Vanilla Honey Tea Time Macaroons

I found a recipe in one of those free for kindle cook books. The weird thing was, when I mixed them up? They were terrible. The consistency was impossible, dry and crumbly and we were obviously heading for a huge baking fail. It was one of those moments when you have to ask if the authors of those books even attempt the recipes before publishing. So I got creative and I think *my* end results were amazing.

 

Ingredients
2 Cups unsweetened shredded coconut*
2 eggs
1/4-1/3c honey*
1tsp vanilla
1T coconut flour
A pinch of baking soda

* if you use sweetened coconut reduce honey to 1T
*I like them less sweet but if you prefer a pronounced sweetness go for more honey.

Directions

1. In mixing bowl combine eggs, honey, vanilla, flour and soda- mix well... mix  in the coconut.

2. **on parchment paper** covered cookie sheet press cookies into firm mounds and pat down into a flat cookie. This is probably the most labor intensive part of these cookies, they are quite loose and messy. But they bake into a nice non-crumbly cookie. They don't spread while baking, so what you put in is what comes out. The firmer you press them the more macaroony they'll be.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes (until bottom edges are golden brown and tops don't look liquid or squish when you gently tap them.

Enjoy with some Tea and some Read Aloud Time.

 (slurping spilled tea off the table optional)

4yar olds...sigh.

Grain-Free Savory Mini Burgers

One thing about this grain free adventure has been trying to balance our clean eating (we try to only consume organic meat and dairy products) with the budget. This gets tricky in a family of 5...The kids eat more individually at each meal than my husband and I do!

Thankfully, we are blessed to have easy access to abundant options when it comes to free range and grass fed meats-especially important with our youngest who has corn allergies. But how to prepare it? These Savory Mini burgers stretch to about 24 burgers from 1pound of ground beef! I used to make meat loaf with gf oatmeal... it always used an egg in the recipe and it kind of lead to some experiments in how to stretch a pound of hamburger to feed several people.

Ingredients

• 1 pound hamburger 
• 5 large eggs
• 2 T shredded onion
• 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
• 1/3 C shredded *unsweetened* coconut*
• 3 dashes of chili powder (1/2-1tsp)
•  1T of ketchup
• 1tsp salt
• 1/8tsp black pepper

* another option would be to use 3/4 cup of cauliflower that's been put through the food processor so it's finely ground and sauté in butter or refined )coconut oil for 5minutes.

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead together thoroughly. Add 1-2T oil to skillet and add meat to hot pan in small meatball sized portions. Press down into burgers when you flip them.

Serves 6-8 approx. 24burgers
Prep Time 5minutes
Cook time: 20?

They're delicious on their own or dipped in sweet and sour cranberry dipping sauce (recipe coming soon!), spicy mustard, or (my kids preference) organic (HFCS free) ketchup.

Sides: oven baked French fries!
Or pan fried Sweet potatoes with drizzled maple syrup and cinnamon.
I often add some roasted kale chips or broccoli for some greens.

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Sweet Chilli Hash Stew

It was one of those, "what do I Maaake???" Sunday afternoons. I threw stuff in the chefs pot and Sweet Chilli Hash was the result.

This was a delicious sweet and gently spicy stew. It got 2 giant thumbs up from my normally picky 4 year old. She and the 2 year old had 2 big bowls each!!! I really think some of the secret to it's success was the sweet and spicy pasta sauce from Wegman's...checkout their ingredients to find some thing similar! 

 

Sweet Chilli Hash Stew
By H. Burgett
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 LARGE Sweet Potato (diced)
4-5 medium russet potatoes (diced)
1 medium/large onion (chopped)
2-4 cloves garlic (minced) 
1 23oz jar of Spicy-ish Pasta Sauce (I use THIS from Wegman's)
3-4 dashes of chilli powder
2tsp sea salt

We use coconut oil for our cooking oil. In large skillet or wok brown beef until nearly cooked, add  oil (if beef is lean) and  potatoes (both kinds), onions, garlic, salt.

Toss potatoes occasionally for about 10minutes if potatoes stick (we don't use non-stick pans) pan add 1/4c of water and loosen with stirring.

Put lid on and cook for 15minutes stirring often.

Add jar of sauce and dashes of chilli powder  stir well... allow to simmer (stirring often) until potatoes seem soft (5-10minutes).

8-10 servings (depending on the crowd)

Option 2: I also browned the beef, sauted all the ingredients but the tomato sauce a bit and then threw it in the croc pot, mixed in the sauce, and left it to cook on low for 5-8 hours.

 

enjoy!

 

Grain Free Adventure...

I have so many things I've wanted to process... but finding the time? Meh.

I have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We've recently gone grain free in an attempt to deal with some increasing gut and behavioral issues with our middle child. It has been crazy town.

