Lionden Landing

Before we get to this week's menu I want to recap last week. The lemon chicken pasta was fine but nothing special and certainly not worth the time. Last week's surprise dessert was Tiramisu. Here is the recipe and review. We did not end up making the risotto. I could not find the time to stand at the stove uninterrupted for 30 mins, especially in a week so full with baking. We made lots of Hamentaschen. I tried a new recipe which I really like. I have included the recipe below so I won't forget it. I wanted to make some apricot but got out-voted. They were all raspberry or chocolate. I found a lovely new cookbook at Borders. It is entitled " Crazy for Chocolate " which suits me since I totally am. It was only $2.99 so I bought it even though there is no space on my bookshelf for it. Practically every recipe in it, I am excited about making. One of the best things is that each recipe not only has a picture of the finished product but also pictures of...

This is what it should look like. Mine does not look anything like this. The February 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen and Deeba of Passionate About Baking . They chose Tiramisu as the challenge for the month. Their challenge recipe is based on recipes from The Washington Post, Cordon Bleu at Home and Baking Obsession. Tiramisu is probably Daddy’s favorite dessert of all time. But it is not something I would have attempted at home with out this challenge as motivation. It was a serious challenge to find the appropriate substitutes to make it dairy-free. I love the idea of being able to give him his favorites in a way the whole family can share. Of all the challenges I have participated in, this one provided the most learning experiences - experiences which I will be able to translate to other desserts. Tiramisu I learned has four major components; the ladyfingers or Savoiardi , the pastry cream, the marscapone, and the zabaglione. It...

We went to see the Magic of Mozart a few weeks ago. Froggy fell in love. It was amazing a beautiful to watch. Taking off on that interest, in the typical unschooly fashion, we have been studying the orchestra and the different instuments and the family groups they belong to. We using Carnival of the Animals as our primary source. It is an amazing piece. The book is lively and interesting. Froggy needs something to look at while listening to the music to help stay focused. Each page talks about the track to which we are listening and has her completely captivated. Another great site that helps us is Perfect Pitch which is created by ArtsEdge, the educational foundation portion of the Kennedy Center. It shows how the orchestra has changed over time as well as the families of instruments and their position in the orchestra. Some other books we are using/enjoying in this process are: Meet The Orchestra by Ann Hayes The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak Musi...

Sunday - Beef Barley Soup and biscuits Monday - Homemade Pizza and salad Tuesday - Tacos Wednesday - Dinner at class - Bake Hamantashen Thursday - Lemon Chicken and Pasta Friday - Challah, Pot Roast, Butternut Squash Risotto (recipe below), steamed broccoli and a surprise dessert ( recipe and review will follow) Saturday -Purim Speil at shul. dinner out beforehand. Butternut Squash Risotto 2 cups water, divided 2 (14 1/4-ounce) cans low-salt beef broth 2 teaspoons olive oil 1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion 3 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound) 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice or other short-grain rice 1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley Bring 1 1/2 cups water and broth to a simmer in a large saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; cook 8 minute...

The sweetheart cake did not work at all. The square cake crumbled as it came out of the pan and would not cut so no heart to make. I frosted the round cake, decorated it with sprinkles and everyone seemed to think that was good enough (tm). Our experiment this week is going to be the chicken pad thai. It is again from my favorite cookbook ever Monday - Tacos, Seasoned rice, Black Beans, Salad Tuesday - Out with Friends Wednesday - Class - Froggy will have Mac & Cheese with the Sitter Thursday - Chicken Pad Thai, carrots Friday - Challah , Maple Glazed Salmon , rice, Keem, Broccoli, Tiramisu (recipe to follow) Saturday - Leftovers

Valentines Day - It is technically Saint Valentines Day , a Catholic Holiday. And yet we celebrate it in our house. We should not and I know we should not. There is a guilty feeling in m y stomach as I watch my daughter make cards for her teachers and friends. But we do it. To me it is like Halloween. I along with most of the rest of the country treat them as secular holidays. That is how I grew up. For me there is a big difference between celebrating Halloween and Valentines Day and having a Christmas tree or hanging stockings. Maybe I am deluding myself but it is the same line my mom drew and it works for us at least for now. Part of me wishes I could do away with it. But part of me loves it. I make my daughter a new dress each year. My husband always gets me flowers and chocolate and does something nice for me. I cook a special festive dinner . We bake treats and share our love with neighbors and friends in a way they understand (unlike the Mishlach Manot baskets which...

