I Never Grew Up

Little Critter Tea Party

vanessa — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 01:00:19 +0000

The girls wanted to throw a tea party over the summer with their neighborhood friends and, of course, I said we shall! I mean, how do you say no to requests like that? The night before the party, Abby and I sat down to think of what we were going to do and we decided on a Little Critter Tea Party!

For decor, we used our set-up that we use for every single party and birthday celebration (and we still are in love with it).

This is what was on the menu and agenda:

Making ladybug cupcakes (they didn’t turn out but it was still fun)

Making paper flowers (just a pipe cleaner, button and scrapbook paper cut out into a flower shape)

Eating a caterpillar of fruit, peanut butter & jelly butterfly sandwiches (made by cutting the sandwich into triangles with carrot sticks as antennae) and pink lemonade for tea

Side Note: I took lots of pictures of the flowers, cupcakes, other food and the girls having fun. But I get really nervous posting pictures of other children. And even if you ask, sometimes people just say yes to be nice. Do you worry about that with your blog? What do you do?

Raw Melissa

vanessa — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 02:08:41 +0000

Raw Melissa’sfood is SOOooooOOoo yummy. She is one those ladies who just GLOWS inside and out. When she wants to share something (she is not pushy at all) about her products or the way she lives or eats, you WANT to listen. You want to take notes and do it with no questions asked! I have attended some of her cooking classes and made her recipes many, many times. Even my friend Emily went and looked in her fridge and pantry to learn all the secrets and was blown away.

Finally, Finally, FINALLY! Her cookbook is out. Here is what she has to say about it:

“After two years and a lot of work, my cookbook is finally done. We’re having a ten-day presale starting today for all those who’d like to get in on it! Here’s the info:

This is a beautiful little cookbook full of fresh recipes that will please you and your family. It’s got a beautiful glossy cover filled with photos and beautiful illustrations as well as several pages of facts about the nourishing foods included in the recipes. The paper is thick with a “raw” texture and the layout is extraordinary. You’ll find six sections: light meals, desserts, salads, salsas, sauces and dips and smoothies, all fresh and delicious. My favorites are the famous Thai Nut Sauce, Lime Mousse, Winter Tomato Sauce, Raspberry Basil Smoothie, and the No Bake No Bake Chocolate Cookies and, well, I like all the recipes and I think you will, too.

I’ll be at the American Fork Good Earth on September 18th from 11am-4pm to sign copies and give out free vanilla and chocolate covered macaroons! If you purchase a cookbook here (at the discounted presale price), you can pick it up that day or you may pay for shipping and we’ll ship it to you. Just be sure to include your name and address.”

Man, you guys, I am so proud and excited for her! And this is a killer price. I am buying a handful and using some of them for holiday gifts.
This lady is going to be BIG. I just know it. Miss Raw Melissa, watch for it! Get her 1st cookbook while you can!

Chickens, you have GROWN!

vanessa — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 01:00:20 +0000

I wanted to show you guys how fast the chickens grew when we were out of town.

This is the set-up they live in. They like sitting in that old kennel AND their house. When the dogs are inside, we let them out to roam the backyard and eat bugs. They won’t be fully grown or making eggs until November. But they sure are cute!

Let’s see. They also aren’t as nervous or afraid of us as they used to be. AND they go through chicken feed much faster now.

If you missed the post on WHY we wanted to get backyard chickens, read it here.

If you missed the other post on other details, read that here.

Seasons by Blexbolex

vanessa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:55:18 +0000

Yesterday I went through all the children’s books in the house. I remembered that, boy, do I have quite the obsession with them. AND I realized that I really love books about fall and the changing of the seasons.

This book is a new favorite. It is very full, with tons of pages and illustrations. The book feels and looks as if it could be a coffee table book for $30 bucks. Every single illustration is extremely interesting and sometimes we make up stories just off one picture.

I actually found it first at my library and then ordered it online. Fabulous book: Seasons by Blexbolex!

Gooseberry Fools (Trifle, Parfait, Whatever)

vanessa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:42:26 +0000

Honestly, I don’t know if I will every buy gooseberries again BUT they were something fun to try. The whole time I was eating this, I couldn’t help thinking how much BETTER it would have been with a different sort of berry. Still good to try new things though! The fancy name for this is a “Fool,” although Trifle or Parfait or Whatever works too.

Ingredients:

Custard, yes it is super easy. See here.