But going grain free? So fun! Really, I enjoy cooking and coming up with some new recipes has been tons of fun. And with that starts a series of paleo and grain free recipes...

First Up? Sweet Chilli Hash Stew...

Coming soon!

The Stomach Bug - 4 Things I Learned the Hard Way...And Should be Common Knowledge

It is winter. The days are often dark and short, it is cold outside, the bodies Vitamin D stores are running lower, and germs are flying fast and free.

I can handle some colds and coughs, please let us catch those if it means we can forever be skipped by my dreaded nemesis: the stomach bug.

 I admit, I have emetophobia. I don't know if it goes back to a bad experience as a child. Or the hyperemesis I experienced for the first  6months of pregnancy my oldest. Or when she was 2.5 years old and contracted rotavirus and she vomited 24/7 for an entire week and I was cleaning up nasty messes for a month (she was potty trained). Shiver. Just thinking of all those experiences makes me a bit jumpy.

I keep hearing of nonchalant posts about puke bugs on Facebook and I realize not everyone shares my dread of this malady... Lucky beasts, is what I say!

But regardless of where you stand on the vomit spectrum there are a few things I wish all good citizens of humanity knew about these viruses so its spread could be reduced.

#1 The virus can be spread for 2 weeks after you've been ill. Yeah, TWO WEEEKS!!!! It sheds in your... well, poop and saliva.  From Mayo Clinic:  
The viruses that cause gastroenteritis are spread through close contact with infected people, such as by sharing food or eating utensils. Washing your hands or using hand sanitizer is the most effective way to stop the spread of these viruses to others.


This sounds vague and harmless, many think "well I am not going to be sharing forks and cups, or food with people-it's all good!" . But how often do you touch your face/mouth/eyes? And then touch shared surfaces? Especially Little kids. I wasn't aware you could be contagious after the fact and we shared a bug with friends-I still feel bad for that one. When possible keep little ones home (yeah...hard to do) and try to wash their hands often.
**Washing hands well and often is a simple step everyone can do to avoid sharing and partaking in a nasty 24 hours. **

#2 Don't feed the virus! I have seen this over and over again on internet searches they say things like, "be sure to drink plenty of clear fluids. But stick to a BRAT diet when vomiting."
 I cry FALSE!!!!
I was shocked when my pediatrician recommended this, but floored by how amazingly it worked at stopping the pukes!!
Here's the deal, if someone is vomiting: stop all fluids and solids until there has been no vomit episodes for at least 2-3 HOURS. The thinking behind this is, that the sick person will become increasingly dehydrated the more they vomit (and the other stuff that, you get it.)- getting them to keep what's in there to stay in is imperative. If their mouth tastes bad a swish and spit of water should help.
 After 2  hours you can give a small sip- we're talking a tablespoon tops-every 10minutes as long as no vomit happens. After an hour try 1oz every 5 minutes. If they throw up: re-set the clock. If not try 2oz...once fluids stay down push them hard- don't attempt solids.  for at least 8 hours since last vomit episode. Keep an eye out for signs of dehydration. But honestly, I have found this incredibly effective in stopping the vomit phase much more quickly (except with rotavirus, in that case we sought medical help and the pediatrician prescribed Zofran - we didn't know about this protocol with that illness -we were only waiting an hour and after 36 hours of puke I took her in to the doctor.  It turns out it takes a lot more puke and crap to dehydrate but we got her those meds! She still puked a bit but it was greatly improved.)

#3 Wash your hands wash your hands wash wash wash! Bottom line, the less flying around the better. But if some one is sick the germs are in the stuff that comes out.  I really liked  Courtney Sullivan's advices over at FoodMedicineChildrens.com. Her 4 Tips are the best I've found on the internet, read them for some awesome advice!!  I guess with 6 Kids she'd know! Seriously, exactly what we do. Especially read what she shares about activated charcoal -I can't say how empowered that makes me! Also this is another great resource son it's use from the Nourishing Gourmet

#4 COMMMUNCATE - Seriously here, this may mot seem like a big deal to you, but you may be shocked at how many people care about this. And are greatly distressed when  they are kept out of the loop. if you or someone you live with has been unfortunate enough to experience this wretched illness in the last 48 hours. (hey, even that is stretching it for me. I'd prefer to know if it has happened in the last week-especially if  you're playing closely with my kids... yeah, I am on the freak out side of the spectrum, I admit it). Please be kind: give fair warning if you are going to be in close contact with others. There is no shame in it. Now I know we vomit-anxious people can't hide from the world, and I am certainly not saying you should. But a Simple heads up to some one you've made plans with -even if you haven't been sick is a wonderful and  polite thing to do.