And annoucing, Keli is the winner of last week's Corningware giveaway . Congratulations. I hope she has as much fun cooking in it as I intend to. So we ended up having this for dessert for Shabbat instead of the crisp. It was an interesting experiment and may have been better if the plums were not so tart. The venison turned out fantastic. Thank you so much Emerson. Ok so technically Valentines Day is next week but I am spending so much of this week prepping for it (mostly with crafts and baking) that I felt the need to share it early. If we ever dig out from all the snow (We got >24 yesterday and more is due on Tuesday), we will be delivering Valetines goodies to teachers and friends as we see them this week. Sunday - movie night - dinner is crudite, puffed pastry hors dervs, and cows in blankets. Monday - Mommy in class - Pizza for the family Tuesday - Salmon Burgers Wednesday - Ravioli for Froggy - Parents eat at class if it happens otherwise Chili for the whole fami...

We are on the go lots and lots. Some say we do "school on the go" rather than homeschooling. Still, I try really hard to keep one morning a week for being at home. The rhythms of week run smoother if Froggy has some down time at home. And I get to clean . I love having a neat, tidy house and this gets me it once a week even if just for a few minutes. Some people clean one room each day or several times a week. Once a week is the best I can manage. I hate to clean but love things sparkly so this is a nice compromise for me. I spend the time between breakfast and lunch cleaning. It is a minimum of two hours and a maximum of four depending on how cooperative Froggy is. Sometimes it is hard to get started but once I do finally get my act together and start I love doing it. And I just keep on going. There is always more cleaning than there is time for. I start with the essentials of what needs to be done, straightening, cleaning the floors (sweeping, vacuuming and washi...

The latest edition of this wonderful carnival is up over at As for My House . It features some great times and stories from other homeschooling families (including us :) I finally got my act to get together) So grab a cup of coffee and get inspired.

I love exploring in the kitchen. It is amazing stress relief to me. I have found lots of clever fun ways to help me explore without overwhelming my family or my budget. My latest adventure is claypot cooking. I have been pulling recipes from my new favorite, ClayPot Cookbook , and testing them out. The only problem is I don't have a clay (stoneware) pot to really make the best test. Cookware.com has kindly offered to correct that problem by send me and one lucky winner this looker . I cannot wait to give a good test drive. They have another division that sells stool . Take a look at both and tell me your favorite item to be entered. The drawing will be Sunday Feb 7th at 7pm. Now for our menu. Sunday - Frittata and salad Monday- Froggy/Daddy Date night - Dinner out Tuesday- Grilled Marinated Venison - This is our experiment for the week. A friend gave us some venison so we are being brave. Wednesday - Mom and Dad eat at class - Mac and Cheese for Froggy Thursday- Homem...

Ok so it has been almost a month and our jouney has been poor at best. I cannot get Daddy man to even give it a whirl. Froggy refuses to play it with me or by herself and I am having a dreadful time finding time to do it. I have completed unit 1 several times and still cannot use the words in conversation. I am giving it a longer test but am sorely disappointed in our progress. On a brighter note, our Hebrew is increasing dramatically. We are using many more words on a regular basis. We have added the primary colors as well as please,thank you and you're welcome. We are working on some numbers and common household items for the next pass. How did we do this when Rosetta Stone is such a failure? We did it a word at a time with words Froggy wants to learn.

Froggy started occupational therapy right around Hanukkah. Her therapist is great and has given us lots of useful suggests for activities to continue the work at home. One of Froggy's favorite new toys is Silly Putty. Other than the new colors, it is exactly the same as I remember from when I was a kid (and that is saying a lot). One thing I do remember about silly putty from when I was a kid was that I got bored with it very quickly. I liked play dough Not Froggy. She loves it. She has not been real into play dough though. Silly putty is similar to play dough but has some big differences. Silly Putty stretches where playdough breaks and crumbles. Silly putty is rubber so it leaves essentially nothing of itself behind when it touches something. This means it is a great travel toy. We can play with it in the car or at restaurants It is a great work out for her hands. It is not like play dough in some other ways too. It wants to stick to itself which means it does not mol...

I love the idea of expanding my horizons and trying new things. Daring Bakers encourages me to do just that. The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen . Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and www.nanaimo.ca . The graham cracker recipe I used is from 101 Cookbooks . Here it is. My notes and changes are Purple Graham Cracker Recipe 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour. I did not use the additional 2 TBS 1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed 1 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen. I used 3.5oz margerine since we need to be dairy- free. 1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover 5 tablespoons whole milk I used coconut milk 2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract For the topping: 3 tablespoons granulat...

Before I get to this week's challenges and goals, I want to share the joy of the past week. I tried another new recipe from this cookbook . This is the second from the same book which makes the book a keeper. We did Mahi Mahi in parchement. I am not a fan of leafy greens but cooking them in with the fish and sauce made them incredibly yummy. To me any recipe which makes veggies even better and easier to eat is a win. It is designed to be served in the parchment and be all pretty but individual servings don't work for our family so I am still working on a better presentation for this dish. This week we are getting ready for TuB'Shevat. The grocery list is chock full of all different kinds of fruits. We are hosting a TuB'Shevat seder for little people and will have fruits in four different categories; inedible skin, inedible pit, completely edible, and seeds. Sunday - Stirfry Rice Keem Monday - Mom has class - Froggy gets date night with Daddy Tuesday - Meatloaf,...

