Ok…

…so I have to do just one more post. I kind of left you all hanging there in October. 3 months pregnant and whoosh, I was gone. Well, here’s the baby.

Baby happens to be a boy named Bennet. He arrived on April 5 after 1 hour and 23 minutes of labor. I only had to push twice. It was amazing.

Bennet weighed in at 8 pounds and 6 ounces. A chunky little fella! So far he’s been my fussiest baby but the other two were complete angels so that’s not saying much. He’s now 6 weeks old and smiles if you talk to him. He’s also starting to coo. I just love this stage!

Jada and Tage are doing very well with him. Jada likes to “babysit” while I take showers or run outside for something. She’ll sit there beside him and talk or sing to him. So cute. Tage likes to hug his face. So far he hasn’t smothered him!

Me, I’m doing great over here. Keeping busy in the garden and flower beds and just cooking up a storm. Brad is doing the usual…driving tractors and keeping the cows happy.

And that’s life here, folks!

Later,

Z-

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Snapshots of Summer (and Maybe a Tomato Sandwich)

A peek at what I’ve been seeing lately, you know, other than food.

Chickie's Rock

tiger lily

patiently waiting for a ride

lightning bug

lady bug on Russian sage

Oh no! She's growing up!

scooping up pond scum

squatting in pond scum

"doin' the disses"

mmm, pancakes

Oh. Hmmm. I just can’t write a post without any food! How about a summer lunch staple? It’s not much of a recipe but we eat it pretty often, much to pancake man’s dismay. He doesn’t much care for tomatoes (or basil). The little bugger. He’ll just have to learn to like them because they are main-stays these days.

Open-face Tomato Sandwich

Have ready per serving:

1 piece of toast (this is pictured)

1 large, thick slice of tomato

1 T basil chiffonade (It might go over with little ones better if it’s chopped up even more fine. Or at least, that would make it more difficult to pick out.)

2 t mayonnaise

salt, pepper, garlic powder/salt, onion powder/salt, or any combination of the 4

Spread the mayo on the toasted bread. Sprinkle with the basil before topping with the tomato. Season to taste with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, or any other herbs and spices of choice.

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Orange Julius Pops

Brad always asks me to make orange julius. It’s a delicious icy beverage to slurp down on a hot day. I recently made it for him and then got the bright idea to make popsicles with it. I know. I can be a bit slow sometimes.

I whipped up a batch, poured the mixture into my popsicle mold, and in a few long hours, we had a tasty cold snack to munch on. Unfortunately, I only got half of one. Brad eats 4 at a time.

I like to make snacks that have some substance to them. Something that will stick to the ribs for more than 23 minutes. With little kids around who always want to eat, I think it’s important to feed them more than just a piece of fruit or a celery stick (unless it’s close to meal time, of course). The milk adds a little protein to these popsicles. If you want to up it even more, replace the water with more milk. I haven’t tried it but I’m sure it would be tasty. Yogurt would be good, too. I often make fruit and yogurt popsicles.

Oh, and throwing in a banana doesn’t hurt, either. I snatch them up at the grocery store when they are discounted for turning black. Frozen in little chunks, they are perfect for throwing into something like this.

Orange Julius Pops

Adapted from my mom’s orange julius recipe

1 frozen banana, in small chunks (optional)

6 oz frozen orange juice concentrate

1 cup milk

1 cup water

2 T sugar

1 t vanilla

Whirl everything in the blender until smooth. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze, hopefully not forgetting to put the sticks in when they are half frozen. At least, that’s what I have to do.

There will probably be too much of the mixture, unless you have several popsicle molds. Just drink it on the spot. Delicious.

Yield: 10 popsicles plus some

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Something Fun

The other evening the kids were driving me bonkers. (Kids do that sometimes, in case you didn’t know.) So after supper I decided I’m not going to try to get anything done. I’ll just do something fun with the kiddies. Because really, that’s getting something done too, right?

I also needed to give Jada something to color with. Instead of crayons. On the porch. Silly girl.

I got out some cornstarch and food coloring and set to work. Three minutes later, I had these:

They were so giddy.

I love the studious expression on Tage’s face.

It wasn’t long before they started painting the wall.

One of Jada’s masterpieces. She wouldn’t tell me what it was.

I think Tage enjoyed stirring the paint more than actually applying it to different surfaces.

Taking a break to watch a tractor, paint dribbling down his leg.

And we’re done. Don’t they look so cool?

I tried painting a little bit. It’s kind of strange stuff. You have to re-dip your brush pretty often as it all runs off the brush in the first couple inches of your stroke. But I really like the neon colors and they way it dries immediately. Oh. And the fact that is washes off. It rained that night and there wasn’t any sign of it in the morning. Yes! Bravo for another Pinterest find!

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

Recipe from here

1 cup cornstarch

1 cup water

food coloring (gel or drops)

Mix the cornstarch and water until smooth. Divide the mixture between muffin cups and tint each one with food coloring. Stir well. Apply to sidewalks or brick wall with paint brushes. Wash off when finished or let nature do the job later.

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Butter Cookies

Brad gave me a little LifeCam for Christmas. I thought it was about time I put it to use. Occasionally a class of preschoolers takes a tour of the dairy and I always make them some little cow cookies for their goody bags. So here you have it: Zoe cutting out cow cookies (I’m a little nervous for you to watch…maybe you shouldn’t hit the play button!).

I think I need to work on my camera presence. And my stuttering and awkward pauses. It took 3 tries to get this little snippet. I’ve got a looong way to go.

Anyway, these cookies. They are delicious. Crisp, buttery little gems. I hope the children enjoy them!

Butter Cookies

Adapted from Alton Brown’s recipe

1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup (7 oz) sugar

1 egg, room temp

1 t vanilla

2 T milk

2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour

1 cup (4 1/4 oz) sprouted whole wheat pastry flour

3/4 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg, vanilla, and milk. Stir together the dry ingredients and then add them to the creamed mixture. Mix well and then form the dough into two disks. Refrigerate the disks, covered, for a few hours or until firm.

Remove one ball of dough at a time and roll out on a lightly floured surface until 1/8th inch thick (or a little less). Cut into desired shapes and bake at 375 on parchment lined cookie sheets for 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from sheets and cool on a wire rack. Ice once cooled.

Yield: 4 to 5 dozen cow cookies

Apple Cream Cheese Icing

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 oz cream cheese, room temp

1 T butter, room temp

2 T apple jelly

Beat all ingredients together until smooth. Ice cookies. Leftovers freeze well.

Yield: 3/4 cup icing

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