"Hey, my son was throwing up yesterdday, I think it missed me. But I understand if you want to reschedule..." or a general Facebook mention so the emetaphobes on your list can avoid  pray for you.  Really now, letting others decide how much exposure they're up for is a really polite move. People who care for small children, the elderly, or who are out of their minds with barf-related anxiety will hold you in high esteem (after discreetly stepping several feet back). 

Bottom line, we all have our "things"... To some it seems silly, or weird. Lets all be human together and embrace that we're all different and some find these things quite awful.  Washing your hands, don't lick stuff in public (that's a joke?), don't feed the bug, and COMMUNICATE kindly.  

Obviously life happens...lets all try to make the stomach bug happen less!

 None of this can or should be taken for medical advice, consult your physician for that!

Autumn to December- what a rush!

self portrait by Friendly (aged 4)

 It's been a while! Our school year is going well... Friendly is just blowing my mind with her hungry little intellectual brain. And Roo is growing in leaps and bounds and asking such thoughtful and deep questions I am some times at a loss how to answer her (youtube to the rescue lol...well at least it answers "how are cars made?" But things like "why did Eve eat the fruit?" well geee...ummm)...

The girls can't get enough "school", it's a new kind of exhausting- but also a ton of fun!

I am still mostly loving a lot about Heart of Dakota curriculum. I love how short and sweet it is! We can do it "all" in 20 minutes, or we can stretch it out and take 3 hours and just soak in all the stuff.  It is very underwhelming and a great spring board for these ages- I definitely am glad I went with it this year. It has given us lots of time to spend outside during the sunshiney days of October and November....Lots of sweet moments:

Pip's favorite thing, ever: holding her sisters hands and being "big".

"The Heart of God" 100% by Roo

  We have been pretty much moseying through units 12/13 since Thanksgiving- skipping a lot of days to rest, run errands, work on house projects (more on that on the family blog shortly!) or just do other stuff.

At Thanksgiving we attempted finger print turkeys:

 What we actually ended up doing for the official was letting the girls finger paint a chinet plate and then we traced the girls hands on to it the next day and they added turkey features to their "hands".

 It has also been snowing a shocking amount for this time of year. We built a snow man together last weekend:

 Her name is (Roo declared): Miss "Lady"

 

In school this year so far we've covered The Old Testament from Creation up through the New Testament where we've just started in on Jesus' Ministry and the recounting of Jesus turning water into wine.

We finished "The World God Made" Kindergarten science book and have moved onto "Our Father's World" first grade science. Both are creation science books (covering the days of creation, the elements, animals, human anatomy, weather, seasons, months etc)...We're almost done the first grade book and I'm really not sure what to move onto next. Honestly all the Charlotte Mason-ish curriculum I have seen are not that big on science- and its' some thing that is a ton of fun to study together. I think researching new options is going to be my goal for Christmas Break.

What else have we done? We have followed the story of Reddy the Fox, Peter Cotton Tail, and are now in our 3rd book "Danny Meadow Mouse" - the girls are loving the books but Thorton Burgess and I love how bite sized they are and how HOD hones in on themes and draws out activities from the chapters.

So 4 months in, what do I still think of Heart of Dakota? I like it. Will I use it next year? I am not sure. I think it actually works really well for Roo (nearly 6). But I feel like I almost need some thing more driven and faster moving for Friendly (4). I am considering My Father's World Curriculum for her next year. We shall see.

 Another exciting thing (that has filled up many an afternoon!) was that Roo and Friendly got their *very own* library cards. It has been fun to take them on individual dates- cheap dates- and letting them walk out with a big stack of book they picked out themselves!

ADVENT....
We've been doing advent activities every day and are reading "The 24 Days of Christmas" by Madeline L'Engle

A tradition: paper chain!

wrapping paper, paper chain!

Tea times...

Decorating!

Glittery snow flake making (because nothing says "Christmas" like cleaning up glitter for the entire month!) Friendly took the initiative and taped her snowflake to the front door- isn't that great? Lots of tape too! :)

And typing out all that above and looking through the girls "binders" (we've been putting their projects and special papers in their own binder- the things are BURSTING they are so full of stuff they've written, created, and done in "school"). Well it feels good. Really good, I really like homeschooling. So much as a stay at home Mom I feel like I do a ton of things that get "undone" or that aren't really quantifiable...Some times it all feels pointless. I like check lists (though I try to be flexible), I like the reward of seeing I have accomplished some thing. And reading the above ...Well we have accomplished a lot this Autumn...It's been so much fun to learn and grow together.


I am hoping next year will bring more time to blog...to ponder and process. 2013 has been ridiculously amazingly busy and full of changes and blessings... Here's to a new year and more things to learn and grow in!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from the "Joy" Family (and Nana Joy too- oh and if you're wondering about our expressions- the person taking our picture their tree was falling over behind them- ha!)

