ski 2010

The girls and I took a trip to visit mom and BB in Mountain City. Mom met us at Appalachian Ski Mountain on the way.  We spent half the day yesterday skiing. The girls have skied twice before but it has been 2 years. We spent about 30 minutes on the bunny slope reminding ourselves how to do it. The rest of the afternoon we went up and down the same slope and the girls had a blast. It started snowing towards the end of the afternoon and has been snowing off and on ever since. We woke up to about 6 inches of snow. We plan on sledding the rest of the weekend.

It turned out to be a beautiful weekend for playing in the snow. We miss you Daniel! Enjoy the slide show. I think that if you click on it you will go directly to the picasa album and might be able to see the pictures better.

It felt like spring

We had already planned to get our spring seedlings started last weekend but it was a special treat to have the weather turn perfectly warm for us. Daniel and I had spent several weeks thinking and planning this year's garden and browsing through our favorite seed catalogs. We sat down together to get the final count of our seed inventory and organize our first seed order of the year. We had also searched the web and our library at home for the best seed starting mix recipe. This is the first year we have attempted to make our own soil mix.

We are still harvesting winter crops including bok choi, cabbage, kale, and broccoli. No brussel sprouts yet, but they are still growing.

Here's the greens and cabbage we brought in this week.

Mixing the ingredients for our soil mix which included peat moss, composted manure, lime, kelp, and topsoil.

Taking a break for the water slide. The girls had the idea to pour bottles of water that they got from the rain barrel on the slide. Too bad it's blurry--you can tell they are having a blast.

Here's the final product. Three trays of spring veggies and one of flowers. Each tray has 72 plants. We've stacked them with the plastic tray on top to try to hold in as much moisture as possible. Our first sprouts should be coming any day.

Playing around

I wanted to post some pictures of us playing with some of the new Christmas toys.  We have gotten the Duo Scope out a few times and looked at all of the slides that it came with. Then they made their own with some water and dirt from a plant. We actually spotted a tiny single celled organism in the plant water. The microscope is a "Duo Scope" which means it can be used to look at microscopic things on slides as well as bigger objects like bugs, dirt, and other small objects. Here's the link if you are interested.

 

 

Here's a picture of Arianna using her new digital camera. You can see the face paint on her cheek also. I got them a pack of face paints and they have already used almost all of it. I've been impressed with all the designs they have come up with and drawn on each other's faces. This was a great gift idea (they had been asking for it) so here's the link if you are looking for something creative to get for a child.

cousins

The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins the entire week we were in Baton Rouge and Jackson. Here's a few pictures from the day we spent at my dad's house. The girls opened a few presents then spent the rest of the time playing outside.

Here's dad and their cute little dog Gadget. He's so silly and loves playing with my dad's hair when he sits down in his chair. They say he can spell since he gets so excited when they say, "Gadget, you want a T... R...E...A...T?" It's hilarious.

Here we are in Jackson visiting more cousins, opening more presents, and having a good time.

 

I got to spend some time with my grandmother who is healthy and happy and will be 98 years old next month.

 

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning seems so long ago. Here are a few photos from the busy day.

We opened presents to and from each other first thing. It was still dark outside. The girls actually woke up at 2am trying to come out and start their day but I heard them talking and told them to go back to sleep. They were very disappointed. I can remember it being very hard to go to sleep on Christmas Eve when I was their age.

We took a short break and enjoyed some homemade monkey bread. This is what Daniel's family had every year and we are continuing the tradition.

Here they are in their new feetsie pjs enjoying some candy from the stockings.

Daniel's family from came down from Charlotte bringing more gifts and food. We shared a wonderful feast. It's always a pleasure having them here. We missed Stephen and Liz who couldn't make it down this year.

The Kruideniers left late in the afternoon and after a few rounds of the game Catch Phrase. Next, Mimi and BB came in from Tennessee. They gave Arianna this beautiful violin that she has been asking for since the fall. They gave Ellen a microscope which we have been figuring out these past few days. More pictures of that to come.

The day after Christmas we drove down to Baton Rouge and Jackson, MS for Christmas part 3 and 4. Stay tuned for more photos of that trip in the next post:)

Christmas Eve

Grandaddy William came over and gave us all Cashmere scarves for Christmas.

We shared a meal together before Grandaddy drove back to Charlotte. Thanks grandaddy!

 

We read the Christmas Story and the girls went to bed early since they were so excited about Christmas morning and all the family that they were about to see.

