cold day doldrums

the camera, the blog, both have been a bit idle lately. the winter chill has set in.

tristan demanded yogurt with bananas and honey for breakfast. three bowls of it. and then he complained of being cold.

i enjoyed baked eggs with goat cheese and herbs. i didn't have heavy cream or fresh basil on hand, but milk worked well, and dry basil was also just fine. this dish is delicious and easy! and warm!

i made tristan some playdough later in the day. he had a giant melt down when he learned i'd made orange playdough. i thought he'd enjoy the sunny color on a dark day, especially since he loves tangerines, mango, carrots, and orange cheese. but as a wise friend pointed out, maybe orange is meant only for food. not a prize winning parenting moment for me. i thought he'd be overjoyed by the surprise, but his glee crumpled into a full on tantrum when i offered him the warm ball of fresh orange dough. my adult indignation rose to the surface and i hurled it into the trash. this did not help, not at all. dan offered some perspective, "don't be mad at him. his hair is heavy."

he came around later, and so did i, after lots of hugs and new library books. and i made a second batch of green playdough. but it was a rough patch there for a while. (recipe for playdough, below)

and tashi, she recently finished up a stunning collage project for art class. she printed out a photo of tristan in his halloween jester hat and duplicated it with hundreds of tiny magazine pieces. this is the work in progress:

i assumed she had used the hole puncher to make those tiny circles in the hat, but she said she cut them all out herself. well, there is a creative fire to bask in the warmth of!

homemade playdough (half this recipe makes plenty)

1 cup flour

1 tbs oil

1 cup water

1/2 cup salt

2 tsp cream of tartar

food coloring (14+ drops)

put dry ingredients in a pan and shake a little to mix. add wet ingredients and stir. 

heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. cool. knead.

for the love of oats

i have always enjoyed oatmeal but never so much as i do now that i've been inspired by local food/mama blogger, kath of kath eats real food. her tribute to oatmeal will completely rock your bowl of bland oats. 

last night i went to bed thinking, mmmm, i'm going to have me a bowl of kath classic creamy banana oatmeal when i wake up, and indeed i did. watch the video and check out the recipe on her tribute to oatmeal page, along with a lengthy photo essay of tremendous toppings. her blog is quite wonderful and she's got an extensive recipe page too!

here is my bowl of creamy whipped banana oatmeal, with a modest topping of raspberry preserves, almond butter and golden flax seeds. have you ever had preserves in your oatmeal? it's better than a jelly donut!

and when you have left over oatmeal, make muffins!. i always add cranberries and a little bit of vanilla to the mix.

another great oat heavy snack are these homemade granola bars! how is that i've never made my own granola bars before? i used this recipe last night to cook up a delicious batch of delightful bars. i was even rewarded a text from tashi today that said in all caps, "THOSE SNACK BARS ARE GOOD. . . om nom nom."

this is all that was left after some munching last night, and some lunch boxes this morning. 

 i used dried blueberries, cherries, golden raisins, and cranberries. they are quite sweet but i am glad i decided to pick up some turbinado sugar as the recipe suggests. there is something very distinctive about turbinado as compared to refined sugar.

and finally, this homemade granola is so delicious. soulemama shares and earlier version of the recipe from cynthia lair's feeding the whole family, and having tried both, i do prefer the earlier version. it's divine, and as kath suggests, sprinkle your granola on your oatmeal!

cheers to you (holding up an oatmeal stout)!

celebrating the seasons: at home on autumn equinox

we had a pretty low key autumn equinox weekend. there was a soccer game, a musical jam, playground time, a date for dan and i, tree climbing, and a downtown stroll. 

at home we we enjoyed some family time at the table, had a tea party on the deck per tristan's request, and each drew an animal card for the coming season per tashi's request. suffice it to say i have two dragon children!

i made a small rista with our tiny, potent thai peppers, while thinking good thoughts for the months to come. we have it hanging by our nature shelf.

the recent photo book i put together (for free! thank you, shutterfly) arrived on equinox morning, a great time to review our summer months.

there were also some large critters that visited us. 'tis the era of the super bugs!

there will certainly be much autumnal appreciation to come. how did you spend your weekend?