Home Schooling

Our adventure has officially begun! The past few months have been wild! I renovated 3 large rooms this summer, helped lay a new patio, I was working at least 40+ hours a week for most of the month of July and a lot of August. It was a crazy summer. And then we moved! Lots of life changes happening. You can read more about our before and afters over at our family blog if you're into that sort of thing :)

The past...2 years... I have loosely followed some online guides (Wee Folk Art has some awesome unit studies and we enjoyed some of the fall and winter ones the last 2 years). A relative gave me her Sonlight Core A that she had used with her kids. So for the past two years we've chipped away at the read alouds and really enjoyed the Science books and the Usborn stuff that came with that (seriously, it is an awesome resource! I cannot say what a blessing it was to be able to use it!). But honestly, I am not big on pushing "school"... It just didn't feel like "it was time" and so we just did what we felt like when it felt right and it was fun.

 I liked a lot of the stuff in Sonlight and I was really hoping to use it "for real" when the time came. But the way the actual lesson plans were set up was a bit too intense for me. When I see a check list (or something that resembles it) I have a hard time NOT checking things off of it! So we never really dove in "whole hog". After all my kids are still really young (5, 4, and 1.5) and like I said, it didn't feel like it was time.

But for the last 9 months my kids have been BORED.  I have been bored. I have really struggled to come up with stuff to do with them.

So last spring I started researching curriculum options. I always thought I'd lean more to the "unschool not so formal" side of things. But it was not working for us any more.

I looked into Ambleside ...Easy Peasey All-in-One home school... I checked out Waldorf options...Five In A Row really appealed....Online options...I checked out local Charter Schools (as in, send the kids there to learn out of home options). I really prayed about this home schooling thing. Honestly, 3 small children 50+ hours a lone a week? For years on end? Am I CRAZY!?!? But I knew deep down it was what was best for Roo. She is an introvert. Being in a class day in and day out and away from home 10 hours a day. She would be stressed and miserable. And I really didn't want her spending so much of her childhood away from me- at least not when she's so small.

All last winter I researched all my options. And it was really overwhelming! Have you ever googled "home school curriculum"? Don't.

Options options options! Every thing required pulling stuff together yourself. Been there, done that, not my cup of tea! I lose focus too quickly. I get tired of trying to stick to some thing if it required leaving the house to gather and prepare. I needed some thing packaged. Some thing very "open and go". I came across Heart of Dakota and after a few months pouring over all the options I knew what we needed and dove in.  HOD is a really neat curriculum but digging through it all was overwhelming at first! The curriculum is structured but gives several options of what you can do with in the guide and it took me a lot of time to decide what the girls would do best with! But once you decide? Its' all RIGHT there, every thing you need to follow the weekly Unit Studies...

All of our curriculum on one small shelf! Our read alouds, phonics, math, science, Bible, History, Hand writing and Teachers guide for two "students"!

We're heading into our 4th week of officially home schooling, and I LOVE it. I mean it! I am shocked to say that I am enjoying it. We get up every morning, eat breakfast, get dressed, do our chores and then head down to the school table to do our school for the day.

 I open up our teachers guide (it looks like THIS), I hand the girls scissors, paper, glue and crayons and ask them to make some thing- whatever they want! Some days I have a planned activity and they work on that with little help from me (it may not turn out exactly how I had explained but its' about process not product.)...While they work I look at our first box of the day (usually Bible and History) and I read aloud and they listen with busy hands and ask questions while I read. Then we do our read aloud for the morning and the activity that follows (writing a letter to Reddy Fox, drawing a picture of some thing that happened in the story that day, acting out a new word and what it means).

For history we draw a picture in our Book of Time (time line binder) and we look at how the story of time is unfolding from creation to present (we are at King David right now).  After History we do Science. We do a Science experiment a few days a week and we have been going on Nature hikes and studying trees, bark, shrubs, and leaves. After Science we do our math lesson (we are using Rod and Staff Arithmetic Grade 1 for Roo, and Friendly is following along and doing busy work pages from a Spectrum Kindergarten work book as she likes...We also do a lot of tannegrams and hands on manipulatives exploring math concepts).

For Phonics we are working through "The Reading Lesson" which Roo is really enjoying.

School can be done in 30 minutes but generally it eats up our entire morning which is WONDERFUL!!! The baby likes school too. She knows the minute her sisters are set up with a craft she gets to snuggle and nurse while I do our read alouds. She enjoys the science experiments and scribbling on her dry erase ABC board or coloring on the chalk board.

I am really enjoying this adventure! And it helps to know I CHOOSE it. I am not doing this because I don't have any other options...There might be "easier" options, but this is what I chose.  I can make different choices whenever I like. But right now, this is right for us...And knowing that and having that is really precious.