Tasty Thursdays – Cupcakes and Cookies – Cooking with Kids

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Grandma
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A Guide to Cupcake & Cookie Decorations ( with thanks to our partner http://www.preparedpantry.com/?affId=108736 for all the suggestions and products availalbe below). 

Cookie decorations are the cookie baker’s best friend. It means that you can bake, frost, sprinkle, and you’re done. But what can you sprinkle them with? We’ll show you. Plus we’ll give you alternatives to sprinkling.
Immediately after frosting your cupcakes, sprinkle decorations on them. If the frosting starts to dry, the decorations won’t stick.

How to Bake Great Sugar Cookies
What are the secrets to great sugar cookies?
First, add flavors and colors to your frosting. Don’t make them plain. Make them interesting and flavorful. (It’s more effective to add flavor to the frosting than the dough.) Be a little creative with your flavors. Choose blackberry or apricot or caramel or . . .
Choose a color. Gel food colors will give you better control over your colors than liquid food colors and there is a myriad of colors available.
Second, don’t over bake them. If you roll your dough thin, they’ll bake in six or seven minutes and tend to be crisp. If you roll them thicker—as I like them—they’ll bake in eight to ten minutes. They’ll be softer and moist.

Decorating Sugar
Decorating sugar or “sanding sugar” comes in an array of colors, both pastel colors like sage and lavender and primary colors—solid red, black, green and more. It also comes in blended combinations of colors.
Decorating sugars come in fine grain and larger crystals, AA being the largest that is commonly available.
You can also buy white sugar, add a drop of food color ( available in most stores including The Prepared Pantry), and stain the sugar any color you wish.

Metallic Sugar Crystals
Metallic sugar crystals come in sliver and gold. We used these for my daughter’s wedding. They really do look like metallic pieces, pieces of gold or silver but the silver pieces are less shiny and remind me of pewter. They are larger than AA sugar crystals. These are distinctive, classy decorations.

Bark Decorations
Recently we discovered bark decorations. Bark is a combination of chopped candy and white chocolate pieces. You may know of almond bark and peppermint bark. For decorations, the candy is chopped into pieces.
The candy is intensely flavored so instead of just making your cupcakes pretty, you get a burst of flavor. My favorites are lemon cream, cherry, and strawberry cheesecake.
For me, these are top-of-the-line decorations. I love adding flavor, not just color to the cookies. If there is a downside to bark, it is that there are fines in the mixture. Those can be removed with a sieve.


Other Decorations
There are other decorations available, not as often used. Wilton makes some luscious toppings and we carry them. The turtle candy topping is noteworthy.

Decorating Sugar Cookies with Fondant Frosting
You can decorate your sugar cookies with fondant instead of spreadable frosting. (The cookies in the picture are chocolate sugar cookies but you can choose others.)
You can buy premade fondant in most craft stores or from The Prepared Pantry. We carry white fondant as well as colored fondant. You can also use food coloring gels to tint the fondant the desired color.
How to decorate the edges of a cookie
It’s fun to decorate the edges of a cookie; you can do that with refrigerator cookies.
Cookies with minimal spread work best for decorating. For best results, look for recipes that have a higher flour to sugar ratio or for those without leavening (refrigerator cookies with a high sugar content are usually light and crisp because the sugar in the dough melts in the heat of the oven. Cookies without leavening tend to be rich and shortbread- like but decorate nicely. The Festive Fruit and Oat Cookies and The Coconut Cranberry Cookies are perfect for edge decorating).
Use large colored sugar crystals, turbinado sugar, decorating sprinkles, decorating jimmies, crushed candies, or nuts. Simply roll the log of dough in the decorating materials prior to slicing the cookies. If you roll the log with the sugar or other decorations in waxed paper or parchment paper, you can press them into the surface of the dough.
Some folks use an egg white wash to assure that the candies stick to the log. Except for nuts, we don’t. We don’t find it necessary and the moisture from the egg white tends to melt the candies or sugar crystals into a blurry mess.
To showcase the edges, we usually cut the slices just a bit thicker before baking. We color white sugar crystals any color we like by mixing a few drops of food coloring with the crystals. You can buy large bags of white crystals to make a collection of different colors.
Turbinado is an excellent coating sugar with its amber color and large crystals. Learn more about turbinado sugar.

