Sweet Potatoes and Kale with Quinoa

Sweet Potatoes and Kale with Quinoa

This is our new favorite fall dish. If you have not tried quinoa yet, I strongly urge you to do so. It is really not a grain (related to spinach) and is powerhouse of nutrients. The slivered almonds give the dish a hearty crunch. Even the 3 year old really likes it! This meal serves four as a side dish, or two as the main meal.

Ingredients:

3/4 c quinoa

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 small sweet potatoes cut into small cubes

1/3 c slivered roasted and unsalted almonds

3 cloves of garlic

4 c of kale leaves (stems and ribs discarded) in 2" pieces

1 c of vegetable broth

Instructions

1) Place quinoa and 1 1/2  cups of water in a small sauce pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until water is absorbed, about 12 minutes

2) Heat oil in a sautee pan with lid 

3) Add sweet potatoes and slivered almonds and stir occasionally for 5 minutes

4) Turn heat down a touch and cover the pan - you do not want the slivered almonds blackened, and this will help as the oil dissapates. occasionally lift the lid and stir. until potatoes are almost soft. about 5 more minutes.

5) Take off the lid, add the garlic stir gently for 1 minute

6) Add the veggie broth and the kale. Stir gently and often for the next 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the kale has wilted and cooked down. 

7) Serve with quinoa and enjoy

Vegetable Dumplings with Steamed Peas and fresh Carrots

Vegetable Dumplings with Steamed Peas and fresh Carrots

Thai Goyza Vegetable Dumplings (Trader Joes)

Soy Dipping Sauce

Carrot Sticks (fresh)

Green peas

It is not often that we make ready-to-eat food, but when we do, it most often comes from Trader Joe's. This is one of those dinners.  This is our go to, quick, got home late, no food production meal. Bee is not a huge fan of the dumplings (only has one) but fills up on the carrot sticks and peas (preferring hers frozen). We have a bamboo steamer and use our steamer pot to create a three layer steamer to get the cooking done in one pot at the same time. We put the peas on the bottom and then two layers of dumplings in the bamboo steamer above. Cooking them this way seems to take about 20 minutes. Then we take some carrots and slice them into spears. Since we are not frying the dumplings the carrots add a little satisfying crunch.  Our recipe makes about heaping 2/3 cup and is plenty for left over (we use it to marinate tofu) if you want just enough, for the one dipping meal, try half the recipe. It can last in the refrigerator for two weeks. 

Soy Dipping Sauce
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup green onions  or chives, sliced
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp chili oil 

Combine all into a bowl with a lid and then cover and shake before serving.

Diet and Nutrition: Learning to eat like my daughter

Having my daughter has been the healthiest thing I have done in my life! I have been doing a lot of research on diet and nutrition since her birth and I have have never before been so motivated to make sure our family is eating correctly. I now see this as my most important job.

So you know where I am coming from, let me step back and give you a (long) glimpse into how food was viewed while I was growing up. On my mothers side I come from a line of boxed processed food, soda pop, fast food and everything down the sweet and salty snack isles. On my fathers side, I saw the opposite end of the spectrum, growing up on a farm rubbed off on him; it was whole fruits and vegetables and meats from the butcher shop (that was taken there by him to be butchered!). Surprisingly, my dad and mom both stayed with their preferred ways of eating throughout their marriage. Funny, I never really gave a thought to my dads way of eating. Why would you want almonds off the tree when you could get a can of sweetened roasted salted almonds from the store! And  "really, you want a sandwich with mayonaise and bacon bits?" to which I replied "YEAH."

I was truly my mothers daughter in the food area! I did not have my first food Aha moment until the end of college. I was living in an apartment with a roommate and I went to the store to stock up on soda because there was a super sale. As a college kid with little pocket money - this was a BIG deal. I was in the isle lining up the bottles and cans in my cart, filling it to the brim. I was so excited because I was getting such a good deal and I would have enough to last almost a month before buying more!  I am not sure what made me do it, but I became aware of the other carts around me. No one else was stopping or appeared to be taking advantage of the mega deal.  What was wrong with them, I thought to myself.

