Counting Soup

This photo shows us ready to mix together our 'Counting Soup' from Salad People by Mollie Katzen. Our ingredient line-up strayed slightly from the cookbook. In the white bowls there is cooked alphabet noodles with edamame, a bowl of broccoli, fresh corn cut off the cobb, and vegetable broth. The container holding the broth is one of the best garage sale items I've found. It sits on the stove and warms up liquid that you'll want to pour -- like syrup & sauces. Liv is hanging around in the background wondering when we're going to finish Mr. Pumpkin. You'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how he turned out!




Like many meals around here, Abigail was all over it while Olivia wasn't interested at all.















Here's the gift certificate I won from Urban Vegan's tART contest. I shopped the PETA magazine and placed my order today. What did I get? -- you may wonder. I'll let you know as soon as it arrives and I snap a photo. I love the anticipation of waiting for something in the mailbox! Thanks for that, Urban, and also for hosting a fantastically fun event while taking the opportunity to highlight such a compassionate organization.

Polka Dot Rice & Pregnant

We got home yesterday from our 40 Watt Hype groupie tour - one day later than our plan. (I saw 3, & Art saw 4 performances) Our car broke down outside Sacramento. It wouldn't start after a meal break, so we called AAA, and we all rode on a big, yellow tow truck to the car doctor, loosing about 5 hours. After that, we couldn't make it home, so we spent the night in "beautiful" downtown Winnemucca, Nevada. We kept clicking our ruby red shoes, "There's no place like home, There's no place..." Thinking of "The Wizard of Oz" -- have you ever watched it with the TV volume off and listening to Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon?"



In the above photo, you see red bell peppers, carrots, peas, corn, and scallions all prepped and ready for the kids to make 'Polka Dot Rice' from "Salad People" by Mollie Katzen. It was mixed with jasmine rice, and served with broccoli, strawberry, and a Morningstar Chik'n Nugget. Olivia loved deciding what to mix in with her rice -- another success from this charming cookbook. I can't wait for "Pretend Soup" to arrive in the mail...





Abigail is proud of her skill sets with a spoon and fork --- but, let's face it, some things are most efficiently obtained by grabbing with your hand. Polka dot rice falls in that category.









My friend, Lora, who we threw the baby shower for came by for a visit recently. In this photo, she is at 39 weeks -- today, she is overdue by 2 days. I can't wait to meet Marcus! For another lovely belly-shot, visit Melody.



What do you do when this shows up at your door?





Make cookies, of course. This is what remained of Dreena's 'Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies' after the pregnant lady left! From Vive le Vegan! pg. 131 --- as if you didn't know already! :o)

Crunchy Fruity Granola

This is a new cookbook of ours by Mollie Katzen. The inside is just as delightful as the cover. It's written with Katzen's creative style featuring cute illustrations, charming kid quotes, special kid recipes with instructional sketches, and insightful tips for adults on how to enjoy cooking with preschoolers. It's awesome.







Each recipe has two sets of instructions - one for the adult and another for the preschooler. Here you see the preschooler's recipe for 'Crunchy Fruity Granola' featuring numbered box steps, each with a basic picture and a few key words or numbers. Perfect for a preschooler to read and even lead the way.







Mollie says, "Take the stress out of measuring liquids by placing the measuring cup in a pie pan. Let your child pour or spoon the oil into the measuring cup. The pie pan will catch the spills." Isn't that a terrific tip? We also used the pie pan for the dry ingredients. Liv really enjoyed the freedom of not having me helping her be careful.






She stirred the dry ingredients in the biggest bowl we have.

Our granola had: almond slices, chopped cashews, raisins, and dried cranberries + blueberries. We followed the recipe exactly, except I used agave nectar instead of honey.







How many of you stir the dry ingredients WHILE you stir the wet?!












I used parchment paper instead of nonstick spray, and it worked fine. Not using honey, I anticipated that the granola wouldn't clump together, and it didn't. What chunks there are, fall apart quickly. Other than missing the convenience of popping nuggets in your mouth, it didn't matter. It tasted great, and the girls Loved it. I was super surprised that Liv actually went bonkers over it. She rarely goes bonkers over food. So, I 'd put it in a cup for her and she'd eat it that way -- on the go.



This is what happens if you forget to bring the cup back inside.













TAH DAH! Our Crunchy Fruity Granola.