Camp Out Menu

I am so excited to take off for a week in the wild! Ok, we are only going to Big Sur but it has been awhile since our last real camping trip. I think we may be bringing the wild animals with us, four families with eight kids total, it could be scary! At least I know we'll be eating well, I always have that to look forward to...

Monday - Mexican night, build your own taco or burrito

In order to be budget friendly for all four families, we decided to bring our own main course items but share all condiments and side dishes , no need to bring four tubs of sour cream. I am bringing fish for fish tacos, making a spicy slaw and fresh guacamole with avos from our tree, yummmm.

Tuesday - Grilled Pizza and Grilled Caesar Salad

I make the dough ahead with whole wheat flour and store it in an air tight container, we can let it re-rise at the camp site. To grill it the heat needs to be high but not flamin' and the trick is to have a tight grill grate so the dough doesn't sink through.

The grilled caesar is pretty basic but to grill cut the heart of romaine down the center, drizzle with olive oil and grill for marks before chopping and tossing with dressing. I even like to grill my own croutons.

Wednesday - BBQ Night, BYO Meat and Family Style Side Dishes

Each of the families are bringing their own side dish to contribute, I am making a pasta salad (recipe to follow) and BBQ baby back ribs with homemade apricot sauce from the preserves we canned, I can't wait!

Thursday - Simple Spaghetti Bake (made ahead and frozen)

I hate coming home to a dirty house and an empty fridge after vacation so I will wash the bedding and stock the pantry and freezer before we go. Things like cereal and sandwich fixins are good to have, but my favorites are freezer meals like my spaghetti bake. Just make regular spaghetti, put the cooked noodles topped with sauce and cheese in a casserole dish cover with foil and freeze. When you get home take it out and you can either thaw on the counter or just bake a little longer, about 45 min at 375. Enjoy!

Alia's Loaded Pasta Salad

Sorry its really hard for me to measure ingredients, just do the amounts you like. I eyeball everything or use what ever I have in the pantry. This pasta salad never looks the same twice!

One box whole wheat penne noodles cooked al dente (means with bite, so not mushy)

Red onion chopped *trick* put in ice bath to take out the bite

Roasted red peppers, jar at Trader Joes

Cherry tomatoes halved

Artichoke hearts marinated and quartered

Capers

Turkey pepperoni

Pepperoncini

Parmesan

Basil

Caesar dressing

Balsamic vinegar

Lemon juice

Butter beans

Fennel

Toss it all together using all or some of the ingredients above, you make like olives for example, but I won't let them near me! The longer this sits the better it is so make it at home and keep it in the cooler, also great beach lunch.

The Family that Ska's together . . .

My husband Matt is an amazing punk rock drummer and the worlds tallest! His first band Skamakazie, was started by nine of his buddies their senior year at Carpinteria High School, in 1995. They played mostly ska revival covers and some mellow punk, super fun. My friends and I would go watch them play at an all ages club called The Living Room before I even knew who Matt was. Skamakazie kinda faded out when some of the guys went off to college, but Matt has always continued to play and went on to be a touring musician, his current band is In The Red.

Three of the ten members found themselves living back in their home town this year and decided to get together, hang out and play some music in our band room. Ahhh, The Band Room aka The Hot Box, I have had mixed feelings about this room, but the room and the tall skinny man who loves it has grown on me alot in the past month. It used to feel like Matt would ditch me for band practice, like a boys club house and girls weren't allowed. There are also many times that I am so happy he has a place to go and let it all out. I may have even been a tad jealous, where could I go to blow off some steam?

A couple months ago, those three members of Skamakazie played a reunion show after 15 years at The Palms in Carp. All of their old friends they grew up with showed up, I have never seen The Plams so packed! The show was awesome, everyone was dancing and singing along. No surprise when they were asked to play a local fundraiser a few weeks later. Since it was a family friendly daytime event they needed to keep it mellow so they picked a bunch of Selecter and English Beat covers, but who would sing the female vocals?

ME! Me? Really? Sure I'll do that! What was I thinking! Alia learn to say "NO!"

I haven't performed since high school, all I do now is sing The Beatles to my babies and 'Head Shoulders Knees and Toes' at circle time! I couldn't believe I said yes, but I am so glad I did. I was finally invited into The Hot Box! Even the kids came in with ear muffs on to watch band practice, (heheheh...... band practice, me singing with a band.) I could see Matt's eyes water up, he was so happy to have his whole family, all crammed into his favorite part of the house, he was stoked to share that part of his life with us, what a cool Papa.

We ended up performing twice, once at a house party for a friends birthday, and then the next day at the fundraiser. I was really nervous, but over all I had such a good time. Thanks for letting me in the band Skamakazie! Repeat performance?

Menu!