Winter Greens

We have a few things growing in the garden right now. I am amazed at how little sun gets to the back yard during this season. Either I forgot, or just never noticed, that the winter sun is so low in the sky that we hardly get any sun. We have also had tons of rain this season and everything is soaked, always. Most things we planted in the late summer are doing well though.

Here are the collards, some cabbage and brussels sprouts.

Chard, onions, and garlic.

Dino Kale--my favorite.

We are proud of the broccoli this year. It is the best we've ever grown with nice thick, tight heads. The broccoli fresh from the garden has an unbeatable flavor. It is another one of my favorites.

 

 

The cabbage is still growing. We haven't harvested any yet. We are waiting to see how big it will get. This is another crop that is growing better this year.

 

 

This is a new bed down in the bottom of the yard with some chinese cabbage that we bought as starts from a local nursery.

 

We love our broccoli:)

You can see from some of the pictures that we've put up our row covers again. It has only dropped below freezing one night but we are covering the plants some nights even when it is not freezing just to keep them warm.

Daniel is still making and applying gallons of compost tea every week. Ellen and Arianna are usually out there helping him mix and pour. If anyone wants a more detailed list of ingredients or directions for compost tea let us know.

I'm back with a new camera

I got my Christmas present a few weeks early this year. Instead of replacing the old point and shoot digital camera I decided to upgrade to a digital SLR. I'm so excited and can't wait to explore all the options on the new camera.

The girls  asked to take the first pictures so here's a sample. You'll have to pardon me for the next few months. I'm sure I'll be posting lots of pictures as I figure it all out!

Here's the Christmas village we inherited from my grandmother and the girls love setting up every year.

Here's our Norfolk Island Pine that we use for our Christmas tree every year. I asked Daniel and the girls if they wanted a bigger tree this year, but they shot the idea down and looked at me like I was crazy! They love this tree. I do too.

 

Thanks Jennifer King

Here's some photos from the Nutcracker taken by my friend Jennifer. Going to see the Nutcracker has become a family tradition. This year we went with a group of friends to see the show put on by Carolina Ballet.  Both of the girls really want to audition for this production next year. Arianna said that all she wants for Christmas next year is to be in the Nutcracker. She has already started practicing some of the moves.

Here they are all dressed up for the event.

True smiles.

 

They were all so excited and had been talking about it for days. They loved it.

 

No photos to post

Last week we went to see the Nutcracker, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Daniel's beautiful family in Charlotte, and we came home and put out all the Christmas decorations. Those are all things I would have blogged about, but...

My camera is completely gone now. Daniel tried to take it apart but we can't even get inside the lens to attempt to fix the problem. I found out that it will be at least $175 for the local camera shop to take a look at it and that is more than the camera is worth.

So, I may be taking a bit of a break from blogging. I should be getting some pictures from friends and family that I can post soon. I might be posting things that don't need personal photos, or I might just use this time to take a break from the blog. I do need the extra time to search for the perfect camera!

Vegan Tofu Spinach Lasagna

I found a new recipe for veggie lasagna. This one from is from  The Vegan Table (by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. © Fair Winds Press 2009). This lasagna turns out beautiful and it is very versatile. I change the recipe a little every time depending on what veggies I have in the fridge and in the garden that I want to use. I usually saute onions and mushrooms and add that in one of the layers. I also like to use roasted eggplant in another layer. In addition, I use 1 large bunch of fresh greens from the garden (kale, chard, or collards) instead of frozen. One other thing I do is add a hefty sprinkle of nutritional yeast to the tofu mix. The recipe says to put tofu in blender and process until smooth, but I don't like to dirty extra equipment so I just mash it up with a fork and it turns out fine.

I brought this to a potluck where we were the only non-meat eaters and it was a big hit. Everyone loved it (especially my kids who ask for it often) and a few people asked me, "What makes it taste so cheesy?" They didn't realize that the white stuff in the middle was tofu.  Don't be nervous about making this veggie dish--you are going to love it!

