Over the last few weeks, I have found several good deals on frozen seafood, so we have been eating a lot of fish. Since I am incapable of cooking only enough food for 3 people, we have leftover fish in the fridge.

This afternoon, Landis asked for a snack, and I offered him leftovers. "What kind of fish would you like for your snack, salmon or mahi?"

He pondered for a moment, then replied, "Goldfish!"

Turkey Apple Sausages

I found a great recipe for turkey apple sausages. Check out the recipe here. They were really good. We had the sausages and scrambled eggs for lunch/brunch today. I didn't think I liked sausage, but I like these ones!

I've been trying to teach Landis to be respectful of other people's belongings, and to think about the effects of his actions on others. Every time he plays with one of Goat's, Aaron Scott's or my things, we go through this conversation about how it is important to take care of other people's things and return them in the same condition they were in when they were borrowed, and how it makes people feel sad when their things are broken. Here is a conversation we had yesterday.

Landis: Monni, Monni, Monni! *tugs on my skirt* Orange, please.

Me: Okay, Landis.

Landis: Peel it, please.

Me: Of course, silly boy.

Landis: Monni no drop orange on floor. Monni break Landi's orange, make Landi too sad.


He made this ridiculously over exaggerated sad face, and I couldn't suppress a giggle as I assured him I would take good care of his orange and not drop it on the floor.

He got my sweet tooth...

Me: What do you want for breakfast?

Landis: *noncommittal shrug*

Me: You can have cereal and fruit or eggs and toast.

Landis: OR Landis could have candy!

As the smell of regurgitated Goldfish wafted through the air

I suddenly but irrevocably lost all desire to eat that deliciously cheesy snack food ever again.

In related news: Landis has a stomach bug. We've fallen into a pattern of about 18 hours of fitful, feverish sleep and intermittent vomiting, followed by 6 hours of relative good health and happiness. My poor little boy is miserable. He keeps crying as nausea overtakes him "No more! All done! All done!" I feel so powerless. There is nothing to do but keep him clean and well hydrated, and to just be present for him, physically and emotionally. Get better soon, sweet little Landi-love!

Chicken Satay

I tried out a new recipe for dinner tonight and it was a hit! It's a relatively quick and simple recipe (especially since I made Goat do the grilling) and tastes great. The chicken would have been great by itself, but I really like the peanut sauce. It tastes a lot like a Pad Thai sauce. Without further ado: Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce.

Go Bake Some No-Knead Bread!

It's delicious, and so, so easy!

It's about a 20 hour process, but requires only 15 or 20 minutes of hands on time. The recipe can be found here. I modified it by using 1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 c. all purpose flour and it turned out great!

The whole wheat flour gives it a yummy nutty flavor, and the long initial rise gives it just a hint of sourdough. I don't have a dutch oven or casserole with a lid to bake it in, so i've been using the insert from my crockpot, which is a little bit too big. I think the loaf would end up a lot taller and more evenly shaped in a smaller pan.

Give it a try and let me know how your bread turns out! It really is the easiest bread recipe I've ever tried, with the least hands on time and the smallest amount of flour dusted over the surfaces in my kitchen. :)

Recipes

We have been trying some new recipes over the last few days and found a few that are too yummy not to share!


Soft Pretzels These are perfect - soft and salty and sweet. We've tried topping them with salt and with cinnamon sugar, and both are very good. Landis loves them as a snack, and I could eat them all day long!

Onion Chutney We made onion chutney quesadillas, and I think I'm officially addicted! The chutney is both sweet and fruity from the apple cider vinegar and brown sugar and pleasantly spicy because of the chile and coriander. It's good enough to just eat plain, and it will transform a sandwich from a boring lunch item to the high point of the afternoon.

"Pop Up" or German Pancakes We (mostly Goat) have been looking for a good German Pancake recipe for months. Goat's Dad used to make these for breakfast years ago, but somehow the recipe got lost along the way. These are exactly the way Goat remembers them! They are rich because of the eggs, but puff up when you cook them so they are not too dense. We ate them with lemon juice and powdered sugar and they were delicious!