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Tuesday Tips Cooking with Kids and More! “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Grandma
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This is the sixth in the Series: WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

I am not the most craft oriented person – in fact, I used to dread arts and crafts days at school and am not the grandma who has a multiple of crafts around for children to play with. I would much rather cook, make up stories, create music and sound and song. Fortunately creativity comes in different ways – and someone – it came to me as ‘anonymous’ who is clearly good at arts and crafts, came up with some Ideas to Make Life Easier that are so simple and yet so brilliant. It is like that isn’t it though? The most brilliant ideas are the simple ones – the ones to which you have to exclaim – why didn’t I think of that?!  I  guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems. I have passed them on every Tuesday for the past few weeks so be sure to go back into the blog archives if you missed any. There will be one more after this! And if you have your own tip that makes life easier, please do put it into the comment section at the bottom of my blog, so that I can publish it and share it with everyone! As I mentioned – this is not my best thing – so I am relying on the collective intelligence of those who are ever so much better at this kind of thing than I am! Again don’t forget to put your comments in for us ‘craft-challenged’ folks – any more tips you can share will be greatly appreciated!

Use a walnut on scratches in wood – it will cover them nicely! Who knew?

And you know those really inelegant shower caps that every hotel has? Well they have another use too when packing. Put your shoes in them and that way you will have no dirt marks on your clothes!

 

And finally – folding the fitted sheet – a dreaded act. Here is a winning way to do it – follow the pictures!

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Tuesday Tips Cooking with Kids and More! “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Grandma
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This is the Fifth in the Series: WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

I am not the most craft oriented person – in fact, I used to dread arts and crafts days at school and am not the grandma who has a multiple of crafts around for children to play with. I would much rather cook, make up stories, create music and sound and song. Fortunately creativity comes in different ways – and someone – it came to me as ‘anonymous’ who is clearly good at arts and crafts, came up with some Ideas to Make Life Easier that are so simple and yet so brilliant. It is like that isn’t it though? The most brilliant ideas are the simple ones – the ones to which you have to exclaim – why didn’t I think of that?!  I  guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems. I will pass them on every Tuesday for the next few weeks. And if you have your own tip that makes life easier, please do put it into the comment section at the bottom of my blog, so that I can publish it and share it with everyone! As I mentioned – this is not my best thing – so I am relying on the collective intelligence of those who are ever so much better at this kind of thing than I am!

Here is a great idea – use the babywipe container to store your plastic bags in – no more struggling to find the open end!

And for those of you who might be finding a sunny place to vacation during the long winter months, pouring Aloe Vera into icecubes is a cool way to help sunburn.

Ever have to try and wipe every grain of sand off a baby’s legs or arms? It’s a nasty job accompanied by lots of crying and complaining. Use baby powder next time – isn’t this a GREAT idea? I always put the little ones in the bathtub after a day at the beach but this is a lot quicker!

Don’t forget to add your comments below with your ‘make life easier’ tips for the ‘craft-challenged’ like myself and others. And thanks!

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Philanthropy Fridays -Make A Wish Foundation – American Airline’s Captain Nasworthy and Owen Brown

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Grandma
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Recently I travelled on American Airlines – I used to be a very frequent traveller and still travel a fair amount ( although nothing like the 200 days I used to travel annually!) and yes, the company is in bankrupcy – yet it’s people continue to do good deeds.

Young eight year old Owen Brown of San Bernadino CA, due to the generosity of the Make A Wish Foundation – travelled to Disney World – and was about to board the plane back to his home. Out came Captain Mark Charles Nasworthy – a hero himself – after 25 years in the United States Airforce, and 20 years flying for American Airlines – and he sat right down with Owen who was sitting in his wheelchair with his family waiting to board. He exchanged hats with him – and took a picture – and then stayed a while to chat. Of course as soon as Owen boarded – he took a little trip up to the cockpit and had a good look around – he was THRILLED!!! And so were his family – who looked stressed and exhausted. What a dream come true for this little boy who clearly had gone through so much. Here they are – both are heroes – and YOU too can become a hero today by donating to the Make A Wish Foundation – helping critically ill children find rays of joy and happiness among the difficult and painful times that they and their family have to endure. Read their site – it will bring you to tears – so much goodness still in our world. For example – here is an excerpt:

“There’s nothing like making a sick kid’s wish come true. During a wish experience, joy eclipses illness – and that’s why we’re here. You can read about inspirational, creative and life-affirming wishes by selecting a category or a story. ”

And I did read about it – and spent quite a while on their site. Inspirational. Try it – you will be moved. And thank you for your generosity.

Thank you also to Captain Nasworthy – and American Airlines and of course Make A Wish Foundation.

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Tasty Thursdays – Chicken and Cooking with Kids!