Monday ~ Easy Eggplant Parmesan

Tuesday ~ Tuna Melts and Tomato Soup

Wednesday ~ Turkey Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday ~ Breakfast! Waffles, Eggs and Sausage

Friday ~ Gruel Night (left overs or DIY)

Next week we are leaving for vacation so I want to use up everything in my fridge and pantry before we go. I can't wait to share my camp-out menu! We normally have a Gruel Night about once a week, I don't like throwing food away so sometimes leftovers evolve into a new meal or we just have sandwiches for dinner, on the really fun gruel nights we may even go out! I have a ton to get done this week so I really wanted to keep it simple. My kids love breakfast for dinner, I do hide sweet potato puree in the whole wheat waffles so they still get some veggies though! SHHHH, don't tell!

Easy Eggplant Parmesan

One eggplant sliced into 1/2 in thick circles.

one egg beat with a little water in shallow dish

one cup bread crumbs and one cup grated parmesan in another shallow dish

Spaghetti Sauce, one jar

~Dip eggplant into egg first on both sides then breadcrumbs, and brown on both sides in olive oil over med-high heat

~Top with spaghetti sauce and more parmesan cheese.

Sweet Potato Fries

Super easy! Just julienne, toss with olive oil salt and pepper and bake at a high heat (450)

Canning; flash back in time!

I jumped in my time machine with my good friend Deb (an organic chef) and traveled back in time to make . . . . apricot jam! We even wore aprons and smiles while the children played at our feet, ahhhh. Then we realized we didn't have the right size canning lids so Deb got on her cell phone and called her mom to go to Smart and Final and pick up some more for us; time warp perhaps? It was a fun adventure!

We picked about 12 pounds of apricots from the tree in my yard, pitted chopped and stewed all day. We kept it pure and simple, just apricots and agave nectar, delicious! My favorite part of the canning process was daydreaming with Deb about all the fabulous meals we could use our jam in. Can't wait to try those ribs Deb!

Schnitzel and Spaetzle

The weekly menu I posted Monday is pretty true to form of what meals look like at my house. I didn't want to show off or plan anything too fancy (or expensive) just because I was posting it into cyber space. So far what is on the chalk board is what we have been eating. Monday was an experiment meal, my girlfriend came over and we tried out a new recipe for Schnitzel and Spaetzle, fun to say and pretty fun to cook too! (Tyler Florence recipe on Food Network.)

Here is what we learned! Schnitzel is pretty easy to make but if you want to make your own bread crumbs you need to have a good food processor! We some how managed to blow themotor on mine and it started smokin'! The other thing we learned is you need great upper body strength to use Tylers collander method of making spaetzle, it was really hard! Maybe a ricer would have been easier? Overall the taste of this Austrian dish was worth the effort.

Menu!

Monday - Schnitzel and Spaetzle (recipe on food network's Tyler's Ultimate)

Tuesday - Candied Salmon, broccoli and cous cous

Wednesday - Chicken and bell pepper Fajitas

Thursday - Spaghetti Squash and meatballs

Friday - Sloppy Cubanos with sweet potato fries

Saturday - Relay for Life - event

Sunday - Chicken Enchiladas (make two, freeze one)

Candied Salmon

This is one of my favorite week night recipes, the whole meal takes about 10 minutes to make!

-4 fresh wild salmon fillets, sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning and pat 1/4 cup of organic brown sugar onto the top of each fillet to make a thick crust.

-place on a cookie sheet and broil for 5 -7 minutes

Spaghetti Squash

-1 large spaghetti squash cut in half and seeded, place up side down in glass casserole dish, poke a few holes in top of squash and fill with 1/2 inch of water. Bake at 350' for 30 minutes or until tender.

- when done scrape the flesh out in strings with a fork and serve like pasta!

Sloppy Cubanos (sloppy joes cuban cousin)

serves 6-8

8 whole wheat burger buns

1 lb ground turkey

1 pack soyrizo

1/2 onion chopped

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 tblsp worchestershire

1 tblsp organic brown sugar

zest and juice of one lime

swiss cheese

pickles

- saute onion and turkey, soyrizo and garlic, cook till brown.

- add sauce, sugar and lime, simmer while toasting buns

- build the cubano with meat swiss cheese and pickles

Enjoy everyone! And please feel free to email me with any questions!

"You did it!" vs "Good Job!"

Funny, but many of the comments I got back from my last blog, "You Did It!" were from people saying "Good Job!" to Chase. Funny because I have been wanting to write a blog about the over use of that phrase and this seems like the perfect opportunity. I know our loved ones mean to express their congratulations to him and for that I am thankful. My advice however is to parents.

When we say, "good job" to our children we are really only telling them our opinion of their behavior and that we are happy and not really giving them the strength to build their own self esteem and be proud of themselves. For example, your child comes to you and says, "Mommy do you like my painting?" You could say, "yes" and they would walk away happy but not fulfilled. Try instead saying, "Oh, tell me about your painting, did you have fun making it?" The purpose is not for your child to learn to please others but to be proud of themselves.

