Footloose Family

Maya in the Plaza

2010-12-10T03:19:00.001-05:00

Yesterday, while I was talking with my aunt from a coffee shop in a nearby plaza (in Valencia, Spain where we've been for the past several weeks), Maya and Noah were chasing pigeons and otherwise playing. Maya spent a particularly extended time belting out some adorable made up song from the church steps…she was singing for probably upwards of 20 minutes. About 2 minutes after we walked away she looked into my eyes and asked me very seriously “mommy, was I singing beautifully” and I replied “well, I loved hearing you sing”….which she took as affirmative, though her ability to carry a tune is highly questionable…she then continued “but, if I was singing so wonderfully, why didn’t anyone give me any money?” At which point she opened her fist to reveal the coins (tip) that she had spirited from my table at the coffee shop (I had paid and tipped when I ordered), which she had been jingling as she was singing, as the beggars/ buskers do all over town.

Valencia

2010-11-30T03:04:00.002-05:00

I know when Haim asked us to accompany him to Valencia he pictured his family strolling the old quarter with him, stopping for tapas after a long day's work, bundling together and snuggling to keep warm from the chill....The reality is more constant middle-of-the-street tantrums from Maya, a scary (we went to the Dr, he's fine), rattling cough from Noah, and drizzly weather that really just makes you want to stay inside.
Needless to say, this has been a difficult adjustment emotionally for Maya, and Noah is battling a cold/ bronchitis and jetlag....thank goodness I had him going to bed at 7 in Miami, so he only stays up till about 1am here...yesterday was better, though.
With Haim's first day at the office, the kids and I started finding our rhythm, Maya had only 2 minor tantrums, and Noah was asleep by 11:45. Maybe it won't even drizzle so much today!

Park time

2010-11-10T15:07:00.001-05:00

Maya's 4th birthday

2010-11-09T22:57:00.003-05:00

Maya turned 4 today. The day started with her waking up to crepe paper decorations all over the house (I love decorating with crepe paper), and a gift to open from me. We then took a walk downtown to the grocery for some last minute party supplies. At around 11, 4 friends came over for some crafts, cake and chocolate fondue, and some play time in the yard.

After a bit of a rest, Eve and Frank came over to play with Maya and her gifts (Maya was getting a bit frustrated with Noah's "helping" her play) while Noah and I went to get Haim from the airport. The evening ended with a family dinner of Maya's favorite, macaroni and cheese, and of course, birthday cake.

Nature Class

2010-11-08T12:07:00.001-05:00

Chicken Patrol

2010-11-07T22:49:00.002-05:00

This morning I was doing dishes around 6 am and I noticed one of the bunnies running really crazy figure 8's in the yard...I watched for a bit, and then stepped outside to see if there was any particular reason for the behavior, but I didn't notice anything. Several minutes later, as I was finishing my task, I noticed several of the chickens had flown over the fence of the chicken yard, and into the main area...about 5 of them were in a U shape with a large grey cat at the center...but these birds were not afraid in the least....instead, they were escorting a slinking cat off of the property. I was in shock...and of course proud of my girls....that's probably what was driving the bunny crazy...it was only about 15 minutes later that I realized I had missed a great photo-op.

At the rodeo

2010-11-06T22:40:00.002-04:00

Yes, we do have rodeo in South Florida...

Halloween

2010-10-31T18:04:00.000-04:00

Noah turns 1!

2010-10-23T21:05:00.000-04:00

Yard work

2010-10-19T16:14:00.001-04:00

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-18T12:26:00.001-04:00

Our Street

2010-10-13T07:54:00.001-04:00

A while ago we planted trees up and down the street we live on...

Hanging out

2010-10-09T17:53:00.000-04:00

Sidney's Birthday

2010-09-26T15:43:00.001-04:00

Puff's release

2010-09-20T10:09:00.002-04:00

The only chicken which we ever really considered a pet (as opposed to beloved and respected farm animal) was Puff, a polish crested named for the yellow puff-ball on his head when he was a chick.... problem was, if you re-read the last sentence, is that Puff turned out to be a "he"....a rooster that is. As Puff hit puberty, his presence threatened to out us, and our flock of "illegals." While I'm generally not opposed to eating our animals, since Puff had "pet" status, I had pro missed Maya that we would not eat him....however I was also having a hard time adopting him out, and a friend who was planning to process and eat him had a hard time connecting with me to pick him up.

What to do with Puff??

Well, our local Costco happens to have a flock of feral chickens...mostly roosters actually...so I finally decided that this would be the best, and fastest solution for Puff. He was released into the company of a lovely bantam hen with 3 chicks, and about 6 other roosters.

Little Marci

2010-09-19T23:46:00.000-04:00

Enjoying Left Overs

2010-09-09T07:17:00.000-04:00

Rosh Hashanna dinner

2010-09-08T20:38:00.000-04:00

Maya and Carla

2010-09-05T17:51:00.000-04:00

Central Park Zoo

2010-08-30T16:18:00.000-04:00

Chocolate Cupcake

2010-08-29T17:05:00.000-04:00

Noah "finger painted"

2010-08-27T07:11:00.000-04:00

Tubing down the Ichetucknee

2010-08-22T17:09:00.000-04:00

Water Park day!

2010-08-21T15:06:00.001-04:00

2010-08-15T15:10:00.000-04:00

2010-08-01T13:22:00.000-04:00

Up up and away

2010-07-31T21:52:00.000-04:00

2010-07-31T20:54:00.000-04:00

Miranda's Wedding

2010-07-31T20:22:00.000-04:00

Getting ready for the wedding

2010-07-31T13:50:00.000-04:00

2010-07-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

Summer Swimming

2010-07-14T23:12:00.000-04:00

2010-06-10T16:09:00.000-04:00

Beach Babies

2010-06-08T08:33:00.003-04:00

I finally made mozarella

2010-05-30T09:16:00.002-04:00

I got inspired to make cheese about 2 years ago....I order the supplies and brought them with me to Nicaragua where we had rented a house. By the time I located a milk supply, we had had enough of Nicaragua, and were back on the way to the US...months elapsed, we took off for more travel, and then we returned to the US, but I was pregnant with Noah, and then he was born, and....
Long story short, I never made any cheese! So, I now have a great milk supply from North Florida with a weekly delivery not too far or cumbersome, and I had a gallon I wanted to use up....so Maya and I made 30 minute mozzarella. So fun and easy! And I'd bet tasty too, though I can't confirm that until this afternoon.Next I guess I'll see if any of my cultures are still good (2 years not temp regulated....I'll cross my fingers) and maybe do some sour cream or kefir...

Summer fun

2010-05-27T17:19:00.000-04:00

The kids have been enjoying watermelon on the deck...followed by a thorough spraying with the garden hose, which has water lightly warmed by the sun. It's officially hot enough to be summer!

Noah defends his food

2010-05-22T09:39:00.002-04:00

Noah takes his food VERY seriously...and nothing is going to get between him and his strawberries...not even a pack of hungry chickens. As they approached, Noah cluched his fruit and growled at them...eventually they backed off to wait in the grass for his scraps.

The Barbie-Bye Bye Boobie Cake

2010-05-21T18:28:00.002-04:00

Maya decorated the cake on her own....I helped with assembly and initial frosting, and then she (rightfully) kicked me out of the kitchen because I was being a bit too neurotic. We were both really pleased with the end result!

Weaning Party

2010-05-20T23:26:00.003-04:00

I have always wanted to let Maya end the nursing relationship when she was ready. I figure if I’ve given her this much, why not allow her to conclude the process (I’m sure she’ll want to move out one day, and then nursing will be logistically hard.) However, I do not like the mother I am lately, particularly towards her…very short fused, snappy and generally drained. Thus, last week I decided that it was time to begin the weaning process, though I was not sure how I would go about it. The following day, while at lunch with Maya and Marci, I mentioned the possibility of a weaning party...which Marci voiced enthusiastic endorsement of and Maya decided sounded like a good idea.
I have periodically suggested a weaning party over the last year, and until last week Maya always either looked at me as if I was insane or simply ignored me. In the car on the way home from lunch I came up with a plan...and Maya has not nursed since. It makes me sad that I did not know that Maya's last nurse would be her last; that I was not more mentally present for it. And the adjustment has included lost of tears for both of us...I'm sad that she's sad...she alternates between sad and angry...and just being silly about it too. But as the days have progressed, it seems easier, and tomorrow is the day of her party.
We designed and sent out an evite to several of her friends, she's chosen a cake which we are making, and we will take her to choose a special present this weekend too. I'm up, waiting for the cake to come out of the oven so that it can cool overnight and be ready for decorating in the morning. Maya did not ask to nurse to sleep tonight and is really excited for her big day.