Posted on February 2, 2012 by Grandma
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Background:

We eat a lot of chicken  – and frankly I just don’t enjoy chicken breasts as much as thighs. However my family ( kids mainly) love breast meat – so I always mix the light and dark meat up. This is an easy recipe – and shorter in time to make than my absolute favorie recipe that I got from my sister which includes lemons, mustard and chicken. I hope you enjoy it – my grandkids are very helpful when I make this one since it is so easy  so I add it to my ‘Cooking with Kids” recipe group.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice ( we love Mayer lemons)
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce ( this is the magic sauce – use it for bbq marinades)
  • 3 cloves of chopped garlic ( or take the easy way out with bottled chopped garlic and in that case use four tablespoons)
  • 4 tablespoons honey ( we use honey from our own bees – yum)
  • 8  skinless, boneless chicken thighs and two large skinless boneless breadst cut into bite sized pieces
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • 3/4 cup orange juice ( fresh is best but reconstituted concentrate will work)
  • 1 cup canned low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • Salt and pepper to taste ( remember that the chicken broth is normally salty so you may not have to add more salt)

Here are my big boys – son James, grandsons Jack and Jonah – answering the question – who LOVES cooking with grandma?

Directions:

1. Have your little ones add all these ingredients together: lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, half the garlic and the honey along with the mustard, and zest in a big bowl. They can also add chicken and marinate in fridge for 1 hour.

2. You will need to do the next two steps. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Remove chicken pieces from marinade and add to the pan. Do not let the pieces touch each other. Brown chicken on all sides, about 8 minutes. Remove chicken from pan, add chopped red onion, remaining garlic to the pan and cook 2- 3 minutes. Return chicken to pan and add orange juice and broth. Simmer, turning once, until chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes.

3. Remove chicken to plate. Add half  ( or more – your choice) of the marinade to the skillet. Bring to a boil and whisk until sauce thickens, about 7 minutes. Spoon over chicken and serve with a big salad ( something the little ones can do with you, and steamed basmati rice ( use a rice cooker – so easy and the children can measure the rice and water and salt into the rice cooker and turn it on).

This is a pretty low calorie dish btw, so you could splurge on dessert! Check out my dessert recipes!

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Tuesday Tips Cooking with Kids and More! “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Grandma
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This is the Fourth in the Series: WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

I am not the most craft oriented person – in fact, I used to dread arts and crafts days at school and am not the grandma who has a multiple of crafts around for children to play with. I would much rather cook, make up stories, create music and sound and song. Fortunately creativity comes in different ways – and someone – it came to me as ‘anonymous’ who is clearly good at arts and crafts, came up with some Ideas to Make Life Easier that are so simple and yet so brilliant. It is like that isn’t it though? The most brilliant ideas are the simple ones – the ones to which you have to exclaim – why didn’t I think of that?!  I  guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems. I will pass them on every Tuesday for the next few weeks. And if you have your own tip that makes life easier, please do put it into the comment section at the bottom of my blog, so that I can publish it and share it with everyone! As I mentioned – this is not my best thing – so I am relying on the collective intelligence of those who are ever so much better at this kind of thing than I am!

Here is an amazingly simple way to keep apples from browning in a lunch bag – who knew  a rubber band could be put to such good use!

Listen up all ye iphone addicts – want to make the sound reverberate louder? Put your iphone/android/blackberry into a bowl and hear that beat!

And finally the nasty and time consuming job of hulling strawberries – made easier by doing it with a STRAW!!! Amazing idea…..

Don’t forget to add your comments below with your ‘make life easier’ tips for the ‘craft-challenged’ like myself and others. And thanks!

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Philanthropy Fridays – Imagine LA transitions homeless families to self-sufficiency

Posted on January 27, 2012 by Grandma
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Imagine LA, a 501(c)(3) organization, facilitates an innovative two-year mentorship program that empowers the community to help families transition from homelessness to self-sufficiency. By providing consistent support and access to resources, Imagine LA is able to help families achieve three main goals: 1) Maintain permanent housing; 2) obtain life skills; and 3) ensure that their children thrive long-term.

Since the program began in 2007, 28 families have participated – a total of 34 adults and 64 children. The results have been fantastic: 100% of current and graduated families maintaining permanent housing; all adults learning to budget, save and repair credit, and working toward living wage careers; and 100% of school-aged children being assisted in reaching grade-level, graduating from high school and going to college.

Here is just one story of the success Imagine LA participants are achieving:

Dontay was 16 years old when his family (The Gray Family seen below here) became the first to join the Imagine LA program. Up until that point, Dontay and his brother had been split up, living with relatives out of state and going in and out of the foster care system .

Imagine LA was able to successfully reunite the boys with their mother and, from there, the progress and achievements continued.

With the support of his mentor Ken, Dontay graduated from high school and received a scholarship to attend a Cal State University. He is excelling academically and in his extra-curricular activities. For the past three summers, he has held a corporate internship with GUESS?, Inc. Just one look at the smiling faces of Ken and Dontay below – tell it all.

Although Dontay and his family have graduated from the Imagine LA program, he and Ken’s relationship remains strong; in fact, Dontay says Ken is one of his best friends. Undoubtedly, the support and resources the Imagine LA program provided for Dontay helped him on his road to what will certainly be continued success!

