir in entire measure of sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to full, rolling boil. Boil hard X minute(s). Stirring constantly.
3. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Proceed with preserving instructions.

I'm not going to get into the preserving instruction. Basically it's hot jam into hot jars topped with hot lids + process for however long it tells you to depending on what you're preserving. If you would like more information + a video to get you started go here.

*A word about pectin. There are way too many different kinds. For this project I compared two:  Ball Original and MCP Premium. They are both 100% natural fruit pectin, both are in powder form, they call for the same amounts of fruit per batch, and they both make jam.

As far as differences go, one word pretty much sums it up. More. and not necessarily in a good way. The first thing I noticed was that although they call for the same amounts of fruit the MCP recipe calls for twice as much lemon juice and 1 c more sugar per recipe. Also, after adding the sugar the MCP boil time is 4 minutes vs. 1 minute for Ball. I always add the butter to reduce foam [+ I think it gives a little bit of flavor - though that might just be wishful thinking] the Ball recipe hardly foamed at all and I didn't feel the need to skim anything. The MCP recipe had loads of foam. I could have had an additional jar processed with what I skimmed in foam [ps. don't toss the foam! Even though there's too much air for it to preserve well, it tastes good spread on toast etc. so put it into a bowl or jar to put in the fridge].  The batches I made with MCP also set up way more than I like. Probably because of the longer cook time.

Recap:
MCP = more lemon juice, more sugar, more time, more foam, and more set. Ball won this contest. Anybody compared Ball to another brand? I'm curious.

My intent for this post is to show that anyone can make jam. And I don't think you really have to be uptight about it. I've made huge amounts [multiple batches all in the same night] and small amounts when I barely squeaked by with enough fruit and got 6 or 7 half pints out of it. I'm a winging it kind of girl and I fairly stink at following instructions. I've messed up more batches of jam than you can imagine. We always eat it and it always tastes good. If it seals properly it even keeps for a year or two. This time I insisted on mixing everything together before cooking. Every single batch. Even though I realized on the first batch that I wasn't supposed to. Hmm. They're fine. They're more than fine, they're yummy. A little too set up for my taste - I like my jam slightly runny - but they sure taste good.

So there you go. Make some jam. Do. It's incredibly empowering + satisfying to store up foods that you've prepared yourself. I love looking at my jars of jam. I smile every time.

ps. There are so many  things to be made + preserved using apricots. Bottle them, dry them, make fruit leather. My mother-in-law bottles the blended up apricots and calls it nectar. She mixes it with orange juice for breakfast. It's yummy!

Make It Do

I know, I know. I promised apricots. I will get to those, but first I want to talk about cake. Because we’ve been having a lot of cake around here lately. Birthday cake to be more specific. My mom was the queen of special cakes. I remember very distinctly some of the cakes she made + decorated: Beehives, Carebears + Barbies [the 3D kind], flashlight, spaceship, guitar, Mickey Mouse… etc. For the past 9 years I’ve been trying to be a cake queen as well. I just don’t have the patience for it. Admittedly my technique has greatly improved over the years and I feel like I could accomplish the task if I could only 1. Stop procrastinating and 2. Enjoy the process for longer than 5 minutes. This year I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s just not me. Hallelujah!

Last week for the girls birthday I attempted multi-tasking the birthday cake. The end of the month came very quickly [again] and I needed projects to turn in + it was a last minute/throw together sort of party. Hence the birthday banner. Hence the store bought cake. It was the obvious solution. Surprisingly, I found myself actually enjoying the party. I haven’t really enjoyed a birthday party for… oh, I’d say nine years or so. Hmm.

[This number painting I did was 100% inspired by Katie Daisy]

This week we had another birthday. He’s nine. He’s indecisive. He’s 100% my child. Yesterday he said he wanted a Star Wars cake and I said, “Little late for that. How about I pick up a cake at the store and paint a fancy paper “9” to put on top of it?” Project approved. Nice.

Make it do. That’s what this is all about. I have these dreams of pretty. I have this need to put my hands in things. I was failing miserably. I was not enjoying. Today I have officially adopted two new habits/traditions:

1. Buy a cake at the store. My time is worth $15. My sanity is worth $15. Enjoying my child’s birthday? I can’t put a price on that. I wish I had realized this sooner. If you are a maker and feel like you have to put your hands in things, make something to put on it.

2. Have a pre-party photo shoot. I never would have thought of this on my own. It happened quite by accident. Last week I did it to get photos for the gallery. This week I did it for good light. This week I realized that it’s brilliance. I sat him down + forced him to sit through a photoshoot. He was goofy and sometimes infuriating, but we took lots of photos and got some really cute and fun ones. I was able to move things around. I was able to say, “how about you look at me instead of the floor?” We lit his candles + he blew them out just for me. I was able to get up in his face. I loved it. I took more photos at the party. They are fun, but my favorites are when I was teasing him about looking at the camera and he was making obnoxious faces at me. The cake looks pretty. The lighting is perfect. I wasn’t worried about the flow of the party. And I was able to do this because I wasn’t near tears in the kitchen trying to throw together a Star Wars cake. Happy Birthday indeed.

Make It Do

I've decided to start a new regular [or semi-regular at least :)] installment here. We have loads of self reliance projects on the back burner and I feel like they've consumed my brain. That, coupled with the fact that this blog is somewhat neglected [for lack of illiteration on my part - I honestly feel like my brain is melting] I thought a new series/weekly installment on what we are doing to become more self reliant might just liven up the little space. Make like we're actually still present and accounted for. Ideally you will find it both useful and interesting. Here's to hoping!

Up first: A large box of apricots. Check back...Thursday? Yes. Thursday sounds just fine I think.

ps. If you have anything you would like to see here or would like to share a something you do/ have done to be more self reliant [guest blogger anyone?] let me know. I'm very open :).

pps. Bonus points to anyone who knows where the title came from!