That night at dinner I remember talking to my roommate pointing out my super deal sleuthing powers and pointing out how the store had plenty left, and that I didn't see the people at the store stocking up. Come to find out my roomie grew up on drinking water and that the soda slurping in large liter-at-a- time cups was new.  Water, eh?  Funny, however, that a year after that conversation with funds pinched to the brim I finally decided if most people drink water (free!) then I would give it a try. Armed with a Brita filter (college town water for the most part does not taste good!) I jumped on the water band wagon. And that was it, the conversion from soda to water had happened. And while through my twenties an occasional soda would find its way into my hand, it was only when I was offered at conventions, parties etc. Over time, as I started to come back from my own financial brink, my taste for soda had changed.

For the majority of my life I had been vegetarian (without knowing it had a name). I guess it stems from making friends with the pig that all of a sudden became pork chops on the table. Thus, meat was not my friend. Until I met my husband. He was huge into all things meat and cheese. Slowly the need to have meat in the house and sometimes cook meat (ugh) came to be a normal ocurrance. However, slowly the all-things-meat guy switched over to my side. But he left behind a lady who now enjoys an occasional burger, or filet migion.  I have added a touch of meat to my diet and every once in a great while even crave a burger.

So, that left lots of fruit and vegetables, right? Not hardly! Up until four years ago I had a very bread, and dairy heavy diet with nuances of veggies and fruits and with fast food as at least three times a week.

Then came Bee. Since she was born she has been a mostly organic, mostly vegan, mostly no-refined sugar, mostly no processed food infant,baby,toddler and preschooler. At the beginning it was easy to still eat the way we did with no changes. We knew the importance of healthy food on small bodies and wanted to give Bee the right start. But, as Bee got older it was clear that we would have to walk the walk as well. Having started with Bee it was easy to see next steps occurring without trying I would eat more fruits and veggies because that is what I remembered to buy at the store for Bee's meals.

Then in 2009 came the hubby's Aha moment. A friend recommended a book called "The China Study." Where they have a long term study of people in asia they followed and correlated animal product with heart disease and cancer. My hubby did some extra research and determined that the conclusion was reasonable and acceptable and subscribed to the theory that animal products in the level we as americans eat them today is not good for our bodies. Then and there, he cut out everything meat and dairy. I read the book as well, but I was too attached to butter, cheese and milk to make that switch. It was here we switched out cow milk for soy milk for things like cereal. But, not for me. cow milk was essential for hot cocoa and soy was just not a substitute.

Then in 2010, I watched the utube video "The Bitter Truth." It was eye-opening enough to decide that my box of hot tamales in the cupboard had to go. I know there are criticisms to this video but for simplification sake, I understand where the author was going and why. You cannot imagine how excited I was that I had given up the soda-aholic phase of my life a decade earlier! This video and the subsequent knowledge seeking that followed had the outcome of being first thing that really caused me to take note of my own diet and for no other reason than my own health. Now, I will be the first to confess, I have a sweet tooth a mile wide. Yet, after about six months I was able to really cut it down. It must take you to get to your thirties before you discover you are responsible for your own health!  I think the candy companies started to suffer a loss after I made this switch! However it was not just candy and sweets for sweet sake, but processed food. The aftershock of this was the decrease in processed food (again only for the adults) as the hidden sweeteners lurking.

As I was on my way to outing the lurking sugars from our food, I found some sources that pointed to carcinogens in processed food preservatives and ingredients and while I scanned every ingredient of Bee's food I was less careful with my own, until this point. And, it was this that really did a number on the stuff in the pantry. Where stuffing mix, and regular ketchup, numerous types of crackers and chips had residence before, were slowly transitioned to cases of vegetable broth, dried beans, dried fruits, a very few cereals that passed our test, and the occasional cracker with few ingredients and 1% or less sugar. This alone was quite a change.