More information about Imagine LA can be found on their website. Also check out my posts on PINTEREST.com to see a description of the program.

http://www.imaginela.org/program/2008/07/ssfh-program.html

To make a donation, please visit the Donation Page: http://imaginela.org.s20114.gridserver.com/donate/2009/03/imagine-la-celebration-of-family.html

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Tasty Thursdays – Slow Cooker for Chicken – Cooking with Kids! SO easy!

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Grandma
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Slow Cooker for Chicken Cooking with Kids – SO easy!

Background:
I love love love my slow cooker. There are so many benefits to using one – first, the house smells amazing all day while it is cooking; second – it does it all on its own and you don’t have to keep on checking – rarely will it overcook and never will it boil over ( unless you over fill it) and what comes out is soft, tender, succulent and delicious. And you can make healthy food with no frying, little to no oil or salt if preferred.

My background is South African – and since I spent my youth there, there is a large Indian population ( from India) residing there – and so curry has an influence in the cooking. Of course Indian curries come in many varieties – I find that I prefer the low spicy ones – but remember many meals where the redness of my father’s face matched the spicy sauces – and we all relished the heat heat heat in the dishes we made and ate. Alas those days are over and I find low spicy foods to be more fun – plus my grandkids like it that way too.

This is one of those easy recipes – put it in early in the morning and go about your day while it cooks on low, filling the house with great smells, so dinner is ready when you get home from work or play! Of course you MUST put on music – grandma music we call it – so that cooking is fun from start to finish! A little dancing, hopping around the kitchen – pausing to sing along – all part of the fun! How about Silly Kwela?Silly Kwela Sample

Chicken with Curry

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2-inch pieces ( I will have my grandkids hold my hand while I cut these so they get the feeling and reward of cutting without the risk)
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt ( you could leave this out if doing a low salt meal – the tomatoes have salt in them)
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped ( you can use the already chopped garlic in a bottle but it’s not as pungent)
  • 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes with juice or puree

Directions:

1. Combine chicken, olive oil, curry powder and salt in slow cooker and toss to coat.

2. Sprinkle onions and garlic on top of chicken. Pour tomatoes and puree on top. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. Serve with steamed rice ( rice cookers do a great job and keep the rice warm for hours without mooshing or burning it)

4.  We love to add as side dishes, Mrs. Ball’s Mango Chutney and sliced bananas that have lemon juice squeezed on them to preserve their banana color as well as a sprinkling of golden raisins.

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Tuesday Tips Cooking with Kids and more -“Why didn’t I think of that?”

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Grandma
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This is the Third in the Series: Cooking with Kids – WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?

I am not the most craft oriented person – in fact, I used to dread arts and crafts days at school and am not the grandma who has a multiple of crafts around for children to play with. I would much rather cook, make up stories, create music and sound and song. Fortunately creativity comes in different ways – and someone – it came to me as ‘anonymous’ who is clearly good at arts and crafts, came up with some Ideas to Make Life Easier that are so simple and yet so brilliant. It is like that isn’t it though? The most brilliant ideas are the simple ones – the ones to which you have to exclaim – why didn’t I think of that?!  I  guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems. I will pass them on every Tuesday for the next few weeks. And if you have your own tip that makes life easier, please do put it into the comment section at the bottom of my blog, so that I can publish it and share it with everyone! As I mentioned – this is not my best thing – so I am relying on the collective intelligence of those who are ever so much better at this kind of thing than I am!

Microwave your own popcorn in a plain brown paper bag.  Much healthier and cheaper than the packet stuff.

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

Bread tags make the perfect cord labels.

 

Don’t forget to add your comments below with your ‘make life easier’ tips for the ‘craft-challenged’ like myself and others. And thanks!

 

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Monday Marvels – All About Twins – genetic vs learned? Nature or nurture?

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Grandma
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70% of all behavior is actually heredity – nature – rather than nurture.

I  found a wonderful site called Talkabouttwins.com on google+ with lots of resources for families with identical or fraternal twins. There is an interesting article in National Geographic mentioned there talking about nature vs nurture -see especially the paragraphs on identical twins raised by separate families – who met much later in life. Amazing.

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/01/twins/miller-text

Here is a quote:

The Jim Twins

The idea of using twins to measure the influence of heredity dates back to 1875, when the English scientist Francis Galton first suggested the approach (and coined the phrase “nature and nurture”). But twin studies took a surprising twist in the 1980s, following the discovery of numerous identical twins who’d been separated at birth.