2010-05-08T18:31:00.000-04:00

Celina, TN

2010-05-07T11:18:00.001-04:00

Camping in Ocala

2010-05-03T10:14:00.000-04:00

Yoga while camoing in Ocala

2010-04-30T15:40:00.000-04:00

Maya decided to teach me some moves

Eating toes

2010-04-25T16:25:00.001-04:00

Action shots of Maya and Noah participating in a newly discovered activity

2010-04-04T22:17:00.001-04:00

We spent a couple of gorgeous hours in the park with Jaffia, Wenzel and Sidney, plus a couple of their friends, and Maya participated in her first Easter Egg hunt; fun and chocolate all around!

Afternoon nap

2010-04-03T14:07:00.000-04:00

Beach Weather is Back

2010-03-31T21:06:00.000-04:00

If you are a tourist, it is beach weather year 'round here...however us locals are picky about going to the beach. The tingles of the oppressive summer heat are here, but that also brings lazy, breezy beach days. It's still too cold for me to go in the water, but the girls thought that the weather was perfect for sand castles.
And what's a better way to end a beach day than ice cream?

Garden work this weekend

2010-03-28T18:27:00.004-04:00

We've done a nice push in the garden this weekend. 8 new raised beds in the front, a long 3' wide veggie bed for a symbiotic hydroponic/ aquaculture system Haim is working on (like thi s), and a watering system for the front beds.
David came to work with Haim for half a day today, while Estelle and I did lots of passover cooking, including this yummy flourless chocolate cake.
I also picked some of the garden bounty for tomorrow's meal. Yum!

The chicks are 3 weeks old

2010-03-27T14:13:00.001-04:00

Time for a chicken update...
I have my 3 original Rhode Island Reds. We hatched 8 around the time that Noah was born...we processed the roosters, I just sold 3 hens for $25 a piece, and we have a RIR and an Amerucana from that group, who are now laying...for a total of 5 laying hens.
We received 27 chicks, and I sold 10...so now we have 17. 8 are Dark Cornish Hens (for the table), and then we have 8 layers (Dominique, Partridge Rock, Black Australorp, White Rock, Columbian Wyandotte, White Giant, Light Brahma) and a White Crested Black Polish just for fun!

They're getting big and currently living in a "chicken greenhouse" outside. It's a 4x4 structure made with 2x1s and bent PVC pipes to give it form, with a clear vented tarp for protection from the elements. The heat lamp keeps them warm at night, and it's got no bottom (like a chicken tractor) so that we can move it around and they can enjoy natural grit and fresh grass. I had them inside for about 2 weeks, but it was getting a bit stinky (musty chicken smell) and dirty for my taste.

2010-03-25T18:03:00.000-04:00

Noah eyes a tomato that's about the size of his head

"My mother told me I could"

2010-03-25T14:47:00.002-04:00

Every Thursday a couple of moms and I rotate park day. One mother stays with the kids, and the others have a couple of hours "free." Today was my day. Maya was playing with Lucy and Carla in the sandbox, and I asked Maya not to continue to do one of the things that she was doing. A couple of minutes later she was at it again.

"Maya, what are you doing??"
"My mother told me I could" (with a totally straight, non-ironic face)
.....check
"Maya, I'm your mother"
"No you're not....Lucy is my mother today"
....check mate!

What more could I say to such well reasoned logic?

Green eggs and ham...

2010-03-24T10:10:00.001-04:00

If we ate ham in the house....we could now serve green eggs and ham!
The small greenish one was laid by our hen..."affectionately" known as Stew-Pot. She's been one of our noisier girls, but she's an amerucana cross, looking mostly like amerucana...she was spared only in hope that she would lay tinted eggs...still noisy, but what cute eggs!

Minnie's Princess Dress

2010-03-22T15:27:00.000-04:00

Haim found some really cheap fabric in the "Scratch and Dent" section of Ikea. Maya wanted to use it to make a "minnie princess dress" like she saw on an old Mickey cartoon. This is what we came up with...and she happily wore it all day!

Sleeping in the swing

2010-03-16T12:49:00.001-04:00

Noah enjoyed the park just as much as Maya today.

How to sparkle

2010-03-10T13:38:00.004-05:00

Still working on Maya and Anael's dynamic...also, had a conversation with Lynn (beloved aunt and a practicing therapist in NYC) and she gave me a lot of conventional parenting advice...she was never a parent, but is a couples therapist, and tends to be pretty in tune...anyway, the advice was totally not applicable to our family, but I had an interesting dialogue with her as a result of the advice, and her referring to it as "real world" advice...

The thing about RU (Radical Unschooling or Natural Learning) type parenting (which we follow some of, but not all of) is that the idea is not how to correct and change the child’s personality or behavior, or punish them and teach them that certain feelings and emotions are not acceptable…but to give them the space and meet their emotional needs in a way that they can then self correct…a MUCH LONGER TERM process, but I think in the end much more internally motivated and rewarding, both to the individuals and the relationship.

Also, a focus on not what we want to be age appropriate, but what each individual is capable of at their age in their specific situation…these ARE real life lessons, if you are NOT in school, but in the loving care of parents/ family where you do have more freedom to know yourself and experiment with emotion…however, this will not apply to a schooled child, bcause their “real world” will not give them the time or space for the process to develop….it implies that our world is not real…and that children’s experiences NOW, in their real world, are not valid/ legitimate. I think it prepares a child to accept the status quo, rather than to actively attempt to shape the world around them…those are the first thoughts that come to mind. Also, the world at large, will give them enough “consequences”

I realize I cannot shield or control Maya's interactions with other children, relatives, employers, friends…but in my house she will know that if she mess up, can’t control her emotions, gets angry, gets excited…. whatever…. her experience will be met with love…and acceptance, and sometimes disappointment is she has done something disappointing to me…but that she will make her choices depending on the internal guidance that she has developed, not based on some external threat. That’s my desire in any case.

Also, there is a huge difference between not knowing how to say no to your child and what we are attempting to do…when Maya is “in trouble” or needs to be removed from a situation one of us goes with her…she is not rejected (by us) but sat with until she is able to handle the situation….but she knows it is not where she wants to be….it is a “punishment” for her…just like time out might be for another. We do set limits…but they are the “big ones” and we do try to meet the need behind the desire….

Yes…you can hit something if you’re mad….here’s a piece of wood, go hit the ground…not your friend.

Yes you can play with your food….inn the chicken yard so that they can eat it after your done.

There is always a yes somewhere in there if we can find it…

I think sometimes people confuse over permissiveness with RU...but what they are seeing in the inability to say no or disappoint their child is basically negligent parenting, not thoughtful construction of environment and relationship.

Also, we’ve been talking a lot with Maya about how beauty (something she relates to) is not only how you look, but how you act, and that being kind to others makes you beautiful and sparkly (another concept she loves) so when a fight is starting I’m saying “sparkly” and she’s starting to catch herself…my girl really likes the idea of being sparkly! Also about how she is the big girl so she has to walk away from the baby (Anael) when a fight starts…even if the baby “started it”….slowly….

chicken butts

2010-03-10T08:40:00.000-05:00

I've been way too intimate with chicken butts lately! Several weeks ago when I processed our roosters I had a first hand experience with a post-mortem projectile poo...and now I have baby chicks...which I have now learned means that I get to deal with "pasty butt"....and what is pasty butt you may want to know? Well, basically it is sticky chicken poo caused by shipping stress, lack of protein, and/or too much heat. However, the poo sticks to their butt or vent and if it is not cleaned off they can't poop and die. So, I've been examining chicken butts and cleaning them with a moist, warm rag several times a day for the last couple of days.