And in 2011 it is time for Bee and me to start switching away from dairy. One day I was reading a story to Bee about how cheese is made. For some reason that really stuck in my mind. All of a sudden I was caught with the question "why do we as humans drink cow milk?" Is it necessary? Is there a reason that milk is necessary. In the end my reasoning was that it is not necessary. And so there should be no reason for us to be drinking it. Then concerned with my morning cocoa again, discovered coconut milk. Now used almost exclusively in our household in places where dairy is called for in smoothies, and baked goods. This happened very quickly. One day I was downing two cups of milk in my morning cocoa and the the next no cow milk at all.  For Bee, the change has not been as sudden (an enthusiastic milk drinker) but I have noticed that without handing her a glass of milk with every meal as a part of preparing a meal (and not seeing me reach for milk), she herself, has decreased the amount of milk she drinks; from 12 ounces a day (without fail because we wanted to make sure she was not getting too much) to now 0-4 ounces a day over the course of a month.

It really amazes me the evolution of diet and nutrition for our family. What I wanted to stress is that we do not come by this almost vegan lifestyle by upbringing, but through learning and adjusting over the course of our own lives. I never really gave much of a thought to what I ate (even when I thought I did) until I had Bee. And since then my own quest for knowledge has led the way. So, yes, they may have covered all this in high school, but I was not listening.

So if there is anyone still reading to this point. I say all of this to give you the knowledge that changing diet does NOT happen over night. The path to liking kale has taken two decades! When I thought even at point-of-gun I would never be caught without at least four pounds of different cheeses in my refrigerator, not only was I wrong, but I never imagined I would willingly make the switch of my own free will.

The recipes you will find here are mostly vegetarian, not-quite vegan and very, very low added sugar.

Rice art bottles

Activity for the day. After making the colored rice Bee spent a good portion of the morning yesterday transferring the dry rice to jars. Today, I thought we would continue the theme and make rice art bottles. 

For those thinking of making some rice, you can see our post from yesterday on how to make it, here. Also, it seems you want about 5 cups of rice per child to make two rice art containers (depending on the size of the container of course. we used about 4 cups today) if you scale this up for a play-date activity or classroom. I used a recycled fancy dipping oil bottle and a pasta jar (the type with cork tops) we had around the house. I used one with the larger opening first so Bee could get the hang of it, see the layers, and practice her transferring by hand, spoon, funnel, or ladle. Then we worked on the glass with the small opening. 

               

Making Colored Craft Rice

I have been wanting to do a colored sand bottle project with Bee. But, I am not a fan of sand for projects because of the silica dust found in craft sand. Finally, I was able to meld idea together from a colored macaroni bucket activity I had seen in a classroom I visited. I could color rice! The rice could be used for transfer buckets, hide and find bottles, AND colored bottle art (to name a few). If you can dye macaroni, you can dye rice, right?

The web abounds when searching for dyeing items, and even for rice! There were a few places I found that I used for inspiration but either the volume, or the process seemed a bit off. So, below is what I did to color the rice. Here is the summary: Soak rice briefly in colored vinegar, then dry.

What you need:

• Wide Mouth Jars with lids (for as many colors as you plan on using at one time) and big enough to hold the rice. Really any jar will do as long as you are able to get the rice in and out of it.
• Rice (enough for 1 cup of each color you will be doing)
• Food coloring
• Vinegar
• Strainer
• Cookie/baking sheets
• Newsprint

How To:

1. Preheat oven to 170 (or the lowest it will go)
2. Put newsprint on the cookie sheets (I was able to put two colors on a full sheet pan)
3. Pour 1/2 cup Vinegar into a Jar (that has a lid)
4. Drop food coloring drops into the vinegar and swirl to make uniform color. I used 4 drops for each solid color, and then used double the amount called for on the back of the food coloring box for pink (rose), orange, etc.
5. Pour 1 cup of rice into a jar, close the lid and shake until rice is uniform in color.
6. Repeat to do all the colors you plan on making.
7. Take the first container and dump into the strainer. Use a little water to get the rest of the rice grains out of the jar and shake to remove the excess dye/vinegar.
8. Dump the strainer of rice onto the newsprint covered baking sheet and spread out a little by hand. It does not need to be in a single layer, but the more spread out it is the faster it will dry.
9. Once the baking sheet has all the rice you plan on putting on it, place it in the oven.
10. Repeat with all the other dye jars, place on baking sheets and put in the oven.
11. After about 30 minutes pull out the baking sheets and move the rice around a little by hand. At this point you can turn off the oven and let the colored rice sit over night as I did, or keep the oven on until dry.
12. Once dry store in containers until use.

Lessons learned:

Chartreuse is my most favorite color on dyed eggs. This color does not seem to work as well with rice.

Want to make more rice at a time? It Looks like a quart mason jar can hold 2 (or more) cups of rice - the conversion for two cups of rice would be 1 cup of vinegar, 8 drops of solid color or quadruple the color recipe on the back of the box.

The Process in Pictures:Vinegar and color in jars

Rice added to jars

The coloring process

Rice drying in the oven

All done

Where do we start (School)?

My daughter, Bee, is 3 1/2 and as of a few months ago we have decided to start a homeschool environment for her through her preschool years starting this fall. So far, I have been motivated towards the Montessori teaching methods. I also have a newly finished room in the basement that will accommodate this school room for the time being.

During the spring I had the opportunity to do a "Mommy and Me Montessori" experience. This really brought the idea of education onto my "to do" list. From this I was able to watch the interaction with the teachers, explore the room, and learn more about Montessori and their way of learning. I very much enjoyed the child directed work and the individual pace of learning allowed to each child. My husband and I felt that maybe we would be best served by sending our daughter to the school, and for a few months, we felt we had crossed this "to do" item of our list.

During the summer, our daughter had her first three hour camp with the same school. This was the first time she was away from us for any length of time. For more on this you can see my other post on breaking away. While the Montessori teaching method was much more to our liking, I think we let our guard down in a couple of areas. First, the nutrition guidelines we follow are not mainstream (yet) and we did not like the idea that she would be different from the others. Second, while the small class sizes initially attracted us to the school - the classroom would still have 25 children in it (there are just more teachers in the same room). So, discovering these concerns, we decided to table the discussion. Preschool is voluntary after all.

I did a little research in the local area as to homeschooling co-ops to see if any one had a montessori based curriculum - but I was out of luck. Again, the topic was tabled. At this time it was my thinking that I could not do it alone so I would need a coop to help and to socialize.

Over the summer a friend, who lives overseas, and I began talking about the subject of education and what the next steps will be for our children. She is under more pressure where she is as most children enter school at two (the country culture prizes rigorous academic standards from the beginning.)

She and I came to the conclusion that we could give our children a good primer just by teaching the basics at a level they could understand and mostly through play. She led me to a great blog post on toddler activity trays from the Sun Scholars blog. It was here that the can of worms was opened. And, from here, this turned into a more full recognition of path I was on.

At this point there is not a day that goes by that I do not feel excited at the prospect of getting to teach my daughter and watch her grow and develop in an academic sense. There is also not a day that goes by that I am not feeling frightened about the prospect of teaching her something wrong, or not knowing the answer to a question, or the idea "what if I am not a good teacher."

From the assumption that we would send our daughter to a school (and probably starting at the preschool age) at the beginning of the year to assembling the bones of a school room we have come a long way and we have a long way to go!

Breaking Away from Mommy-and-Me

Our daughter has been with us since she was born. We had moved away from immediate family and friend networks. So when Bee was born we were pretty much on our own. A couple hour stints with Grammy excepting, Bee was always with either me or my husband.

