the incredible, edible, egg!

we have eggs! finally! and even though they are miniature, i am not complaining. these little beauties were laid by one of our bantams ('starfall'- ah the creativity of a 4 year old!). john found them this morning and she had actually laid them in a nesting box and was sitting on them. good little momma! i went out to check on her after all the excitement had died down and i swear she was looking for them. it made me feel for her. i questioned my ability to do this. raise food giving hens. i'm ridiculous, i know- but it really made me sad. i'm over it now and looking forward to tomorrow morning when we will create the world's tiniest omelet.






the little momma

moonpie cleaning the eggs. we had to assure her that we would not expect her to use this particular toothbrush tonight before bed time.

breakfast pie

this morning moonpie greeted me first off, in full princess garb, pining for pie. for breakfast. we had no pie on hand and come on, pie for breakfast? but the more we thought about this, the better it sounded, so i set off to make a breakfast pie using the fresh figs we picked yesterday and some various berries we had on hand. the result was more cobbler-esque than pie, but it was awfully delicious. here's what we did:

*disclaimer: i made this up on the fly so we have no actual measurements. just what 'felt' right at the time!*

crust:

about 1 cup of almonds

8 soaked dates

enough date soak water to hold it all together

we pureed this in the food processor until it was a dough- like consistency.

pressed into pie pan

bake on 375' for about 10 minutes to firm up

topping:

10 or so fresh figs (moonpie cut into fourths)

1/2 cup blue berries

handful of raspberries

less than 1 tsp agave nectar (in hindsight, i would have used more date soak water- didn't have any left)

pinch of cinnamon

mix all together and let sit while crust continues to bake

throw the fruit mix on top of the crust and bake for about 15 minutes on 375'

scoop out and enjoy!

*the kids wanted yogurt on top so we used our full fat, live yogurt with a little vanilla extract to offset the tartness*

i always try to keep a jar of dates soaking in the fridge. they are nice and soft for smoothies, raw treats or baking and the soak water is delicious! i use this in place of a liquid sweetener often.

moonpie and i love to create recipes together. i really encourage you to throw out the cookbooks (on occasion!) and have an adventure in the kitchen.

no room for grass

we have finally done it! we have dug up a section of our front yard to plant our pumpkin patch! this is something i have been wanting to do for a while, but was finally convinced when my summer garden in the back yard did so poorly. the best sun and drainage is in the front, so diggy, diggy. i planted 2 different varieties of pumpkin and a winter squash. i will finish out the bed with some herbs and flowers (to attract the bees). i am dreaming big here. i want a lovely patch that people drive by, stop, hop out and ask to take pictures of their chubby babies next to the french pumpkins. i want a spot that inspires poetry and recipes. but for now, i mainly want buddy to stop walking through it trying to pull up my seedlings! as soon as the weather cools we will dig up the gardenias in the front beds (move them around the side of the porch) and replace them with peas, chard, kale and some various companion herbs. we will also put in some boxes to house some berries and a couple of small fruit trees. as we are moving towards sustainable living life feels more right. it's hard to explain unless you are in it as well, but there is much to be said about raising your own food responsibly, touching the dirt that you yourself were created from. my husband taught on 'sacred dirt' at church this weekend. dirt being sacred because it was created by god, saw as good and then humans were formed from that good dirt. he then breathed life into that dirt marrying the flesh to the spiritual. it was a beautiful message and one i will think of often when i am in the dirt, mimicking the creator as i try to bring life out of it.

buddy's birthday biscuits

i know, you haven't been able to sleep wondering what's so great about these biscuits. well, here's the (highly anticipated, i'm sure) recipe:

preheat oven to 375'

1/2 cup almonds
3/4 cup rolled oats
(grind in food processor to a coarse meal)

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp sea salt
5 tblsp cold raw butter or coconut oil, cut into small pieces
(throw this in the food processor and pulse until all mixed with almond/oat mix)

in separate bowl mix:
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup
(add to flour mixture-stir until just mixed)

scoop out onto a 'prepared' baking sheet, flatten out to about 1 inch high. bake 15 minutes until edges and bottoms are golden.

phase 2: if you'd rather these a dessert than breakfast (that's what the original recipe is intended for), split in half, cover with strawberries, put top half of biscuit on fruit, add another layer of berries and then top with whipped cream or vanilla yogurt (or ice cream, if you must!)

the vegetarian mother's cookbook cathe olson

2 whole years of loving buddy...

buddy turned 2 monday! my sweet boy...he is sunshine rolled up in the cuddliest blanket. he is funny and tender and wild and snuggly. it is my joy to be his momma. it doesn't feel like time has flown by with buddy, 2 years feels just about right because we spend all of our time together. i have been blessed to see every step, hear every wonderful word and see his brilliance unfold. every day has been full since he has come on the scene, and that's just the way i like it.

this picture is of buddy's birthday breakfast using his special plate. last year a friend and i got together to paint plates for each of our children that can be used for special times like birthdays, or anything- like being nice to a friend at the park! buddy's plate has a star perched on a hill. rolling across the hill are the words 'be light'. on the back of the plate i wrote the scripture 'you are the light of the world. a city on a hill cannot be hidden'. this is my daily prayer for buddy. that he can share the light that is in him with the world. as he gets older we can talk about this verse on his special day and what it means, what it looks like when you put action behind it. but for now i pray it over him as he sleeps- 'be light, be light'. and i already see such evidence of this in him. he is my smiling man, and it is contagious!