However, the peeps are doing great, 7 were delivered yesterday morning and another 2 are going to a friend today...which leaves me with 18 babies....yikes!

Babies!!!

2010-03-08T15:51:00.002-05:00

Non-stop conflict between Maya and Anael

2010-03-08T13:08:00.000-05:00

We are currently dealing with A LOT of conflict between Maya and her cousin Anael, who is staying with us (along with her parents) for the next couple of months... Maya, who tends to play fine with most children, has never acted out towards Noah, and is generally agreeable, kind, and generous (for a 3 year old) is really having problems with Anael (her cousin, who is 2) to compound things, they do not have a common language, so any communication must be non-verbal.

Anything that Anael touches (even if Maya is engaged in another activity) Maya tries to grab. It might be mine or Maya's or even Anael's...irrelevant... whatever she has, Maya grabs, and then Anael responds with violence and the mayhem must be controlled. The girls are never unattended, usually there are even 2 adults around. I'm generally of the "let them work it out" opinion, but Anael is bigger than Maya and bites and hits, and Maya scratches, so I'm a bit concerned about someone getting hurt. Also, the household just cannot go on like this for the next several months....

So, I've reached out to the Unschooling Basics group and have gotten the following feedback:

Its not uncommon for three year olds to want to take charge of their environment, and another child who's mobile can be a real challenge to that urge (which is likely why you're not seeing any trouble with the baby - he's not up and about yet)! Something that can help a whole lot is finding ways for your 3yo to have lots and lots of chances to make decsions and feel capable. Can she reach all the light switches? Pour her own drinks? Grab a snack without any help? get to all her own toys without asking? Also consider offering her things to do that involve learning to control her own body and exert control over the environment - give her things to pour and invite her to help wipe up spills and wash things. Involve her in cooking and other household tasks.

Does she have a space in the house that's just hers? That could help, too, if she has a sense that she can be the one to decide who comes in to that space or use the things in that space. In a sense, there's a whole other family in her space, right now, which is stressful for a little one. So things that weren't an issue before are more likely to blow up while they're visiting. If your dd seems to do better when you're out of the house, that's something else to try - taking her out more so she's not so keyed up about "her" home being full of other people.

and from another respondent:

It's hard to have someone else come into your house and take all your stuff. Can you go through her stuff, with her, and pick out the things that she really doesn't want to share with Anael? You two could figure out somewhere that she felt was a good place to have all the special stuff, including anything of yours that she thinks should be off limits, and put it up there. Then you can take it down in quiet, private moments and play with those things without Anael being present. Don't worry about this being an issue of being generous or not, figure out ways to meet Maya's need for her stuff to be her stuff and her home to still feel like her space. Maybe going out more would help. Make life more about public spaces than Maya's private space.

At 2 and 3 working it out themselves shouldn't be part of the picture. Step in and hang out and help distract. Talk to Maya about what would be fine for Anael to play with and have lots of those things to hand to distract Anael with if things are moving too quickly to conflict. 2 to 3 months is a long time, figuring out ways to buffer Maya as quickly as possible will help to make that time move more quickly.

I really like both responses, and it's giving lots of food for thought...and things to work on.

Chaos...and I seem to thrive with it!

2010-03-07T09:20:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, after 3 days of canceled flights, my husband's uncle arrived with his wife and child (2years). They are staying indefinitely, as long as Zvulon's dialysis goes smoothly. For now, they are staying with us...and 2 families in our large house still feels a bit cramped. Also, lots of conflict between Maya and Anael....but we love them dearly, and I am enjoying every moment of it...even if it feels like my head is about to explode most of the time.

Maya has been having a hard time sharing with Anael...which is strange since usually she is really good about that...so I had a talk with her, and asked her to please think of Anael as her sister, and to treat him as kindly and generously as she treat Noah...so she thought about it for a moment, and said "Ok, Mommy. When is my sister going home?" She never ceases to amaze me with her spunkiness and creativity!

So...we've been adjusting to a combined household for the last week, and I totally forgot that I was throwing a party tonight for the Oscars...luckily, I asked all of the guests to bring an appetizer to share, so Estelle (who is a great cook) and I will just prepare a little bit of food...I think she's doing some sweet and savory tarts, and I am doing carmel and spiced popcorn, in keeping with the whole movie/ Oscars theme.

And the excitement doesn't end tonight... tomorrow I'm hosting a meet up for attachment parents...we used to have meetings, but attendance dropped off and the meetings stopped, but there has been demand lately, so I decided to have one and see how it went...and then 25 baby chicks are coming on Tuesday! I think I have homes for 10 of them, and we will raise 15...10 for eating and 5 to add to the flock...While I make party food now, Haim is off to construct the brooder!

More chicks...a lot of them

2010-02-28T21:16:00.002-05:00

I just ordered 25 chicks for delivery next week. And what do I plan to do with a flock of 33 in a city where chickens are illegal? Well, I hope to sell some of the older ones, sell some of the babies, raise some of the babies for eggs, and raise some for meat. I originally had decided to purchase hybrid meat birds, but after reading about some of the leg problems associated with the fast growing tendencies, I just decided to get heritage breed chickens and eat some of them...

I'm looking forward to the babies, but not the work...last time my hen did the work!

Rooster processing

2010-02-24T07:59:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was the day that we "processed" (slaughtered) our roosters. There were 3 of them, and while they were a bit young for slaughter, they were old enough to crow, which makes them old enough to slaughter in my book. I very fortuitously found a man who was willing to help and teach me the process, in exchange for a share of the birds. I considered bringing Maya with me, but thought it might be too gruesome for a child her age, so in the end, Noah and I went, and Maya stayed to play with my mom.
In fact, it was really not gruesome at all. The birds were peaceful and the process very simple and respectful. I saved some of the beautiful tail feathers for art projects, and learned to kill and clean a bird. Art, who seems to be a mover and shaker in miami's urban homesteading community, was a wonderful teacher and a really great guy.
When I got home, Haim had the grill fired up, and Maya, Haim, Eli and I shared a delicious grilled chicken. The meat was different than what we usually get from the store...more sinewy and maybe "athletic" but really delicious and flavorful. The leftovers and bones are currently bubbling away on the stove as a chicken soup.
All in all, a really special experience, though I think I may be off store bought meat forever!

Garden

2010-02-22T23:49:00.003-05:00

Our tomatoes have recovered from the frost, though we did loose a bunch of blossoms....otherwise, radish, peas, lettuce, carrots and fennel doing particularly well. The herbs are always yummy and easy, and I've been experimenting with broccoli and cabbage, which got planted too late, but look good. For some reason, my squash and melons are grumpy...oh well, chicken food I guess!
However, my eggplant is beautiful, bushy and keeps getting and losing flowers. What is that about?? I can't find anything about it online. Maybe I'll ask a farmer when I'm down in Homestead with the roosters tomorrow!

Multicultural potluck party

2010-02-22T13:16:00.007-05:00

We have a lot of friends in Miami, and I am one of the few American-born (except for the kids) in the group....so I thought it would be fun to have a multicultural potluck.

Yesterday afternoon we had 7 families over. The countries represented were Barbados, England, Germany, Holland, Israel, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Peru, Spain, and Syria. Some of the yummy things we ate were a curry sausage, calabasa and beans with rice, lamb and green beans in spicy tomato sauce, pumpkin and pea soup, sausage beans and rice, lamb and eggplant tagine, and tortilla of potatoes. It was really yummy and fun, and most importantly we all enjoyed the giggles of the kids running around the back yard all evening!

Other excitement for the day consisted of Haim and I catching our 3 roosters (leaving us with 8 chickens) to send them to an acquaintance who will be teaching me how to "process" them tomorrow. I'm leaving Maya with my mom...I briefly considered bringing her, since it is important for me that she understand where her food comes from...on the other hand, probably too gruesome for a 3 year old....so I'm going to process with Noah, who will hopefully sleep through the grizzly bits. I'll be posting a pic of the rooster dinner later.

Perfect Pappardelle

2010-02-21T08:04:00.000-05:00

Oh how I wish I had taken a picture of our glorious meal!