For socializing and being around other children, I had many classes I went to with Bee; swimming, music, gymnastics, art, sign language - you name it. But these were all Mommy and Me. What do you do when all of a sudden they turn a certain age (in our case three years old) and there is no more Mommy in the class?

I do not know how I came up with the plan, but timing could not have worked out better. Bee would start by having a short 30 minute swimming class on her own at three, then later the next month her Kindermusik class would transition to be by herself and finally a month later, a three hour summer camp with the folks at Montessori.

To ease the separation anxiety I had planned the transition to make sure we had mommy and me classes at all three places prior to the switch which in my opinion made all the difference. When she went to each class, she already knew the location, teacher, and how the class progressed prior to a class on her own. We did run into a little trouble with our fisrt attempt when the swim teacher demanded I go sit behind the glass on the far end of the pool area which I was not expecting. During the next class I was then allowed to sit next to the pool which worked just fine. I brought a book and tried not to look or pay too much attention to what was going on which I think made the teacher feel more at ease and allowed Bee to know I was there, but not be interacting with her. Each class she did better and better.

Our next "on our own" class was Kindermusik, a beginning music and movement class which I cannot advocate enough. We have been attending these classes since Bee was 1 year old and she just loves it. This class was on her own and I was out of the room without a viewing area. The first day she asked for me a couple times. It turns out that enlisting your child to help with the solution really does help. The next class, I talked with Bee and she said she would feel more secure if I left my bag in the room that way she KNEW I would be back. Evidently, I do not go anywhere without my bag. I would have never thought of that!  She did just fine with no worry about where I was. She helped me decide where to put my bag in the classroom and we got there early enough to read a book together before the instructor asked for the books to be put away. I said goodbye and she was already off onto helping with the books.

Last, we had a three hour summer camp hosted by the Montessori School. This was the big test. The drop off is at the door with an instructor or helper coming out to get the child. The school threw a small wrench when a person neither of us had seen before came to get Bee from the car on the first day. It compounded when the lady said the instructor we knew was not there that day. But I reminded Bee that she knew the location and would know the instructor when she came back the next day. After a few tears and an unwillingness to leave the car, I simply asked Bee if she could show the new instructor to the classroom she was supposed to be in. At that moment she got right out of the car and took the new instructors hand, and walked her (presumably) to the room with the red circle by the door! By the end of the week after we had cycled through all the possible helpers that would take her and bring her back to the car, she was even forgetting to say goodbye!

I think the experience where we planned for increased independence (and decreasing amounts of my presence) worked for us and could not have worked out better. And as a closing thought, it is true what seasoned parents say. I think it was much harder for me than it was for her!

As I write this post and have a general feeling that we had this separation issue tackled I realize this is not quite over. What will we do now once we start totally new classes with new locations, teachers and programs? 

Here and Now

Here begins what I hope to be a chronicle my adventures with home schooling, cooking, gardening and otherwise raising my 3-year old daughter, nicknamed Bee, in the place we now call home.

I did not initially set out to be a stay at home mom, or a teacher, but as I have had the opportunity to watch my daughter develop it has inspired me to continue along this path.

Why Mulberry Junction?

To the north side of our home we have trees separating the neighboring properties. This year we (that is to say my daughter) discovered part of this stand contains Mulberry trees. So far, for the four years we have lived here, I was unaware as to why deer kept meandering up the hill by our house at the edge of the trees. Bee, my nature lover,  discovered the berries one afternoon.  If it involves being outside or eating (or even better - eating outside) nothing can stop her. She devoured countless containers of the berries over the three week berry period!

A junction is a point where two or more things are joined. The story of the Mulberry trees is just one of those moments I had where I realized how amazing children are and how precious and important a parents role is in their lives. This adventure (down to this blog) would not exist if it was not for the wonderful little person who has joined our family.