Froggy went to her first professional theatrical performance today. She was feeling a bit under the weather and I seriously debated canceling but off we went and I am glad we did. The performance was amazing. The troupe consists of three dancers / acrobats who used a variety of musical styles and acrobatic techniques to create eleven distinct and captivating numbers. On the drive to the performance, we discussed theater etiquette and the differences between movies at home, movies at a theater and a live performance. We made a big deal of it. Going to the theater is special and we wore our dress up clothes. I am very cognizant of the change in people with the clothes they wear. It was neat to see her realize that real people would be dancing today. She was very proud of being allowed this opportunity. Froggy was one of the youngest attendees at only four since the theater is extremely strict in their "no one under three will be admitted" policy. Yet she was as well beha...

I love our lunch boxes. Froggy's is pink and mine is purple. Froggy's is packed every single day. We sit down to breakfast at home at least most mornings. And then the rest of her food for the day until dinner time comes out of her lunch box. A friend was complaining that her daughter wants to snack all day. Well with this lunchbox I can let Froggy and not care. Whenever she wants to eat, she can and I know she is eating a variety of healthy food. What does it matter if she has half the entree at 10am and all the fruit at noon rather than the other way around. The lunch box holds lots so she can eat out of it all day and have enough food. For instance, today she had tunafish, carrots, dip, cut up melon and leftover scrambled egg from breakfast. Check out what works for other families at Works for Me Wednesday

.This week is a rough week with at least Mommy if not the whole family having evening commitments out of the house every single night. Last week's fish stew was a tremendous success. I used this for the cream and tilapia (because we had it on hand) for the fish. I also cut back some on both the quantity of fish and potatoes because I did not want leftovers. We will be seeing this recipe many more times. The Chicken Artichoke Ragout on the other hand was not a success and will not be making a reappearance. Monday - Still out of town Tuesday - Pasta with homemade sauce and salad - we need a simple meal as we are just getting back in town. The sauce is already in the freezer Wednesday - Dinner at class for Mom and Dad. Froggy will get mac and cheese with the sitter. Thursday - Meatloaf, acorn squash and green beans. I am looking forward to being able to cook again. Friday - Mahi Mahi in Parchment, rice, brocolli, challah and Nanaimo Bars for dessert. Both the Mahi and the desse...

Our JCC has a book fair each year as a fundraiser. I love it. This year's major find was Slangman Kids. Our major objective this semester is Hebrew language practice so it was perfect timing. We got Cinderella because Froggy is a princess in heart but also because it is level 1. She adores it and is incorporating the vocabulary from the story into everyday life. We have new words we use on a perpetual basis because of this book. I could not get her to "play" Rosetta Stone with me until this book came in the mail. Now she is eager to show how much she knows. We are looking forward to getting the rest of the series. Happily linking to

My menu did not work real well last week. Daddy ended up out of town for 2 nights. Froggy and I did not sit down to proper dinners like we should have while he was gone. Sunday - Chicken Artichoke Rag Out and homemade bread - This was much more soup than stew even after I reduced the broth amount called for in the recipe. The flavors were a delightful combination but the texture and consistency was not what I had hoped for. Still it gives some ideas to play with and explore. The bread was from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Everyone has been raving about this technique so I gave it yet another chance. I cannot get this bread to work though and am going back to my standard recipe. Monday - Pizza (We have tons of leftover sauce that needs eating up) - Mom at Meeting Tuesday - Fish Stew experiment (We never got to this last week) rice, keem Wednesday - Family swim night - Salmon Burgers, Carrot Sticks, clemtines and cookies . Thursday - Head Out of Town

Getting ready for TuB'Shevat (Jan 31st this year) means getting ready for spring as well. I pull out my garden catalog and start planning my garden. What will we plant? Where will it go? Is a new exotic specie we want to try? Every year we plant a tree on Tu B'Shevat. Unfortunately the ground is too frozen and we cannot plant outdoors on the day itself. So we plant in a container regardless of whether the tree will eventually live in the ground or not. Last year we planted a pear tree which is still in its container. I like to leave them in the containers for a while to make sure they will grow and thrive before we go through the hassle of digging a full size tree hole in the clay soil we have here. The Meyer Lemon tree we planted in 2008 finally bloomed and is doing much better which makes me feel safe enough to try another indoor/patio dwarf tree. This year we are getting a Dwarf Venous Orange Tree I am actually on the ball enough this year that I can order our tree t...