Sunday night I was flipping through Bon Appetite, and wondering what I was going to cook for dinner.....i knew it would be something pasta related, since i try to cook a couple of vegetarian meals a week, and one of them is generally pasta meal.

So, long story short I came upon a recipe for fresh pappardellle pasta...(a long flat noodle) which looked easy...so I took a big gulp and decided to try.

(Back story: about 4 years ago, Haim and I decided to try to make pasta...it was a really difficult royal disaster. Shortly thereafter, my mom gifted us a pasta attachment for my mixer, but I was so scared from the first attempt that I never used it)

So, Haim was playing with Noah, and Maya and I began the recipe...it was easy and fun and wonderful and you could probably do the whole thing by hand, though a pasta attachment or machine will make it MUCH easier.

It was so yummy we just ate it (and it was A LOT of pasta) with salt and olive oil.

Here is the recipe which I halved, and modified a bit in the mixing...Also, it's a great recipe to do with kids...simple measuring, counting, mixing and kneading without too much mess. (Alone, the recipe will take about 5 minutes to mix, 5 to knead, and 20 or so to form the actual pasta....with kids, it might take hours!)

Fresh Pappardelle

3 eggs

3 egg yolks

3 T water

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3/4 t salt

Mix salt and flour in a medium bowl. Make a well and add eggs, yolks, and water. Mix with a wooden spoon, until fairly thoroughly mixed....though there might be some crumbly bits at the bottom. Add more water if necessary to moisten a bit, though this dough should not be very wet or sticky. Place dough on floured counter and knead until smooth. Wrap in plastic wrap (or put into an airtight container if you want to skip the plastic wrap) and let rest 45 minutes.

Unwrap and divide into 4 parts, but keep unused parts wrapped while you work.

Place each quarter on the counter and flatten to a 3 inch wide rectangle. Run through the pasta machine at the thickest setting several times, then change increase thinness setting and run through the machine several more times. Repeat until the pasta is about 1/16 inch thin. (this part would be cumbersome, but totally doable with a rolling pin, as long as you ensure that the pasta does not stick to your pin or the work surface. As you are rolling the pasta (by hand or machine) if it becomes too long to work with, cut in half, so that you are never working with more than 14-18 inches length.

Once your pasta is the desired thickness and length, set it aside to let it dry about 30 minutes, and then either cut into strips by hand or run through the noodle cutter on your machine. The pasta can be cooked immediately in well salted boiling water, or dried a bit more and chilled until ready to cook.

Lamb and Eggplant Tagine

2010-02-20T17:15:00.001-05:00

Getting ready for a multi cultural potluck....and I can't believe that I've never posted this recipe. It's one of my favorites, and I've even modified/ simplified it as well.

It's originally from the book Fresh Moroccan, but since I can't stand extra steps in the kitchen, or big messes, I've changed it a bit to simplify!

Eggplant and Lamb Tagine (for 4-6)

1 1/2 lbs lamb for stewing

1 large eggplant (or 2 medium)

1 large can whole tomatoes

olive oil

3-4 T water

pinch safron

1/2 t ground ginger

1/4 t ground coriander

2 garlic cloves, minced

3/4 t paprika (hot if you have the option between hot and sweet)

1/2 t tumeric

3/4 t ground cumin

1T chopped cilantro

1T chopped parsley

1/2 t sugar

1T lemon juice

Rub the lamb generously with salt (though do not over salt it) and let stand for 5 minutes in a small to medium pan with a lid. Add 1/2 t olive oil to the meat (unless there is a lot of fat trimmed from the meat, then you can just throw a small piece of fat in the pot) and cook about 1 minute on medium-high heat. Add the safron, ginger and coriander and stir well. Add water and simmer 1 hour, covered. (Check periodically that there is still a touch of water in the pan, if not, add more.)

Cut eggplant into 3/4 inch thick rounds and brush both sides with oil. Broil on low on cookie sheet, once the first side is browned and softened, flip to cook the other side. Remove from oven and place the eggplant in a bowl. Mash the lemon juice into the eggplant.

Drain and crush tomatoes by hand, reserving juice if you want to use later for tomato soup or sauce, ect...( If I double the lamb recipe I make a quick soup for 4 with garlic, 1 stalk celery, 1 onion, 1 carrot, a bay leaf and white pepper....yum!)

Place drained, crushed tomatoes in small to medium pot with garlic and a pinch of salt. Simmer about 1 minute and add paprika. Continue cooking until most of the juice has evaporated, then add turmeric, cumin, 1 t oil, cilantro, parsley and sugar. Cook until thickened.

Assemble the dish by placing the meat and juices on the bottom, next the eggplant, and finally the tomato. This can be in the same pot as used for cooking the lamb, or in a glass dish or bowl so that you can see the layers. Let simmer on the stove or cook low in the oven for at least 1 hour or up to 5 hours.

This is really yummy served over rice or couscous, and also freezes great.

Tri-rail ride...the really fun failed homeschool fieldtrip

2010-02-19T16:34:00.000-05:00

I thought that Maya might really enjoy riding our commuter light-rail train...also known as the tri-rail. I figured some of the other kids in our home school group would also enjoy this, so I set up a field trip.

A couple of families signed up, but on the day of, everyone emailed to cancel. None the less, I had a plan, and had set aside the time, so we called my mom (who is one of Maya's favorite people on the planet), Lucy (a friend of Maya's) and off we went.

While the girls had a great time on the train, their favorite part was definitely the blue cotton candy flavored ice cream with gummy bears mixed in!

Valentine's Day Baking

2010-02-14T14:51:00.001-05:00

Maya and I have been doing some Valentine's banking. Earlier today I made Haim a bread pudding (I made one for my dad last week, and Haim has had a hankering) and I also defrosted some sugar cookie dough that I make ahead of time and freeze, so that Maya and I can get to the good part (cutting and decorating) quickly.

My girl LOVES her pink sugar sprinkles...

Carmines Bread Pudding...the lazy way

2010-02-14T11:16:00.000-05:00

We have a thing for Carmine's...it's a family style restaurant in NY, near to my aunt's house on the Upper West Side and we really like the food there. I had my 21st birthday there, and whenever Lynn comes, she brings meatballs down to my dad...so I guess it's a family thing. For Thanksgiving we couldn't find a Pecan Pie that we all agreed on, so I got the recipe for Carmine's bread pudding (they have a cookbook) and made it. YUM. However, since I'm lazy in the kitchen, I like to cut corners. Here is my version of the recipe, which skips the "individually toast and butter each slice of bread" part. Though if you have the time and desire, go for it! Everything else is the same....and if you want to switch it up a bit you can always substitute dried cherries for raisins...think of the bread as a blank canvas and go crazy! Also, I use my home made challa bread, but the original recipe calls for rustic bread.

Carmine's Chocolate Bread Pudding

3/4 cup golden raisins
7 large eggs
3 cups heavy (whipping) cream
1 cup granulated sugar
tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 pounds day-old challa bread
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
whipped cream or ice cream (optional, for serving)

In a small bowl, cover raisins with hot water and soak them for until needed. (Alternately, microwave the raisins and water until the water boils) Drain and set aside (the raisins can soak while you make the custard).

To make the custard, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Set aside.

Trim crust from bread and cut bread into 4-by-2-inch rectangles about 3/4 inch thick.

TO MAKE BREAD PUDDING:
Snugly line the bottom of a covered oven safe dish (or a loaf pan) with bread. Scatter a quarter of raisins and a quarter of the chocolate chips over the bread. Top with another layer of bread slices. Keep layering the pudding until there you have no more layers (generally 3-4 layers) and all the raisins, chocolate and bread are used. The top layer should be raisins and chocolate.

Melt the butter and mix into the custard (though it will sort of rise to the top and coagulate, when it comes into contact with the cool milk...yuo could probably leave the butter out too, though I've never tested it)

Gently pour the custard over the pudding so that it sinks down to the bottom and covers the top of the pudding. With the back of a spoon or spatula, press down on the bread to compact the pudding and distribute the custard.

