fireworks or the only 15 minutes of calm I had all day

Today was a rough one.


So we did this. For about 15 minutes.
Which is how it goes with kids I guess.

We are so blessed.

Yesterday friends gifted us this D80. 

Just gave it to us. 

We are grateful and in awe of their generosity. 

Thank you. 

So much. 

Good Earth's Toasted Seed Rolls

If you haven't had a seed roll from Good Earth you are missing out. 

But at 4 bucks a pop and over 600 calories a piece it's best to save the store bought ones as a special treat. Practicing restraint with those babies though is like having an itch you can't scratch so yesterday I made my own and am quite pleased with how they turned out. 

For your taste buds pleasure...

I have a go to Bread Recipe that I use for everyday loaves. It adapts to different types of breads well and is quite healthy so that's where I started my seed roll adventure. 

Bread Ingredients

• 1/4 cup warm water
• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons unbleached all purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons pure maple syrup or honey
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2-1/4 cups warm water
• 2-1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (or honey)
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour

(I usually throw in some flax seed too but I never measure... afew tablespoons maybe?)

Directions

1. Proof the yeast in a large bowl (I use my Kitchenaid, but by hand works fine too) using first 4 ingredients. 

2. Add next 6 ingredients. Combine well.

3. Adding a half cup at a time, add the 5 remaining cups of flour. You may or may not need all 5 cups, you'll know you need to stop when the bread pulls away from the side of your bowl. 

4. I usually mix on medium-low speed for 5-10 minutes.

5. Let rise until doubled in size.

6. Punch down. 

At this point I rolled the dough out to a 1/2 inch thickness in a big rectangle. Mine was a little round so I trimmed it down with the pizza cutter. 

I, rather haphazardly, mixed some butter, applesauce, white sugar, brown sugar and cardamon into a bowl until it was a paste. I don't have any real measurements for this but those are the things I used...  (If I had to guess I'd say  I used no more than 1/4 cup of butter as a base and built up the paste from there.) 

Spread that over your rectangle of dough.

Toast any combination of seeds you like. I used poppy, sunflower, and flax seeds. Sprinkle  toasted seeds over paste. 

Roll. Cut into 1 inch thick pieces. Put in greased pan. Let rise. Cook at 350 until golden.Not the most technical recipe ever and obviously not the tutorial to use if you've never attempted bread or cinnamon buns of any kind before, but I am oh so happy with how they turned out and hope you'll try them! 

 

the magic of youtube

Remembering:

Thanks Miss for triggering this little trip down memory lane and may i add, whose Dad listens to so much Dr. Hook that it becomes a defining piece of their child's childhood? Oh that's right, mine.


In all seriousness though,  I don't remember ever not listening to music with my dad. His tastes were varied (obviously - I mean look at that sampling up there) and his opinions were very strong about what he liked and what he didn't but it made for a lovely soundtrack to grow up to.


Dad is definitely the reason (on my part) that the iPod is rarely turned off around here - I want my kids to grow up the same way. Appreciating varied and random, sometimes obscure music and judging from the ease with which they transition from David Gray to Backyardigans to country radio to Katy Perry, I think we're doing a pretty good job following in Beegs' footsteps.


Here's what's on the docket today in our house.





Leah, Adah and Dan (and everyone else for that matter!) - What songs do you remember growing up to? And who are you listening to now?

The other day we were downtown and happened to park close to the bridal shop. It has amazing huge windows out front with displays of satin, tulle, beads and chiffon in every color that change every few days. 


Since we have a fashion and princess lover in our midst we had a mini mommy date and strolled over to admire the fabric delights. At one point Elin told me she thought I needed to come back later to buy one of the 'big white ones' for myself.  How great, for her and for me, to be able to tell her I already had one tucked away in the back of my closet. 


When we got home we pulled it out. I've evolved a lot since our wedding and I've questioned my choice of dress since then, thinking I should have opted for the short, vintage cocktail dress I had initially wanted, but seeing it again made all my doubts pass. It is a beautiful dress. It made me quite emotional actually.


And Elin loved it.  I can't wait for the day that I can let her try it on and even better see her in her own. 


Someday Wren will be big enough to take to the dress shop window and I'll love seeing how big her eyes get when I show her the princess dress that hides in the back of mommy's closet. 

the sushi date

Ephram had a birthday party last Saturday afternoon and while he had his fill of pizza and glow-bowling we had a sushi date with the littlest sushi enthusiast in the house. Elin was so excited when we said we were actually going to the restaurant and not just picking up the little plastic trays from Superstore or making our own again. 

P.S. how cool is this kid? She definitely ups the style ante in this house. (Thank you thrifts for making this possible) 

The Park

friends with babies

Little Luca made his appearance so we spent the day in kitchen making meals and goodies for the new parents. (Michelle, I wish we were a little closer so I could bring you and Miss M some freezer fillers too!)

It was unfortunate that it was also the day Wren decided to have a marathon cry session lasting from morning till evening. But we survived and their bellies are full for a few days as well as ours. 

Apparently my skills at judging how much food two people can reasonably consume at a meal have gone out the window and I now only know how to cook for armies. 

On the menu:
Mom's Hamburger Soup
Sweet and Sour Chicken Meatballs
Curried Fruit and Beef Stew
Brown Basmati Rice
Banana Cupcakes
Herb Bread

Looking for green. Kids Edition.

The kids and I went looking for green today. They got sick of it (a very generous) 5 minutes in. Some pictures of green things through their eyes to prove the event ever occurred...