Vegan Tofu Spinach Lasagna

INGREDIENTS
1/2 to 1 pound (225 to 455 g) lasagna noodles
2 packages (10 ounces, or 280 g, each) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 package (16 ounces, or 455 g) firm tofu (not silken)
1 tablespoon (13 g) granulated sugar (optional)
1/4 cup (60 ml) nondairy milk (such as rice, oat, soy, almond, or hazelnut), or as needed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 2 peeled garlic cloves
Juice from 1/2 lemon (about 2 tablespoons [30 ml])
2 tablespoons (5 g) minced fresh basil (about 20 leaves)
1 teaspoon (6 g) salt (or to taste)
4 to 6 cups (980 to 1470 g) tomato or pasta sauce of your choice
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4).
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions or use "no-boil" lasagna noodles. Drain and set aside.
Squeeze as much water from spinach as possible and set aside. (If using fresh spinach, blanch first.)
Place tofu, sugar (if using), milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil and salt in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. The tofu "ricotta" should be creamy but still have body.
Transfer to large-size bowl, and stir in spinach. Continue tasting until you get amount of salt just right.
Cover bottom of 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish with a thin layer of tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles (use about one-third of noodles). Follow with half the tofu filling. Continue in the same order, using half the remaining tomato sauce and noodles, and all remaining tofu filling. End with remaining noodles, covered by remaining tomato sauce. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until hot and bubbling.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS AND VARIATIONS
Add meatless meat crumbles to your tomato sauce for more texture and body. For more cheesiness, add shredded nondairy mozzarella cheese to each layer.
This recipe is also great for making stuffed shells. To do so, stuff pasta shells with the tofu ricotta from this recipe, place them in a baking dish, pour on tomato sauce and bake in a 350 degrees F (180 degrees C, or gas mark 4) oven for 20 to 30 minutes.

Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/recipes/vegan-tofu-spinach-lasagna#ixzz0WwVIQb0F

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A Kruidenier Visit

Daniel's siblings are spread out across the country so when one of them comes to Charlotte we try to make it up there to see them. Stephen, Daniel's younger brother, lives in Los Angeles and we hadn't seen him in 2 years. I think California has been good to him:) he looks great!

Here's Daniel and Stephen.

We had lunch at Grandmother Gail's house. Here's Daniel, Stephen and their sister Anna with the girls on the couch.

After lunch we took a walk around the lake and relaxed outside enjoying the beautiful Fall weather and some good quality family time.

The cousins had fun playing together outside. They stopped running around for just a minute to take a picture!

I love all my in-laws and I feel lucky to be a part of their family. I read on a blog or something where the author referred to her in-laws as "in-loves." I think that is more appropriate in my case too!

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies and Egg Substitutes

This chewy chocolate chocolate chip recipe from The Post Punk Kitchen is the best tasting and easiest recipe I've tried in a while. The cookies turn out absolutely delicious and only take 10 minutes to bake and about 10 minutes to mix.

I'm not going to post the entire recipe since it is all at the website I posted above, but I will say that it calls for ground flax seeds as an egg replacer. I have used this substitution before except usually recipes say to add 1 tablespoon of ground flax to 2 tablespoons of water. This one uses 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of flax combined with 1/2 cup of soy (or other alternative) milk.

I read in another vegan baking book (The Joy of Vegan Baking) that in order to get the best results when using this kind of egg replacement it is important to really mix/whip/whisk whatever you are using. For example, you can use a whisk and stir for 2 minutes or what I like to do is use my handy-dandy stick blender for a minute or so.  Since I started using this technique I have noticed a change in the consistency and texture of my muffins, cookies, and cakes.

I'll leave you with a quote and this link  for a nice article on vegan baking substitutions from Post Punk Kitchen.

However, like a bad boyfriend, they (eggs) can be replaced, and with pleasing results.

Alley cats in the garden

I'm combining more Halloween photos with a garden update. I got my camera working again thanks to Do it yourself digital camera repair blog. I'm afraid it's a temporary fix so I sent Daniel and the girls out to take some pictures while it was working yesterday.

The garden is just beautiful these days. Daniel works hard out there and his work is paying off extremely well. We are still eating from these huge eggplant. (Arianna is holding one of the smaller Japanese eggplants but we have the globe variety also.) The lacinato, or dinosaur, kale that is in the front of this picture is so big. We have been harvesting from it for about a week now and loving it.

The cats are hiding behind the lettuce that are providing fresh salads every day!

They are standing in the middle of the garden and you can see the large broccoli that is forming some nice little heads. The cabbage is in front of them. The tall plants with stakes behind them are our second try at tomatoes.

Collards are in front of Arianna and lupine cover crops just starting out in front of Ellen.

Here's the whole crew dressed up and ready for trick or treating last night. We enjoyed a lovely potluck before heading out  in  our friend's neighborhood in the 78 degree temperature. Thankfully it was not raining yet, but we were all sweating by the end of the night! I love the South.