The story began with the much publicized case of two brothers, both named Jim. Born in Piqua, Ohio, in 1939, Jim Springer and Jim Lewis were put up for adoption as babies and raised by different couples, who happened to give them the same first name. When Jim Springer reconnected with his brother at age 39 in 1979, they uncovered a string of other similarities and coincidences. Both men were six feet tall and weighed 180 pounds. Growing up, they’d both had dogs named Toy and taken family vacations in St. Pete Beach in Florida. As young men, they’d both married women named Linda, and then divorced them. Their second wives were both named Betty. They named their sons James Alan and James Allan. They’d both served as part-time sheriffs, enjoyed home carpentry projects, suffered severe headaches, smoked Salem cigarettes, and drank Miller Lite beer. Although they wore their hair differently—Jim Springer had bangs, while Jim Lewis combed his hair straight back—they had the same crooked smile, their voices were indistinguishable, and they both admitted to leaving love notes around the house for their wives.”

Pretty amazing eh? Here are our bundles of twin joy.

Since we have identical twin grandsons – I am reading up as much as I can about this fascinating topic – and would welcome any resources from you  – just email me at grandma@littlefarmgrandma.com. And thanks!

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Cooking with kids – planting, watering, waiting, growing, picking and eating your food!!!

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Grandma
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What could be better than planting, watering, waiting, growing, picking and eating your food!

And snow peas are a wonderful healthy snack. The next best thing is cooking with kids – and using fresh ingredients that are home grown and organic – is nirvana!

That is what our grandsons are learning to do on our Urban Organic Farm – our Little Farm we call it – and the joy on their faces when the produce they planted is now ready – is a blessing to behold. You can see the understanding evolve as they get it -food doesn’t grow in the supermarket. Fruit grows on trees – plants in the soil and eggs don’t come in styrofoam boxes but rather warm, from underneath the feathers of a hen or a quail hen. The children marvel at it – and sometimes are very puzzled when they try to connect the idea of supermarket foods with home grown organic ones. But they learn a bit more each day and of course its is our great pleasure to teach them! My husband Clive is such a star on the farm – with endless patience. Just the other day Jack ( four) helped him put skylights in the chicken pen – yes skylights! Because of all the lovely creepers and flowers that have grown over the roof, its rather dark in there – and because of that the hens take vacation a little longer than normal. We don’t light the hen house of course, not like commercial hen houses are, since hens only lay when it is light – and the days grow longer rather than darker. So our hens take a LOOOOOOOONG vacation in the winter time – and this way – when the days do get longer ( they are beginning to now) they will start laying again hopefully, a bit sooner than normal. Jack just loved jumping onto the roof ( under supervision of course) and seeing the world from up there. Also peering down at the hens looking up at him was quite a treat as well. What a blessing it is to be here and around these children. May you too be so blessed!

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Tuesday Tips – Second set of Amazing ideas sent to me anonymously – but OH SO HELPFUL when Cooking with Kids and More! YOU will say “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Grandma
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This is the second in the series of WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT???

I am not the most craft oriented person – in fact, I used to dread arts and crafts days at school and am not the grandma who has a multiple of crafts around for children to play with. I would much rather cook, make up stories, create music and sound and song. Fortunately creativity comes in different ways – and someone – it came to me as ‘anonymous’ who is clearly good at arts and crafts, came up with some Ideas to Make Life Easier that are so simple and yet so brilliant. It is like that isn’t it though? The most brilliant ideas are the simple ones – the ones to which you have to exclaim – why didn’t I think of that?!  I  guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems. I will pass them on every Tuesday for the next few weeks. And if you have your own tip that makes life easier, please do put it into the comment section at the bottom of my blog, so that I can publish it and share it with everyone! As I mentioned – this is not my best thing – so I am relying on the collective intelligence of those who are ever so much better at this kind of thing than I am!

Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations.

Make an instant cupcake carrier by cutting crosses into a box lid.

Create a window-box veggie patch using guttering. And they can be organic veggies too – no pesticides or sprays! Yum – just step outside and pick your lunch – like we do on our Little Farm.

And this one is especially great – if under your sink is a messy as under mine –

Install a tension rod to hang your spray bottles.

Don’t forget to add your wonderful tips in the comment section below – so that I can share them with others who, like me, are craft-challenged!

 

 

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Monday Music To My Ears – Yoga can Wreck Your Body!