Cover your dish (or cover the pan tightly with plastic wrap and then with aluminum foil) and refrigerate at least 2 hours or for up to 12 hours. (You can also freeze pretty successfully at this stage)

WHEN READY TO BAKE:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Put a deep roasting pan, large enough to hold the dish easily, on the rack. (If you have used a loaf pan covered with foil and plastic wrap, remove the foil and plastic wrap from the bread pudding. Discard plastic wrap and replace foil over the pan.) Set the loaf pan in the roasting pan and add enough hot water to the roasting pan to come half to three-quarters of the way up the sides of the loaf pan. Bake pudding about 1 1/2 hours or until a skewer poked through the foil comes out clean. (If it's not clean, return pudding to the oven and recheck every 15 minutes). Remove foil and allow to cool for 1 hour before serving.

TO SERVE:
Invert a serving platter over the pudding and, holding the platter in place over the loaf pan, turn it upside down to release the pudding onto the platter. Immediately turn the pudding upright. Serve slices with whipped cream or ice cream, if desired.

*Note: the recipe says that it serves 6-10...I think it easily serves 12...it's really rich. Sometimes I cut the recipe in half (using 4 eggs) and bake it in a smaller dish...it then makes about 5 cups. It could also be cute baked in individual ramekins or mugs.

Silly kids

2010-02-08T10:14:00.000-05:00

The new coop

2010-01-28T23:00:00.001-05:00

Haim's dad has built me a new coop while he is here visiting. Happy chickens!

Honey-do list

2010-01-20T13:02:00.000-05:00

Haim's parents are visiting for 2 1/2 weeks. Haim's dad can't stand to be still....lucky for me, since I have a lengthy and neglected "honey-do" list. Maya's tree house had undergone recent remodeling...though I did the painting.

Noah and Safta

2010-01-19T19:26:00.000-05:00

Holiday Treats

2009-12-24T10:18:00.004-05:00

I spent the night making some last-minute gifts for friends...Haim has been happily taste testing as well!

Carmel Corn

Makes 8 cups

Ingredients
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup corn syrup
• 6 quarts popped corn (sift out unpopped kernels)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• your favorite nuts (pecans, almonds, peanuts, walnuts, cashews….)

Directions
1.In large saucepan, boil sugar, butter, syrup and salt for 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

2.Add soda and stir well.

3.Pour over popcorn and nuts.

4.Spread on cookie sheet.

5.Bake 200 degrees for 1 hour, stirring at 15 minute intervals.

6.Remove from oven and cool until solid.

7.Store in covered container to keep crisp.

Carmel Pecan Clusters

Makes 12

Ingredients
• 1 cup pecan halves (3 1/4 ounces)
• 12 soft caramel-candy cubes
• 1 1/2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken into 12 pieces (1/2 inch each)

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Arrange pecans in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet; toast in oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on); set aside 36 pecans on baking sheet. Finely chop remaining pecans (for about 1/4 cup); set aside.

2.When pecans are cool enough to handle, make 12 clusters by arranging 2 pecans vertically, side by side, below 1 pecan placed horizontally. The clusters should be arranged on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat or parchment. Gently flatten each caramel; place 1 on top of each cluster. Bake clusters 5 minutes. Remove from oven (leave oven on).

3.Place 1 piece of chocolate on top of each cluster. Return to oven; bake until chocolate begins to melt, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from oven. With the back of a spoon, gently spread chocolate over caramel without completely covering it.

4.Sprinkle clusters with reserved chopped pecans. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Chocolate Apricots

Ingredients
• equal weight measure dried Turkish apricots and chopped dark chocolate
• foil candy wrappers

Directions
1.Microwave chocolate in a glass bowl in 15-second intervals, stirring vigorously with a rubber spatula and scraping down sides in between, until just melted (chocolate should be no warmer than 86 degrees).

2.Dip each apricot in chocolate, coating evenly. Transfer to wire racks set over parchment paper; let stand until set.

3.Transfer apricots to baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate until firm, at least 25 minutes. Wrap in foil wrappers. Can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.
Turned out beautiful, but I might try this with tempered chocolate next time and see if it does any better...maybe I can leave it unrefrigerated then.

White Chocolate Clusters

Makes 20

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 cups assorted dried fruits and toasted nuts, (choose among raisins, cherries, cranberries, chopped apricots, almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, and macadamia nuts)
• 1 package (12 ounces) white-chocolate chips

Directions
1.Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a small bowl, combine dried fruits and nuts.

2.Heat white-chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until just smooth. Do not overheat or the consistency of the "chocolate" will alter and be ruined.

3.Drop level tablespoons of melted chocolate onto prepared sheet, 2 inches apart. Mound fruit-nut mixture on top, pressing in gently. Refrigerate until set, 15 to 20 minutes.

English Toffee

Makes about 3 pounds

Ingredients
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus more for pan and foil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 cups toasted (about 8 ounces) almonds, chopped
• 12oz good quality chocolate (milk or dark), tempered

Directions
1.Butter a 12-by-18-inch baking pan. Cover two large cutting boards or cardboard pieces with parchment paper. Set aside.

2.In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Remove from heat, and stir in sugar, corn syrup, and 3 tablespoons water. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture reaches 300 degrees on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat, stir in 1 cup almonds, and pour out into prepared pan, spreading the mixture with the back of a spoon to fill the pan.

3.Before candy hardens, but when it is firm enough to handle, turn it out onto parchment-lined board. Allow to cool completely.

4.Wipe the surface of candy with a damp paper towel to remove excess butter, and allow to dry.

5. Temper the chocolate using a double boiler. Heat 5/6 of the chocolate to 118F, while stirring. Remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate. Stir continuously until chocolate temperature drops to 84F, and then reheat to 90F and use immediately.

6.Using a small offset spatula, quickly spread half the tempered chocolate over candy. Scatter 1/2 cup of the remaining almonds over chocolate. Cover with parchment paper, and place second cutting board on paper. Turn candy over onto second surface. Remove top board and paper, quickly spread candy with remaining chocolate, and scatter with the remaining 1/2 cup almonds. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to set chocolate.

7.Break candy into 2-inch pieces. The candy may be stored in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 1 week; use parchment paper to separate layers.

ENJOY!

ps: all of these treats can be given in inexpensive reusable glass jars or tins.

Hanukkah

2009-12-20T09:51:00.004-05:00

This was Maya's first real Hanukkah, and I wanted to make it special for her. Last year we were traveling and it was barely marked, and the prior years she was really too young to remember it. Each day I tried to have a special Hanukkah book, activity or craft for her, and the holiday was a lot of fun for everyone. We had several special dinners with friends, small gifts of books, stickers and puppets (plus gifts from grandma and grandpa), a holiday party with the homeschool group, and a Hanukkah party in the house for a couple of friends.

Janice gave Maya a kit for making her own menorah candles, a lovely and fun craft, and we also had a lot of success at the party with decorating construction paper cones and filling the finished result with chocolate "gelt." It made me realize that I need to incorporate more craft and art opportunities into Maya's activities.

We also made latkes and sufganiyot a couple of times...the latke recipe is an old family recipe, that I brought back to it's original form with hand grated potatoes, rather than the food processed ones that my grandma has been doing for the last 30 or so years. (Much better texture!)

POTATO LATKES
(1 potato makes about 4 playing card size latkes)
For every 4 medium sized idaho potatoes add 2 Tbs all purpose flour and 2 eggs

Wash (you do not need to peel) and grate your potatoes, and squeeze out liquid. Add appropriate amount of eggs and flour, as well as salt and white pepper to taste. Mix thoroughly, but do not over-mix.

Heat a generous amount of crisco in a (preferably non-stick) pan to a medium-high heat. If the fat is smoking, the heat is too high.

Once hot, spoon pancakes into your pan...I prefer silver dollar sized ones, though my family has always made them playing card sized.

When they are crispy golden brown flip them. When the second side is cooked drain on paper towel and serve immediately with apple sauce and sour cream.

SUFGANIOT

Ingredients

1 package(s) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon(s) granulated sugar
1/4 cup(s) granulated sugar
3 3/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup(s) whole milk
6 tablespoon(s) margarine, melted and cooled, substitute butter
1 teaspoon(s) salt
1/2 teaspoon(s) ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
4 cup(s) vegetable oil, for frying
1 cup(s) seedless red raspberry jelly, substitute other favorite jelly
Confectioners' sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

In large bowl, mix yeast, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F); let stand until yeast mixture foams, about 5 minutes.