i'm big on creating and passing on existing heritage with our children. on each child's bday we have the breakfast of their choice and look at pictures of their birth. this is a relatively new tradition (since my kids are only 2 and 4!) but i love it and look forward to it. i hope that as they grow they will begin to anticipate birthday breakfast. there are no gifts, just a time to celebrate our love as a family for that person. to celebrate buddy this year we had almond biscuits. these are amazing and when served with strawberries and cream you have a dessert (which we did for dinner later that night)! you have to try them: oh drat- i leant out the cookbook. i'll have to post the recipe another day. trust me, you can't live without this recipe! : )

the diaper diaries- part 2

wow- thank you to those of you who commented on my first diaper post. i appreciate the advice, and the acceptance into the fold! ok- i figured out my leaking problem. well, i didn't figure it out, the lovely leah at http://www.austinbabystore.com/ figured it out. i was trying to go way low-key with the prefolds, just folding them 3 times, stuffing them in the cover and we're off. she informed me that this wouldn't work for an active 2 year old. she then showed me how to do a couple of folds and then introduced me to a snappi to hold it all together. i had seen snappies online, but i wasn't sure how they'd work. they basically have little gripper teeth and hold on like crazy. so i picked up a couple of those, some fleece liners ("to wick the moisture away from the baby") and 2 fitted diapers. I LOVE THE FITTED DIAPERS!!! they are easy and non-leaking- perfect! however, buddy seems to have problems climbing, running, and basically walking normally in them due to the bulk. we are all on a learning curve here! i also, somehow, came home with a new potty chair for buddy that looks an awful lot like a riding toy...hmm...how did that happen?

here is the diaper system i'm using

http://www.mother-ease.com/

don't call it a come back

once again i have decided to make life harder than it has to be- i have switched to cloth diapers. that sounds extremely definitive. it is more accurate to say that i am making the switch to cloth diapers. and i didn't go for the easy all in ones, oh no, we're going old school with the chinese prefolds. i have been researching and wrestling with the cloth diaper issue for about 2 years now (since my second was born). i really wanted to use cloth diapers, i just couldn't figure it all out. it seemed way too confusing on the web. so i continued to put it off until the elusive 'next baby' is born. but then i read some research that was disturbing to me. right now there is research going on that is finding that present day adult male infertility may be linked to disposable diapers. and that the 'crystals' used to make those suckers so absorbent is the same chemical that has been banned for use in tampons because of causing toxic shock syndrome. add that to the environmental issues surrounding disposables and i was sent over the line! the very next day i visited a shop in austin ( http://www.austinbabystore.com/ ) that is the cloth diaper mecca. they have it all. as i stood before the shelves i felt the shakes coming on. so i did what any sensible girl would do and made my husband decide. he went right past the cute organic all in ones that i was leaning towards and walked to the other side of the tracks- hence the chinese prefolds. as we drove away i could hardly contain my excitement. if it weren't for the fact that we had to wash them 5 times before wearing i would have certainly outfitted us all in a prefold. when we got home i set to work and by morning we were ready to go. try one- he pulled it off whining 'too tight'. try 2- pee every where. try 3, 4, and 5- see try 2. so my honeymoon is over. i must admit that i'm feeling disappointed. i really wanted this to magically work the first try- like i wanted it to be with breast feeding and sling wearing and potty training, etc. you'd think i'd learn! fortunately i'm going back to austin tomorrow to pick up john from the airport. i will be going back to the shop to get some advice. i know this is just me, millions of parents around the world use prefolds successfully. i can do this...

btw- any advice or stories about successful cloth diapering would be extremely welcome!

bringing back the bee...

i just returned from our local garden shop and had an interesting talk with the owner. i was bemoaning my lack of productive vegetables since i moved into our house 2 years ago. i had built up the nitrogen enough to be getting beautifully lush greenery, but no fruit. she asked about my squash plants, if they had flowers, and i told her how that wasn't the problem. i have flowers coming out my ears. and then she dropped the bomb. i don't have a phosphorus problem (like i had presumed), i have a bee problem. a bee problem! and she's right. i never see bees around our house. oh man, now my wheels are turning. we live directly accross the street from a beautiful ball field that is lush and green. and around the corner is the most popular park in town that is bursting with flowers, but no bees. i've been noticing lately that they are constantly replacing dying flowers with new ones to keep up the appearance. my neighbor across the street fervently sprays his fruit trees, and the house across from him has the greenest lawn i've seen (even during our current drought). wow! what a battle i have here. i have to bring back the bees. is this possible? can i ignore what is happening around me, plant more native flowers, put out some hummingbird feeders and pray it all works? or do i fight the system?

today we are digging up part of our front yard to create a new vegetable bed- namely, a pumpkin patch. will all of this effort be in vain? i know it will be if there are no bees. no bees! i'm still reeling from this. so i have a new mission. a mission to bring back the bee.

all things bright and beautiful

here are some recent shots from around the micro-farm

mr. handsome man and blackberry. they are in constant competition for the job of boss. he's a bantam, but he still wants to be in the lead. blackberry gives him no respect!



the new hen house and chicken run that john built. he's added another 3 feet to the fence to keep the chickens in.

the ladies

our ever present reminder that we are urban dwellers (well, that and the train right behind the water tower)

moonpie, queen of the chickens

sidenote: the hairband in moonpie's hair is all sparkly and girly and brand new. yesterday she told me "momma, i love my new hairband. i'm going to wear it forever. i'm probably even going to wear it (dramatic pause) when i'm... bones" (eyebrows up and chin down for full effect). man, life with her is fun!