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Grandma
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I believe in exercise – for the body, mind and spirit. But over-exercise like over-eating can be a curse. Many have told me that yoga is the way to go – it ‘releases’ your body. So – many times I have tried it. And within a week or two of starting – I always end up with some sort of injury – soft tissue to be sure – but stuff like over -stretching, over-reaching, over-twisting or just plain over-doing. Is it because I am competitive and in the class am surrounded by flexible men and women doing all sorts of amazing contortions with their bodies and I cannot? Yes – certainly it’s MY fault – but nevertheless it hurts. So I stop. And then a few years later someone else extolls the benefits of yoga so I try again. Fortunately about 5 years ago after falling into a couple of exercise options that I really LOVED and am now doing regularly – four times a week – I stopped the pretense of trying to do yoga. No more false starts and stops for me. I now do pilates in a swimming pool ( in a wet suit in the winter when the water is 50 degrees) which involves about 20-30 lengths, stretching and jumping and twisting and all that good stuff – but under water – much much easier on the joints and impact muscles. The other days I work out with a trainer Michael Cavalieri – frankly the best trainer I have ever encountered in my life – he does stretching, weights, aerobic etc – and I have NEVER injured myself and feel amazing! http://relentlessfitnessla.com/

Then I saw this article in the New York Times magazine. And there it was. My feelings exactly!

How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body” – New York Times magazine 1-8-12. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/08/magazine/how-yoga-can-wreck-your-body.html

Love to hear your comments on this one!

And of course – just because reading books is so much part of our lives especially kids stories – and Jack ( four) is now reading up a storm -I can’t post something without an update on the grandchildren – so here is a picture of me and my husband reading ‘Curious George’ to our Jack and Jonah last weekend while listening to grandma music( Sam, the Broken Robot and his friends). Great moments in life. Pick up a book and read to a child today – please.

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Philanthropy Fridays – Featuring Cambria Gordon – Author, Speaker, Green Energy Fan and Super Mom

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Grandma
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Today I am featuring on our Philanthropy Fridays, Cami Gordon. She is the daughter of an accomplished author, playwright, producer and entrepreneur, Sharleen Cooper Cohen, and her dad Dr. Martin Cohen ( Cohen-Brown) is a motivational speaker for corporations and executives in a variety of industries such as financial services, insurance and telecommunications. Cami and her husband Howard Gordon (screen writer of ’24’, ‘Homeland’, author of multiple books and much more – I will feature Howard’s newest book in a separate post) have raised incredible children and find time with their busy lives, to do good in the world.

Cami is an impressive young woman in her own right – wearing many hats – and below is her story.

“My book, ‘The Down to Earth Guide to Global Warming’, came about five years ago when I was talking to my friend Laurie David about the need to empower kids to do something about global warming, rather than frighten them. Since then, I’ve spoken at schools all over the state and across the country teaching kids and their parents how to reduce their carbon footprint. Today, there is a much greater awareness in our country about recycling, taking reusable bags to the grocery store and using energy efficient lightbulbs. But with the focus on a sluggish economy, environmental messages get pushed aside. We can’t lose focus on the importance of reducing our carbon emissions.”

Cami is very involved in a leadership position with NRDC. “They are the best watchdogs for the planet,” she says, “involved with everything from the Gulf Oil spill to the Tar Sands Pipeline to drilling in Alaska to making textile factories less harmful to the water supply in China.” Here is the link to the organization: http://www.nrdc.org/ and if you are interested, you can click ‘donate’ at the top of the home page.

Here is a link again for her book on Amazon.

http://www.amazon.com/Down—Earth-Guide-Global-Warming/dp/0439024943/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326139033&sr=8-1

 

I am proud to feature Cami today on our Philanthropy Fridays.

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Tasty Thursdays – Beef Stew – Easy Peasy – Cooking with Kids to Grandma Music -FUN & YUM!

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Grandma
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I made this beef stew with my grandson Jack  ( here seen climbing a tree)  in about 5 minutes. He is not crazy about the squishy feel of raw meat, chicken or fish, but was more than happy to add the other ingredients – so easy – and also give it all a jolly good stir. Of course we always have grandma music playing – this time it was the Tickle Me Sample which always brings  a giggle!

Here it is!

Beef Stew with Wine and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 pounds of lean beef (chuck is good – trim off the fat and sinew)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

One onion chopped

3 cups of red wine ( older wine that you may have opened and not drank, or cooking wine) I used a merlot that had been open for about a week or so and was in my fridge kept fo this very purpose!

I cup of reconstituted porcini mushrooms (if using the dried ones) or fresh mushrooms cleaned and sliced thickly

I packet of dried onion soup mix

I can of cream of mushroom soup

Directions:

  • Heat the olive oil in a large pan and place the onion pieces in in and fry until translucent and light in color. Remove and put into the slow cooker.
  • Then add the chunks of meat to the pan, but don’t let the pieces touch each other – they cook better that way – and don’t over pack the pan either – do it in batches.
  • When the meat pieces are lightly browned on each side- remove from pan and place in the slow cooker until all batches are done.
  • Open the can of mushroom soup and add to the cooker. My grandson did the adding here and the stirring.
  • Open the packet of onion soup and add to the cooker. My grandson did the adding here too and the stirring.
  • Add the mushrooms and their water if you reconstituted them (or ad a cup of water if fresh mushrooms) to the slow cooker  – again my grandson did this and gave it all a great big stir! Bits do fall out – but who cares!
  • Add a 1/2 cup of water to the hot pan and scrape all the bits and pieces off it – and pour that into the slow cooker too.
  • Add the wine and stir ( good for cooking with kids!)
  • Cook on low for 8 hours ( or high for 3-4) and check to see that the meat is to your liking. I found that 3 hours on high and a few hours on low did it for me.
  • Serve with mashed potatoes or rice. YUM!