With wooden spoon, stir flour, milk, margarine, salt, nutmeg, eggs, and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar into yeast mixture until evenly blended (dough will be very sticky). Cover bowl with clean cloth towel, and let dough rise in warm place (80 to 85 degrees F) until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours.

With floured hands, punch down dough. Turn dough onto heavily floured surface; let rest 10 minutes. With floured hands, pat dough 1/2-inch thick. With floured 3-inch round biscuit cutter, cut out as many rounds as possible. Place rounds, about 2 inches apart, on lightly floured cookie sheets. Gently press trimmings together; press and cut as above. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

In 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat until temperature reaches 375 degrees F on deep-fry thermometer. With wide metal spatula, carefully place 2 or 3 doughnuts in hot oil. Fry until golden brown, about 1 1/2 minutes, turning over once. With large slotted spoon, transfer doughnuts to wire racks lined with paper towels to drain; repeat with remaining dough.

When doughnuts are cool enough to handle, with small sharp knife, pierce doughnuts from 1 side almost to opposite side. Place jelly in decorating bag fitted with 1/4-inch round tip. Squeeze small amount of jelly into each doughnut through slit. Cool doughnuts completely on wire rack. Sprinkle doughnuts with confectioners' sugar to serve.

Morning smiles

2009-12-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

Breakfast on the deck is a lovely way to start the day

Finally...a family pic

2009-12-12T16:39:00.000-05:00

We snapped this when dropping the kids off with my mom on the way to Nat's wedding

Pancake Breakfast

2009-12-02T09:01:00.005-05:00

We've really been enjoying these pancakes from scratch. I found the recipe on-line and am in love! these are also great with berries or chocolate chips mixed in.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Thanksgiving 09

2009-11-27T08:52:00.004-05:00

While Haim worked for a good portion of the day...as did several of the independent contractors who were renovating a property we own, Noah, Maya and I spent a very relaxed day with my parents and grandma. Haim frequently has interesting cometary and observations regarding American culture...as he is in certain ways an outsider, even after residing here for 10+ years and raising American kids.

He noticed that it was the ONLY day of the year that felt as quiet and restful to him as the weekly Shabbatt does in Israel. I would tend to agree...it is probably as close to a near universal Holiday as we get. Also, he commented that taking the day off was a luxury...not a right. I think this is true to a certain extent. Those working for someone else may see the holiday as an entitlement, but if you work for yourself....time is money. One sub-contractor asked if he worked on thanksgiving, could Haim meet him to pay him...he needed the money to buy his family dinner that night. At the end of the morning, when his job was complete, he received his pay and complete Thanksgiving groceries that I purchased for him the previous day. We have too much as a family to be thankful for, to not be generous with others...regardless of the holiday.

In the morning we went to a small parade with Jaffia, Wenzel and Sidney, and then we spent the rest of the day relaxing..before an early dinner. We were all happily in bed by 9!

Bed-time routine

2009-11-24T22:44:00.000-05:00

About a week ago Haim decided we needed to give Maya a bed-time routine, with a goal of being in bed by 8ish. I was resistant at first, but decided to give it a try and it has been working out wonderfully. Maya is more even tempered, and so are Haim and I. Additionally, she is genuinely tired by 8pm, and is also watching less TV. The only down side is that she's waking at 6 rather than 9...oh well, I guess you can't have it all!

Camping in St Anastasia state park

2009-11-16T13:34:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, Haim and Maya took a camping trip up to Saint Augustine with the home-school group while Noah and I stayed behind to supervise the tenting of our house. Haim and Maya had a blast with the other families, and Noah and I had some nice relaxing time with lots of well needed rest.

Maya called the first night crying and missing me a bit (she was distracted from her saddness by painting daddy's toenails), but I couldn't even get her to say hi to me on the phone after that...she didn't want to stop playing with the kids to talk for even 2 minutes! Other than lots of fun, the biggest excitement that they experienced was a squirrel raid of their food supplies...luckily there was a grocery store near by!

I sent Haim with 2 uncharged cameras, but hopefully we'll get some nice photos from the other families.

Maya is 3!

2009-11-09T22:06:00.003-05:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks....first Noah, and then the chicks hatched....and now Maya is 3. We had a small party at the house with a couple of Maya's friends, and everyone had a lovely time. Our only challenge now is TOO MANY TOYS!

Scary Ladybug!

2009-10-31T22:29:00.000-04:00

Using a familiar costume...which Maya has been using since her first Purim, Maya asked to be a "Scary Ladybug" this Halloween. Enjoying the cooling weather, we took a nice family walk and Maya enjoyed her first trick-or-treating. It was a lovely evening!

Noah's Brit Milah

2009-10-30T18:22:00.000-04:00

While I am not a proponent of cosmetic circumcision, we did look forward to the celebration of Noah's Brit Milah. The surgery was over rapidly, and the ceremony was an intimate affair of close family and friends. We were also able to share it with our family in Israel via a live Skype cast, which was a very cool experience.

Hatching

2009-10-28T09:14:00.000-04:00

The chicks have finally hatched. Of the 12 eggs, 9 hatched, but one didn't make it overnight, so now we have 8 hearty chicks. One is lemony yellow, several are golden, and several are tan with black stripes on the wings. Can't wait to see what breeds and genders we will end up with!

Welcome Noah Mordechai

2009-10-25T08:28:00.004-04:00

Noah Mordechai Mayan was born at home at 8:15am on October 23. After 6 hours of labor he was born in the water, with Haim and Maya at my side. It was a wonderful labor and birth and we are all very excited for the addition to our family.

Lemon Bars!

2009-10-21T08:27:00.004-04:00

On Monday night Haim and I had a date night...something that we try to do fairly often, but usually consists of Maya sleeping out, and us watching TV together...It's hard (actually you just have to be creative) to do a budget date night, but it's nice to do something out of the ordinary. In the morning I had told Haim that I wanted to do something (actually anything) besides sit and watch TV together, as a gentle warning that he not get all wrapped up in the garage conversion project that he's been working on.

Haim picked me up from yoga in the evening, and we went for an "early bird" pizza at a restaurant we both enjoy...(even though I had dinner prepared at home). We sat outside to enjoy the wonderful breeze and weather which the recent (and now gone) cold-front had brought. After dinner, we came home and took a walk over to Hollywood Blvd and around the circle. While walking, we came upon a new fudge shop, and we went inside for a peak. Haim was the proverbial "kid-in-a-candy-shop." His eyes were giant as he took in all of the beautiful candies and treats. I also discovered that Haim had never before tasted fudge or caramel. He had both, and enjoyed them immensely, but it got me thinking of other typically American treats that he had never experienced.

Last night Maya and I made Lemon Bars. They were really nice to make with her, because she could do most of it with supervision rather than assistance...she got to get her hands messy and had fun pressing the crust into the pan and mixing the lemon topping....and the bars were a delicious hit!

INGREDIENTS

1 1/8 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
2/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, 1/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, and butter until butter is in very small crumbs. Press into the bottom of a 11x7 inch pan.
Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until firm and lightly browned. While the crust is baking, whisk together the eggs, 2/3 cup of confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest in a medium bowl. Just before the crust is done, stir in the baking powder. Pour over the crust while it is hot, and return to the oven.
Bake for another 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until set. Dust with remaining confectioners' sugar when cool.

Delicious weather....and cookies

2009-10-18T15:55:00.003-04:00

We've had the first cold spell (thank g-d) of the season...and I was really hoping that the change in weather would also bring about the birth...oh well, guess the baby's not "fully cooked" yet! However, I did take the opportunity to do some extra cooking today. Maya and I made black & white cookies...she's been into them lately, and they were really easy!

I used the following recipe from Gourmet, which made about 5 cookies, though teh recipe said it would make 8. I might make them a touch smaller (though oversized is good for these cookies) and make sure they are a bit flatter on the pan before heading into the oven, since they do puff quite a bit while cooking.

For cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg

For icings

1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 to 2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Stir together buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add egg, beating until combined well. Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately in batches at low speed (scraping down side of bowl occasionally), beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Spoon 1/4 cups of batter about 2 inches apart onto a buttered large baking sheet. Bake in middle of oven until tops are puffed and pale golden, and cookies spring back when touched, 15 to 17 minutes. Transfer with a metal spatula to a rack and chill (to cool quickly), about 5 minutes.

Make icings while cookies chill:
Stir together confectioners sugar, corn syrup, lemon juice, vanilla, and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until smooth. Transfer half of icing to another bowl and stir in cocoa, adding more water, 1/2 teaspoon at a time, to thin to same consistency as white icing.

Ice cookies:
Turn cookies flat sides up, then spread white icing over half of each and chocolate over other half.

Patience and presence

2009-10-15T19:23:00.003-04:00

I'm feeling big and I know that it's coming to an end. I'm trying to be patient, and enjoy the last days of our family as it is at this point in time. I know that this birth will be a wonderful and much anticipated event for all of us, but at the same time, there is a bitter-sweet feeling since things will obviously never again be the same.

I'm really trying to not rush through the last days of this pregnancy, to be present, and to enjoy special time with Maya and Haim (separately and together). Extra time in the bed nursing with Maya (who insists that my milk tastes the same as always, even though I can see it's now colostrum), a couple of fun craft projects, and lots of cuddling and watching TV on the couch. Also date nights with Haim...which I know will probably be in short supply for the next year or 2. Of course we will do these things after the baby is born...but understandably it will be different too.
This truly is a wonderful time for us.

It's easy to say YES!

2009-10-09T21:12:00.001-04:00

Every day's we look for ways to say yes to Maya's requests....big and small. Sometimes those requests are simple..."I want salami with mayo".....and sometimes they are a bit more complex...."I want it to be my birthday NOW!" In the last day or two, we have had the following requests, and managed to meet all of the "needs"

Maya (totally into birthdays....mostly the cake and singing) wanted it to be her birthday....we explained that a birthday was only one day a year, but that we could have a pretend birthday with candles, cake and singing...she was thrilled. I then realized that the following day (today) was her "Birthday minus 1 month"....so we celebrated that all day. Lots of singing, lunch with grandpa, cupcakes and a cookie (her choices). She had a lot of fun explaining to us that her birthday was actually in "vember" (November)...but also had lots of fun celebrating all day.
We were heading home from dinner with my grandma lat night and drove by a park with kids playing...Maya expressed an interest in going, and I told her YES, when we pass by from some errands and dropping off grandma we can go...as we kept driving, and were about 2 blocks away, I realized that in 15 or 20 minutes there might not be kids there, and that we were not all needed on the errands...I had Haim turn around to drop us off, and Maya got to play in the park for 40 minutes while we waited for Haim to return. Heading into the park Maya said "this is so good"....so simple and accurate!
At Maya's "Birthday minus a month" lunch, we were at a beautiful bakery counter to choose a cake or sweet...first she chose a black and white cookie....and then a box of 4, beautifully decorated mini-cupcakes. Why not...it was her choice. At the table, she chose the first cupcake, ate the frosting off of the top, and handed the cake part back to me (i ate it, it was delicious!). She happily shared one with her grandpa, knowing that we would get more if she still wanted them after the box was empty. Next, she chose a second and requested that the frosting be removed, which I did, and then happily ate about 1/2 of the cake and handed it back. She left the remaining cupcake "for later" and asked for the cookie. She split it into several pieces, had a nibble of each, and asked that it be put back in the bag. Knowing that she could have it seemed to be enough...it took me about a year in Spain (and 30 lbs) to figure out that I could order a pastry without eating it all, and that I actually liked looking at them more than eating them, and she knows this already.
Driving to grandpas to wait for Haim to pick us up, we passed by a park that offers pony rides. Can we visit the ponies please, was answered by a turn into the park. The big smile on Maya's face was worth the 20 minute delay in getting back to the couch to rest (at 39 weeks pregnant, exhaustion is frequent)

Why not say yes whenever possible...even if that yes is followed by an explanation of when the yes will occur, if it cannot be immediate. Our daughter knows that we will do whatever is within our power to meet her needs and desires, it doesn't mean that a "yes, later..." isn't sometimes met with a meltdown (she's not even 3 yet)...bit I do think with each day we are building an intrinsic bond and trust that is invaluable.

Broody Bunch

2009-10-07T18:43:00.002-04:00

One of my hens and I are having a race to see who is going to have a baby first. Right after the Yom Kippur holiday, she went broody and began to sit on some eggs that had accumulated in her nest for a day or 3...I then decided that it would be fun to let her hatch...unfortunately, not owning a rooster, I had to figure out how to get fertilized eggs. After making some local inquiries and a day of looking on the internet, I found a farm in Archer, FL that sells and ships fertilized eggs...a mix of Rhode Island Reds, Amerucana, Golden Comets and Dark Cornish. While waiting for the eggs, I realized that each morning, the hen would move over so that the others could lay their morning egg (my breakfast) on her nest...
Knowing that once there were fertilized eggs under her we would need to keep them separate, I figured maybe I could leave her in the coop, but put her in a "1-chicken" sized basket. I bought a new basket, filled it with pine, and at night transferred her and her eggs into the basket. In the morning I happily observed her in the basket with the eggs, and one of the other hens laying in the second nest box...Victory! I came out an hour later to collect the egg and found that my determined girl had carefully rolled all of the eggs out of the fairly high-lipped basket and over to where the lone egg was laid....she was once again happily sitting on all of the eggs! I really do admire the determination of this mother hen!
I moved her and all of her eggs back into the basket and looked forward to seeing what would happen the next day....The following morning she stayed in her basket, but managed to make room for the second hen to lay her egg there as well. (this is really a 1-chicken basket).
Well, today our fertilized eggs arrived and Haim eagerly swapped them for the unfertilized eggs beneath the hen, who is still happily sitting, unaware that her situation has improved greatly! We will have to figure out how to isolate her tonight so that the eggs do not mix if the other hens lay in the morning.
Now begins the count-down....for both her and me. We know she's got 20-21 days to go, and I really hope I have a baby in my arms before she does!

Feeling Blessed

2009-10-01T16:41:00.002-04:00

It's easy to forget how blessed you are in the hum drum of day-to-day activities.

Today, while doing household chores, I've been constantly reminded. Maya and Haim are on a nature field trip in the everglades for the day, and I've had a quiet day of kitchen cleaning, laundry, bread making, and resting. Yes, I did have to clean the kitchen, but i'm very lucky to have a beautiful kitchen to clean after it has been "torn apart" while preparing delicious and healthy food for my family.

I've done a load of laundry, but with the luxury of a washer and dryer in my garage...and the laundry that I have done is all of the beautiful baby clothing that I used with Maya and will soon be reusing for the baby that will bless us in a very short time after (g-d willing) an easy labor. How lucky to have had the ability to buy such lovely things the first time around, and to have the opportunity to use them again!

It is so nice to experience the peace and silence of the house, and to know that it will soon again be filled with the noise and chaos of those I love.

Baking, Birthdays, and Such

2009-09-30T08:33:00.004-04:00

I've discovered a new baking book....I'm in LOVE! Dorie Greenspan's "Baking: From My Home to Yours" This is a comprehensive, easy to follow, baking book for all of the home-style goodies I like to make for the family. I haven't tried a recipe I didn't like yet!

Also, Monday I turned 30...though the main event of the day was Yom Kippur, we had a birthday break-fast celebration at the end of the evening. Just a couple of friends over, with lots of noisy kids running around....and Haim did a very "interesting" Hawiian Luau version of happy birthday on Maya's lap-harp.

Otherwise, slowly creeping towards the end of pregnancy....only a couple of weeks to go now! And our garden is growing nicely...though I do think Haim has gotten a bit overzealous with the corn.

Lastly, I finished the curtains and pillowcases for Maya's playroom. I'm really happy with how it looks, though once haim hangs the curtains I'll really have an idea of how it looks...and I've started on a new and very simple project....napkins. Ours are getting a bit ratty, as we only use cloth and have had them for 5 years...too many wine stains ect...so I found a great homespun fabric that should hide lots of abuse....and then I found a lovely tutorial online at the purl bee and I seem to be golden...though I've not completed one yet. But I have discovered some new tools (rotary cutter, self healing pad, line ruler, bias tape maker) in the process, that I think may revolutionize my minimal sewing skills.