Black Eyed Pea Soup

I threw together random things we had in the house for dinner tonight and it turned out really well!

1 pound dry black eyed peas
water
salt
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 c. fresh basil, roughly chopped
1 c. frozen spinach
3 oz. tomato paste

Cook the black eyed peas in the crockpot, covered with an inch of water and a little bit of salt for 3-4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Add garlic and basil and cook on low for another 1/2 hour. Add in tomato paste, butter and spinach and cook until the spinach is ready. Serve!

The sunflowers are sprouting! I am so excited about them. Besides adding some lovely color to the garden, they will attract bees to pollinate the vegetables, and we will have lots of delicious sunflower seeds to eat. During my obsessive reading of gardening websites, I came across the idea of planting a sunflower house, planting the sunflowers in a rectangle, leaving a small space unplanted for a door. Inside, a "carpet" of hardy, edible plants can be sown for the kids to trample and chomp. I think the boys would really enjoy watching the house grow (and grow and grow.... The sunflowers should reach about 12 feet.) If I get the sunflower house and bean teepee up, the garden should be a pretty fun place.

I put the lettuce and radish seeds in cups to sprout at lunchtime today. They grow very quickly, and if all goes as planned we should be eating the first of them in about a month. I can't wait for fresh salad from the garden!

I have high hopes for our watermelons. The seedlings (18!)we planted seem to be doing well so far, and the plants we bought as seedlings have just started flowering. I found an amazing recipe for Watermelon-Strawberry Sorbet that I cant wait to try.

Mealtime

...has recently become much more entertaining. Landis is learning to eat with utensils. He LOVES it! He is doing really well, and it is so cute (and messy!) Forks are his favorite, but he manages to get quite a bit of his morning oatmeal in his mouth with his spoon. He does really well picking up bite sized pieces of chicken, fish or veggies with his fork. He even tried chopsticks one night, stabbing pieces of chicken with the end and bringing it to his mouth. I think sushi eating in his blood - Goat, Aaron Scott and I all love sushi.

The one food that has confounded him is spaghetti. He just cant quite manage to get it to stay on the fork, but it sure is funny to watch him try!

My helper.

Landis is getting so big! He wants to be invovled in everything I do, especially baking. Here he is helping me bake some bread.

I've finally gotten back to making my own bread on a regular basis (it only took me until Landis was almost 1) and we are almost out of wheat! Fortunately, my friend Sara and I have been able to join up with a co-op and make an order through Walton Feed. We are looking forward to getting lots of yummy whole grains to bake with over the next few months.

I've been branching out and trying breads other than my usual whole wheat loaf and would love any recipes you guys have. Anyone have a great recipe for rye bread?

I was skeptical...

but Black Bean Brownies are delicious!

Black Bean Brownies

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup sugar
2 bananas
1/4 cup applesauce

Preheat oven to 350 F. Blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the brownies comes out clean. Cool, eat and enjoy!

The brownies come out really gooey, which I like, but if you want slightly drier brownies, decrease the amount of applesauce.

Yum!

We went thrift store shopping this weekend with Aunt Jane and I took a chance and bought a crockpot, not knowing whether it worked. It works!! To test it out, I made delicious

Lentil Soup

olive oil
1 large chopped onion
2-3 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp. ground coriander seed
1 tsp. ground cumin seed
2 cups lentils
6 cups water or stock
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup brown rice
splash of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Saute the onion, garlic, coriander and cumin in the olive oil until the onion is soft and clear. Place in the crockpot.

Add lentils, water or stock, tomatoes and rice to the crockpot. Cook on low for several hours.

Before serving, add a splash of and salt and pepper to taste.



It is yummy! I'm so excited to have a crockpot. It will make life so much easier. Landis is generally fussiest and clingiest in the evening around dinner time, so it's hard to pry him out of my arms long enough to make a good meal. I threw the soup ingredients in the crockpot just before lunch and they were ready by dinnertime. Let me know if you have a crockpot recipe that you love!

I spend 2 minutes blogging

and Landis eats a beetle. Ewwwww! Where did he even find it? Lawrence fished the head out of his mouth, and he was holding the body and wings. How gross!!