You Did It!

End of an era and start of something new! To deep for a preschool graduation? I am just so proud of Chase and the amazing kid he is becoming. It may only be preschool but to a five year old with his amount of life experience this far, it is BIG! I think he learned how to finish strong, say good bye and move forward knowing he had closure. What a good feeling to move onto Kindergarden with! Be proud of yourself son, you did it!

My Picky Eater

I am a total foodie, so of course my children would be. They wouldn't know any better, I would present them with gourmet baby food and they will grow up eating sprouted peas for snack and think prunes were candy..... right?

Yeah, wishful thinking! In reality my children have a mind of their own. I had my first child, a sensitive yet stubborn son named Chase. He nursed easily enough and at 6 months we introduced rice cereal with no problems. I had been told to introduce hardy vegetables first to lessen my child potential sweet tooth so I made him a butternut squash puree and it has been veggie war at my house ever since!

I moved on to the sweeter veggies, totally abandoning my original plan, sweet potatoes, peas and carrots. Pursed lip my son refused. I literally tried everything I could think of plus took the advice from anyone else who had an idea. I force fed, reintroduced over a hundred times, "Here comes the air plane, open the hanger," switched to store bought food, all to no avail. When I moved on to fruits we had better luck so I thought, 'maybe I can hide veggies in here,' NOPE! I swear Chase may have the most sensitive sense of smell, he would turn his head before I even made it all the way to his high chair. I was beyond frustrated, but mostly I was concerned about his nutrition, so I did the only thing that made sense to me at the time, I force fed. This went on for three years! He learned to like frozen peas but that was about it. I became sneaky, I would hide vegetable puree in almost all his food, spinach in a fruit smoothie zucchini in meat loaf. I had some success but most of the time he could detect a difference in flavor or texture, he could even separate the veggies out with his tongue!

It wasn't until a nutritionist came and spoke at my sons preschool that I realized that I had been creating an unhealthy relationship around food for my son. She also taught us that children's nutritional needs are different from an adults, while we need to eat fruits and vegetables every day children can get their needs filled over the course of a week. That took so much pressure off! The instructor of the preschool also challenged the parents to serve food at home they way they do at school; a platter of assorted fresh fruits and veggies first then a carb and protein after. I rose to the challenge and started making fruit and veggie platters for my son every day. Finally peace at meal time! Dinner time used to be so stressful, he would cry and say his stomach hurt before he even knew what we were having. When I let go of trying to control what Chase ate, he began to try new foods on his own, I couldn't believe it!

Now Chase is in control of of his eating habits. When he his hungry he can go to the fridge and grab a fruit or veggie from the tray, if he doesn't like what I have made for dinner he can make himself a bowl of plain Cherrios, a PB&J or any fruits and veggies he wants. I saw a huge change in Chase's whole personality he seems happier and more willing to try new things not to mention he had a huge growth spurt!

Testimonial

Friday was my last day with a little girl I have watched since she was a newborn . . . snif, snif. This is always a bitter sweet moment in the life of a childcare provider. I love her and have watched her grow and now it's time for her to move on to preschool. Her mother wrote me this thank you letter . . .

"I can't tell you how much I have appreciated you these past few years. You have become a part of our family. 'My daughter' has really adapted to you and the other kids. Without your guidance, support and dedication we both would not be where we are today emotionally, mentally, physically and socially. You have worked wonders with 'her' in her academics, social skills and in helping in the mess of co-parenting with her father. For this I can't thank you enough."

Don't say "OK"

Sorry friends, I know it has been awhile since my last blog, life happens! But there is one little word that has shocked me out of my brief retirement. The word by itself may seem innocent enough but it can be the start of a big mess. I hear parents adding it to the end of almost all of there sentences when talking to their child, it sneaks its way in as a question and allows a child to believe they have a choice when a subject my be non-negotiable ....... ok.

"Mommy has to go to work now,ok?"

"Daddy will play with you after I finish feeding the baby, ok?"

"You have to hold my hand when we cross the street, ok?"

The immediate response from a three year old to all of these questions is normally "NO!" And I don't know about you but holding my spirited three year old daughters hand across the street is non-negotiable, so why ask, "ok" as if she has a choice in the matter. I am all for giving age appropriate choices when the options are something you can live with but some things shouldn't have wiggle room. You are just setting yourself up for an argument with a child.

A lot of the time I think parents mean to say, "Did you hear/understand me?" but why not just say that? Or even have them repeat back to you what they heard you say. My kids also know the meaning of, "non-negotiable." On the flip side sometimes there is wiggle room and you can ask them to "convince me."

All I am suggesting to my fellow parents it that you become aware of how often you add "ok" to the end of your sentence. Do they have a choice in the matter or not? Mean what you say, thats all and trust me, many of the little squables you have had with your child will go away just by leaving out that one little word......ok?