All in all, it's been a lovely September!

Rosh Hashanna

2009-09-21T08:49:00.002-04:00

(yes, I made the Challas....Haim, however, did all of the yummy salads)

Planting

2009-09-07T17:54:00.002-04:00

Grandma's feeling better...and we've got a bit more time to fool around the house again. For a week I was going down to N Miami (not the end of the world, but 18 miles round trip none the less) every day, and then my aunt Lynn was in town managing grandma a bit more, but I was still going down to visit daily. Now Lynn is gone, grandma is feeling good, and I've had a bit more time to devote to both feeling like a pregnant whale (and frequently laying "beached" on the couch) and doing household stuff like getting our garden started, restocking the freezer, unpacking and organizing remaining boxes from the move, and just keeping things clean, tidy and orderly....with the daily house explosion that comes from having a toddler!
I started some seedlings Sunday a week ago, and we planted a decent portion of them in some prepared beds. Spaghetti squash, corn, peas, cukes, watermelon and tomatoes...still have peppers, broccoli, fennel, herbs and flowers to plant, maybe next week. Also, will direct seed some onions and carrots. We'll see how it all turns out. I loved planting with Maya, she "tucked in" and kissed each plant as she helped me set them in the ground. Very cute!

Another "relaxing" Saturday

2009-08-22T13:59:00.003-04:00

My parents are in Montana, so we've been keeping an extra eye on grandma while they are away. Last night she spent the night to join us for Shabbatt dinner. At 3am (the usual time I seem to wake up from the pregnancy anyway) I woke up to grandma coughing...a lot. Not terribly surprising, since she's been recovering from a cold...but it went on for an hour, resulting in fever, chills, and a lot of "unproductive" retching over the toilet. She finally fell back to sleep at 4, and I did the same at 5:45.
Around 6:30 Haim and I woke up from lots of chicken squawking. At first we thought that they had escaped into the front yard...but after a dash to the front and the back, we realized that they were having a stand-off with a hawk who was a touch smaller than them. He flew off, we fed the chickens and went back to sleep for an hour.
I woke up and prepared some ricotta pancakes...thankfully, because the day has never really calmed since then! Exciting events include a garbage truck exploding a tire in front of our house just after Maya woke up, Haim and I running back and forth between rental properties, and a very confused grandma waking up believing it was Monday. Luckily a yummy, protein packed breakfast helped us set the tone for the day!

Ricotta Pancakes
(the original recipe says this is enough for 2 servings, but I think it is enough for 6 small to medium eaters, especially with fresh fruit served on the side)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1 or 2 handfuls fresh or frozen mixed berries (if you like)
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Butter, for griddle

Preheat a nonstick griddle.

Combine flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together the remaining ingredients in a large bowl, and then combine in dry ingredients. Add butter to hot pan, and pour silver dollar size pancakes. Cook on both sides until light golden brown. Repeat until no batter remains. We like to top this with a touch of maple syrup, but they are delicious plain too.

Enjoy!

Challah

2009-08-21T14:35:00.001-04:00

For a couple years now I've been preparing a challa for Fridays that always turns out gorgeous, but is a bit dry for my taste, and never lasts more than 36 hours...which is ok if we host a lot of people, but leads to french toast overload if it was just the 3 of us for dinner....too much left over stale bread!
My friend Beth gave me a recipe that I am IN LOVE with. The bread lasts just about a week, and you make four loaves worth of dough at once, what you don't use immediately, you can freeze for later!

Challah Bread

3 cups warm water
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 packages of active dry yeast
3 eggs
4 tsp salt
1 cap vanilla
drizzle of honey
11 cups of flour
2 1/2 to 3 1/4 cups of veggie oil

Mix sugar and warm water; add yeast and let activate 3-4 minutes.

Add eggs, salt, vanilla, and honey. Mix and wait 5 minutes.

Add oil and flour and knead (I use a stand mixer with dough hook, but Beth always does it by hand) for about 10 minutes or until it is a bit springy (but not tacky) to the touch.

Cover with a moist towel for 2 hours until it doubles in size.

Divide into 4 loaves, braid what you will use, place on a cookies sheet with parchment or a silicone baking sheet and let rise 90 minutes covered with a moist towel. Place the extra dough in airtight containers (tupperware type or zip baggies) in the freezer. Alternately, if you were preparing this the night before, you could refrigerate the next day's bread in airtight containers (pre-braid).

When the loaf is ready to bake, brush with a mixed egg, sprinkle with sesame, poppy or sunflower seeds, and place in an oven that has been pre-heated to 350 F. Cook for about 30 minutes until golden. Remove from baking sheet and let cool on a rack.

If you are cooking bread that has previously been frozen or refrigerated, you can let defrost overnight in the fridge and then remove from fridge and let warm to room temp for about 1 hour before you braid.

Mothering Your Nursing Toddler

2009-08-12T08:42:00.001-04:00

The linked article, Mothering Your Nursing Toddler was developed from a post that I wrote on UnschoolingBasics. The editor of New Beginnings read the post and asked if she could modify it into an article...several months later, I received the paper copy of this article in the mail.
I would love to get back into writing, and the idea of getting paid for it some day is really appealing, so I see this as I nice and fortuitous first step on that path!

The girls are working hard

2009-08-09T08:39:00.004-04:00

It's Sunday morning and Haim is in the garage doing some projects with his helpers. Can you spot 2 chickens?

Birthday Gifts

2009-08-08T14:50:00.002-04:00

We try to limit the amount of birthday parties that we attend to just those of very close friends. Also, I've been trying to make, instead of buy, birthday gifts....much more personal and meaningful in my opinion...especially when a kid is having a giant party and already receiving 15-30 gifts anyway.

Andres will be 2 and we are joining him to celebrate his birthday tomorrow. Here is the toddler scale messenger that Maya and I made him...cost about $4.50 in materials and about 2 hours of my time (with Maya's help...without her help it probably would have been closer to 45 min!)

New Recipies

2009-08-06T13:26:00.007-04:00

Though I haven't been writing much, I've been cooking plenty.
This week I made a killer ginger chicken and made some excellent chocolate chip cookies. The ginger chicken is a great, fast prep meal with minimal effort or clean-up, and the cookies are fairly straight forward but use oil instead of butter (cheaper and/or good for the dairy intolerant) and are both crunchy and chewy. Enjoy!

Ginger Chicken

8 scallions
3 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled
6 cloves garlic
3/8 c soy sauce
3/8 c honey
3lbs chicken (I used legs, but you could use a cut chicken or whatever parts you prefer)

Coarsely chop scallions, ginger and garlic and add first 5 ingredients to the food processor. Process until thoroughly mixed. Place chicken in baking dish in 1 layer and pour sauce over. Put the chicken into a cold oven, uncovered, and set the oven to heat to 350 and cook for a total time (including pre-heat) of 70 minutes. (I like this recipe because I can leave the house or leave it unattended while cooking, then come home and have food on the table in 15-20 minutes) When you are getting dinner ready, flip the chicken and heat the oven back up for as long as it takes to prep rice vegies and a salad (about 20 minutes). Everything will be delicious and moist. The sauce is excellent over plain rice, or stir fried rice if you're feeling fancy. Some steamed or lightly sauteed veggies are also be a pretty and healthy addition.

Lastly, the original version called for 1/8t of 5 spice powder but I forgot to add it....you could try it like that too if you wanted, though it didn't miss anything with the omission.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

¾ c light brown sugar
3/4 T molasses
¾ c sugar
2 eggs
½ c oil
1 t vanilla
1 c all purpose flour
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
¾ t baking soda
1 t salt
6 oz chocolate chips
4 oz dried cherries (I used the new costco mix)

Mix all wet ingredients, then mix in dry ingredients untill just mixed (don’t over mix). Add fruit and chocolate and mix. Place cookies on cookie sheet with parchment or silpat Put in oven preheated to 375 for 10 minutes.

We made some tiny and some big…10 minutes was good for all of them. A bit crunchy outside and soft inside.

Yum!