Freshly Whipped Whipping Cream

Gooseberries

Directions:

1. Gently clean gooseberries and put them in a pot with boiling water. Let boil for 2 minutes until they get soft. Then let cool.

2. Layer the custard, cream and gooseberries. Enjoy!

White Currant Salmon with Mint

vanessa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:38:15 +0000

This one is really easy. It does sound a bit odd but it really is quite good. I found the idea in an interview with Martha Stewart a while back and have wanted to try it for awhile.

All you do is this: season the salmon with salt and pepper and drop dollops of butter on top. Then rip up some of the mint. Put that on top as well. Take the clean white currants (without stems) and place all over salmon. Cook until fish is cooked thoroughly. You can put some more fresh mint on top.

Very yummy!

Red Currant & Raspberry Sparkling Lemonade

vanessa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 02:34:23 +0000

I know. What a title! I meant for it to just be Red Currant & Raspberry Soda but it was missing something so I added some lemon and water and it was perfect. So voila! Red Currant & Raspberry Sparkling Lemonade!

Ingredients:

Simple Syrup: 2 cups of water and 2 cups of raw sugar

Raspberry/Red Currant Mixture: 3/4-1 cup red currants (picked off and cleaned), 1-1/2 cup raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water

6 Lemons

Sparkling water or soda water

Cheesecloth

Directions:

1. Make the simple syrup by boiling the 2 cups of water, adding in the 2 cups of sugar and mixing till dissolved. Set aside.

2. Take currants and raspberries and sprinkle with 1/4 cup sugar. Let sit for a bit. Then mix in 3/4 cup water.

3. Get cheesecloth ready over a bowl and then put the mixture on top of the cloth and let sit for about an hour to stain.

4. Mix simple syrup with the strained red currant/raspberry mixture. Add in the juice from 6 lemons.

5. When wanting to make a drink, fill a cup 3/4 full with soda water or sparkling water and then the rest with the mixture.

Makes 8 large drinks

Raising Kids on Real Food

vanessa — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 01:00:28 +0000

You know we LOVE Farmer’s Markets. We try and go every single Saturday and all four of us have such a fun time together.

We pick up the same old things that we need throughout the week and then we always try something new as well! Sometimes the girls pick the new item or sometimes Tyler or I pick it. This week it was my turn and I just had to try these three things out. I had never had them!

White currants, red currants and gooseberries. Today I’ll have a recipe for all three.

I want kids with a good palette. I don’t want picky eaters and I want them to have fun trying new things!

This is one way I *try* and do it. ‘Cause believe me, sometimes I give up and we eat a big bowl of granola for dinner. No one ever whines about that!

Monday’s Maven

vanessa — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 01:00:59 +0000

Monday’s Maven

Full Name: Catherine McCord

blog:

Location: California

kids: Kenya, 3 1/2 and Chloe 17 Months

One Word that Describes You: Happy

What makes you smile? My kids playing and laughing together

What is one of your dreams you hope to accomplish soon? To see the weelicious cookbook in print

One of Your favorite motherhood moments? Watching my kids eat foods I never thought they would like and chowing down on every bite

What is your guilty pleasure? The Bachelor

What do you love most about you? My ability to multi task (it’s come in quite useful these days

Favorite place? Ravello, Italy-the food, the scenery, the people, it’s heaven!

Who is your hero? My husband

Your advice to other mothers that want to raise kids (or get their kids on track) to have a healthy relationship with food and grow up to be healthy adults? Starting as early as possible is the key to creating kids that have a healthy relationship with food. The more that you can expose them to a variety of foods and allow them to be a part of the cooking process, the more excited they will be about what goes in their body!

Catherine’s website is full of just tons and tons of recipes for babies, toddles, older kids and for families as a whole. We made her popsicles this Summer and they were delicious. Check out the video on how to make them:

“Best Family Photographer in San Francisco” for Nickelodeon’s Parents’ Connect Awards

vanessa — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:18:28 +0000

Contests are such fun. We all love Nickelodeon and we all love beautiful family photography.

Will you help me with voting for this photographer?

Be sure that you click on that graphic above to take a look around her gallery. Her photos are full of MEMORIES- beautiful family memories. The personalities of the people in the photos just shines through and you can’t help but grin. You must take a look at her baby photos, kids portraits and family photos.

I would LOVE if you would all take the time to vote for her in the contest: “Best Family Photographer in San Francisco” for Nickelodeon’s Parents’ Connect Awards.