 

 

 

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Tuesday Tips – Amazing ideas sent to me anonymously – but OH SO HELPFUL when Cooking with Kids and More! YOU will say “Why didn’t I think of that?”

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Grandma
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WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT???

I am not the most craft oriented person – in fact, I used to dread arts and crafts days at school and am not the grandma who has a multiple of crafts around for children to play with. I would much rather cook, make up stories, create music and sound and song. Fortunately creativity comes in different ways – and someone – it came to me as ‘anonymous’ who is clearly good at arts and crafts, came up with some Ideas to Make Life Easier that are so simple and yet so brilliant. It is like that isn’t it though? The most brilliant ideas are the simple ones – the ones to which you have to exclaim – why didn’t I think of that?!  I  guarantee you’ll be uttering those words more than once at these ingenious little tips, tricks and ideas that solve everyday problems. I will pass them on every Tuesday for the next few weeks. And if you have your own tip that makes life easier, please do put it into the comment section at the bottom of my blog, so that I can publish it and share it with everyone! As I mentioned – this is not my best thing – so I am relying on the collective intelligence of those who are ever so much better at this kind of thing than I am!

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream.
 

 

 

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy.  Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

 

 

 

 

Overhaul your linen cupboard, and store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match. This one is especially brilliant – I am still using sheets I got in my trousseau after 42 years of marriage – can you believe it? And this will help me keep them organized – yay!!

Don’t forget to send me your tips for inclusion into future Tuesday tips!

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Songs for Kids – Adults too – Music Mondays – the Second week of a new year with beauty, kindness and love

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Grandma
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We are well into the second week of the new year and in order to take the good feelings from the holidays with us – I thought you might enjoy listening to this glorious rendition of Auld Lang Syne by Sissel an amazing soprano from Norway – her full name is Sissel Kyrkjebø (Norwegian ; born 24 June 1969 in Bergen), also simply known as Sissel.

Getting back to work was tough – it seemed like the holidays were longer than usual this year due to the two weekends of Xmas and New Year – so taking the good feelings and blessings with us for another week is why I am sharing this with you. My sister sent me this video from London – and I have watched it and many of the other videos by Sissel – she is beautiful, pure looking, with the voice of an angel. I am in awe at the purity of each note – you do not have to be a musician to appreciate her talent – very moving.

I feel the same way about my grandchildren – they are so pure, untouched by life, and full of hope and happiness, smiles and giggles – how blessed they are and how blessed I am to be here to share in these wonderful early years. Keeping them at peace, with nothing but joy and play in their minds, laughter on their faces and safety in their hearts – is my mission in life. May you be blessed with such gifts in your home, family, community and your world.

Above is a photo of my four grandsons, Jack, Jonah, Noah and Gabriel ( or is it Gabriel and Noah) – since the twins ( now 8 weeks) are identical it’s tough to tell who is who – but they are both glorious! I am a VERY fortunate grandma!

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Tasty Thursdays – Curried Chicken with Sweet Potatoes or Yams – Great for Cooking with Kids while listening to Grandma Music!

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Grandma
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Growing up in South Africa meant that we had many curry dishes – there is a large Indian population in South Africa, many in Durban but quite a few in Johannesburg too. We spent every July in Durban since for a time we owned race horses, and would attend the Durban July Handicap – of course with wonderful hats, outfits and the accompanying pomp and ceremony that only a colony of the UK could do so well! My father loved to cook – as did my mother, and Sunday nights were the nights when, as children, we got to cook too. Chopping, cutting, assembling, stirring – it was a family event – and curry was a favorite Sunday dish. Although we ate a lot of meat ( sometimes three times a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner!) this dish is lower in fat and calories and uses chicken. I am amazed at the abandon with which we added unhealthy ingredients in the past. We have learned so much since then about heart disease and obesity, and I now prefer eating dishes that are healthier. We always serve our curries with an assortment of side dishes – like chopped coconut, chopped peanuts, and of course, mango chutney!  Here is a photo of curry powder and leaves. And don’t forget to put on the music – cooking is much more fun with Grandma music! We love to listen to the Flying Cows Sample as well as the spooky song Monsters in my Room Sample

Ingredients: ( have the children measure out all the dry stuff)

