xmas time

For
xmas
I was
going
to post
a zuc-
chini
brownie
recipe.
But I
made
them,
took
them
to the
rela-
tives'
house
yest-
erday,
and
neg-
lected
to take a picture of them before they were devoured in about 10 minutes! Even great grandma didn't have room for more because she filled up on brownies. So I think I'd better just make more--oh the hardship--so that I can post the recipe properly.

Of course that doesn't
mean I neglected to take
any holiday photos. No,
quite the opposite. In fact
I would have posted sooner
except it took me a day to
look through them all.

So you'll just have to hang
on and wait for food photos,
because all I have to share
is an excess of xmas, with
lots of Maia and Hello Kitty!

If you notice under the
tree, my favourite gift, a
Hello Kitty drummer
push-toy!!! I've been
waiting for Maia to be old enough for it! And here are some more photos at home...






















































And the next day at the kids' cousins' house...

last school day of 2009

Last day of school before the holiday break! I didn't have time to get real fancy this morning...
Ryan's lunch: spiral fries w/ketchup; cucumber slices adorned w/soy cheese stars; peanut butter sandwich crackers; a forelle pear on the side.

The boys baked oatmeal carrot cookies with me last night. I honestly had to think for a moment to figure out Ryan's drawing...a freshly baked cookie, duh...but at first I thought it was a meatball or a flaming meteor, or...anyhow...
AJ's teacher is new this
year, so all of the children
in the class are giving her
a book to add to the class
library. One of AJ's
favourite's is Little Blue
and Little Yellow by Leo
Lionni. So we printed up
a picture of AJ to affix
inside the front of the
book.

O Bento Tree

Ryan's lunch: baby carrots; pickles; roasted almonds; Tofurky sandwich tree w/apple ornaments & soy cheese star; peanut butter sandwich crackers; mango gel cup on the side.

Snowy Day, not a Snow Day

Lots
of
snow
here
over
the
week-
end.
If it
had
landed
on
monday
I'll
bet
even
our
die
hard
town
would
have
declar-
ed a snow day. But it ended by sunday afternoon, and they're very efficient at plowing, so off to school! And welcome winter!

Ryan's lunch: roasted pumpkin seeds; mini banana blueberry muffin; steamed broccoli; mashed potato snowman w/black bean mouth & buttons; brown rice.

Friday was our second winter share pickup at our CSA. The bounty included 3 kinds of lettuce, spinach, baby greens mix, parsley, salad turnips, swiss chard, kale, carrots, parsnips, parsley root, celeriac, purple top turnips, beets, potatoes, shallots, red & yellow onions, leeks, popping corn, apples...and Brussels sprouts.

Now normally everyone says they don't like Brussels sprouts. But I cooked one stalk's worth anyways, and what do you know...Ryan was the only one who didn't want them, and Nate asked for THIRDS!

Sauteed Brussels

2 dozen Brussels Sprouts
2 T. Earth Balance
margarine
1/2 vegetable bouillon
cube (I like Rapunzel sea
salt & herbs variety)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4-1/2 tsp. lemon juice
freshly ground pepper

Remove sprouts from
stalk, then remove one
layer of outer leaves.
Trim off any remaining
stem, then cut in half.

Melt Earth Balance in
saute pan over medium
heat. Add bouillon and a
little water if necessary
to keep bouillon from
burning as it melts with
the margarine.

Add sprouts, salt &
pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, adding lemon juice when sprouts begin to brown. When one side of sprouts are nicely browned, remove from heat and sprinkle with a little extra salt & pepper.

We served these with brown rice and a bowl of root vegetable soup, perfect after playing in the snow.

We decorated our tree and hung lights outside in time for the winter solstice. Dinner was a quick "picnic" before going to the Boy Scout Reservation's tree & light festival. We use their hiking trails a lot.
























Some of our favourite trees were a Lego ornament tree and one with recycled ornaments.

leftovers are yummy

Ryan's lunch: Tofurky & soy cheese roll-ups; mini banana blueberry muffin; carrots; peanut butter ball; green beans; leftover Bertucci's spinach & mushroom pizza.

This is the last of
the peanut butter
balls--without any
chocolate coating--
that I had in the
freezer. They froze
really well!

And here is Ryan's
lunch all packed up
with a fork on the
side.

Preschool is over
until the new year,
but the big boys have
three more days.

Hello Maia, Hello Kitty

I just have to admit that Maia is the star today and put her pics first...





















She can now point to her dress and say "Hello Kitty". And her tights are even Hello Kitty. Thank you to my friend Lissa in Canada for sending this wonderful outfit Maia's way!!

On to the bento...
Ryan's lunch: veggie crackers; cucumber rounds; soy cheese cubes; a pickle; gel cup; roasted almonds; half an avocado (covered with a mini baran to lessen browning); spicy baked tofu; rice; bok choy & chik'n strips.

silly walk

Ryan's lunch: rice with steamed broccoli & hot n' sour tofu; mini banana mango strawberry muffin; gel cup; a pickle.

Maia, the
Minister of
Silly Walks.

I think she's
about grown
out of her
red sneakers
sadly. All the
boys wore
them, and they
were originally
hand-me-downs
from the girl
I used to nanny
for. I just love
how well the
Baby Gap shoes hold up, and they wash easily too.

still fall

Tuesday is music day (and library day) for Ryan's class...

Ryan's
lunch:
tiny
dark
choco-
late;
pickle;
baby
carrots;
Tofurky
sand-
wich
with
mustard,
lettuce
& cucu-
mber;
4 bean
salad.




Nate sure is growing up. It was a warm day, and it's supposed to get cold again tomorrow, so his preschool class went on a short hike, while I was out on a hike of my own.

a hot meal

Ryan gets so excited over foods he can have in his Thermos. Lentil soup has got to be his favourite. He feigns falling down dead when I ask him if he'd like it for lunch.

Ryan's
lunch:
Thermos
of lentil
soup;
"cheddar"
dill roll
(made
with
Vegan-
rella
cheeze);
Tofurky
"flower";
green
bell
pepper
strips;
celery
sticks;
ginger
miso
dressing
for dipping.

Agh! Emergency!
Ryan took the last
frozen cupcake to
a birthday party
over the weekend!
I'd better get baking...
like I need an excuse.

AJ got himself into
some trouble this
weekend by sur-
rounding the tv with
stickers. He was not
happy when I made
him remove them all
before Dada returned
from his trip.

He recovered well enough
to enjoy a hike around the
reservoir. There are many
reservoirs in our area,
though the big reservoir
that supplies Boston with
most of its water is farther
west.

Late this afternoon
I was met by this
disconcerting sight on
the trail. Hmmm, I
think I'll be moving
along home now...