Today for lunch and other small joys of life

June 23rd 2011
I seem to go back in forth, up and down or maybe just around in circles when it comes to cooking good food. But today when I sat down for lunch I cherished every bite. The kids and I went grocery shopping today and filled our cart with fruits and vegetables, so I was inspired. I bought chicken tenders and fried them in a flour/oatmeal coating with chopped onion, garlic and rosemary. I served it with a shell pasta tossed in a simple garlic, onion, tomato, salt and milk sauce & a spinach salad. The salad was my favorite; spinach, tomato, chopped red pepper, chopped mango, lime juice and olive oil.  Good food just makes you feel good.

June 26th
I started out not feeling like cooking anything, but ended up really excited about what I did. I threw some pasta in and then thought for a second about what kind of sauce to throw together. Since I got a huge head of cauliflower during the last grocery run, I decide to do the cauliflower sauce I've been working on perfecting for a while now. Before beginning that, I threw some dough together. I used the recipe I've been using for pizza, but with a little more baking powder and extra olive oil. Then I threw in some chopped garlic and after kneading I cut it in three long pieces, rolled them out and braided them. All this probably took about 10 mins. Then I threw it in the oven for 20 mins on a greased baking sheet.

While that baked I peeled, sliced and put to steam covered over medium heat some "shu shu" or coyote squash. Then I set out to make my sauce. I will describe it in three options, since I think it's a great recipe for different types of diet.

Raw foods diet- option one or step one:
In a food processor (I use the magic bullet) add cauliflower pieces, salt, olive oil and water if needed.
Blend until smooth and creamy. Onion is also an option, depending on your taste preferences.

Option two:
If you eat dairy, add milk.




Option three:

Chop a large onion and garlic and cook covered in a saucepan. Follow option/step one and/or two, then add the mixture to the saucepan and stir over low heat. Add mozzarella cheese if desired.

This recipe can be used over pasta, as a dip or a spread, or as an alternative to mashed potatoes. It is a great way to get vegetable nutrients into children or spouses that prefer not to eat vegetables or to keep on a healthy diet even when craving a creamy pasta sauce. If your child picks out vegetables from his/her food, I would recommend leaving out the chopped onion.

 June 27th 2011

Monday, Monday and back to our home schooling adventures. The sun was shining so we took a walk down to the water and I sent the kids out to find 5 things they liked. Kaila is a huge fan of the many hermit crabs and likes to find the smallest one she can.

 They searched along the rocks, in the sand, under the branches and Kalani even climbed a tree to see what he could find.

We then sat down on a perfect little bench/table to draw out what we found and take a few pictures. The sun came shining through and we were able to get some neat shadow shots. 

Just before heading back, the local version of an ice cream truck came by; a tico with a cooler full of "pipas frias" (cold coconuts). He pops the top off and sticks a straw in it, and if you drink the coconut water fast enough, he will also break it open so you can scoop out the yummy coconut pieces. Kaila loves it, Kalani just drinks the water, but decided carrot sticks would be a good snack for him. I think any mama would be just fine with that :)

 After our snack and discussion time, the kids took a break while I wrote up their worksheets for the day. I introduced some lower case letters to Kalani and had Kaila trace her name and fill in the missing letters. 

 

Now to laundry and dishes while they play.