  •  1 tablespoon curry powder ( I buy from Indian markets available in large cities – but the normal curry powder you get in the grocery store is fine too)
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric ( if you like less curry tang, add more turmeric and less curry powder)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut
    into 1-inch pieces ( if you like, you can add chicken thighs -boneless and skinless of course, we like the combination of breasts and thighs)
  • 1 1/2 cups sliced onion
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger ( fresh is best – but I like short cuts when in a hurry  which is most of the time – so canned minced is acceptable)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced ( again canned minced is ok here too)
  • 1 pint of chicken broth ( I make up Better than Bouillon – delicious)
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato or yams (raw)
  • 1/2 cup frozen green peas ( canned are too soft)
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice  ( we use Mayer Lemons from our farm)

Directions:

  1. Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl. This is perfect for the children to do. Put a large layer of paper towels under the bowl so any bits that fall out can be scooped up and added back in!
  2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
  3. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.
  4. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium.
  5. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until translucent, stirring often.
  6. Increase heat to medium-high; return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring
    occasionally.
  7. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  8. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
  9. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. The children can make up the broth ( adding water to the tablespoons of Better than Bouillon) and add the tomatoes and stir them.
  10. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Stir in potato. The children can throw the potato pieces into the pan – its great fun even if a few miss!
  11. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes
  12. Add peas; cook  until thoroughly heated. Children can take the peas out of the package and add them to a small bowl then pour that into the mixture.
  13. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice
  14. Discard bay leaf
  15. Serve with Little Farm Rice with Raisins, chopped coconut, chopped nuts and mango chutney ( Mrs. Balls is terrific!)

(Adapted from MyRecipes, Chicken Tonight, December 27, 2011)

Little Farm Rice with Raisins:
Cook Basmati or Jasmine rice the normal way, but add 1/2 cup of raisins to the mixture before bringing to a boil. Yum! ( Of course the children can measure out the raisins and add them).

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Cooking with Kids – Winter Vegetables – Potato Medley with Rosemary and Olive Oil – Good all year around!

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Grandma
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Background:
There are so many wonderful potatoes around now – that making a winter medley with children is so much fun. My grandsons love to help! And this is  a really easy delicious recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Assorted potatoes in season – Yukon Gold, Sweet potatoes and Yams, about half a potato per person
  • A sprig of fresh rosemary
  • 1/2 cup of olive oil spread among two baking pans
  • Patience with the little ones!

Directions:

  1. Heat the oven to 395 degrees
  2. Chop the rosemary leaves into small pieces
  3. Peel the potatoes and cube
  4. Place potatoes into the pans which have a little olive oil drizzled on the bottom
  5. Salt and pepper to taste – drizzle the rest of the olive oil on top of the potatoes
  6. Sprinkle the chopped rosemary leaves onto the potatoes
  7. Bake for one hour or until tender and a little bit browned
  8. Serve with anything – chicken, beef, lamb or with goat cheese sprinkled on top as a main dish ( we make our own)! YUMMY! Here is Jonah who is snacking on carrots while helping out. His favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner is broccoli, carrots and peppers. Gotta love this child!

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE VIDEO in this blog – for the finer details on how to cook with kids so that they don’t cut themselves, and enjoy the process while you still get the job done!

 

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Tasty Thursdays – belatedly! Baked Apples with Cranberries and Sour Cream

Posted on January 2, 2012 by Grandma
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Hi – I am still struggling with a crashed hard drive and replacements – but as promised here is the recipe for Tasty Thursdays!

Baked Apples Little Farm Style ( Serves 6)

Ingredients:
6 Granny Smith ( Green) Apples (one per person)

1.5 Cups of Dried Sweetened Cranberries

2 Tbsp of Butter ( 1 tsp per apple)

6 Tbsp of Brown Sugar ( 1 Tbsp per apple)

6 Tbsp of Sour Cream ( 1 Tbsp per apple – I use non fat)

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Wash the apples and core them ( ie take the middle stem pits and hard stuff out in a core leaving the apple intact but with a hole in the middle almost all the way through. If you can core them without cutting all the way through, that will prevent the yummy mixture from leaking all over your baking pan

3. Mix the sugar, butter and cranberries together then stuff the mixture into each of the empty apple core in the centre again trying not to piece the bottom to conserve the mixture inside.

4. On a baking pan with sides ( rectangular or square is fine) spray some Pam or Canola on the bottom and sides, and then place the stuffed apples into the pan – 6 should be able to fit nicely.

5. Bake for 45 minutes or until the apples look soft, and are beginning to brown slightly on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes – or little ones will burn their mouths as the inside of the apples gets very hot.

6. Serve with a tablespoon of sour cream on top – with a little brown sugar sprinkled on top of that. Delicious with vanilla icecream too!

 

 

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