This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.



(Whoops, a bit late this week!)

Judith's To Do List

Today I was making up a big to-do list to try once again to start getting the house organized and de-cluttered. Of course Judith was orbiting me the entire time, as usual. Then she decided that she needed to come up with her own to-do list. She dictated her list to me and asked me to write it down. Here it is:

~Do an experiment with purple cabbage.

~Find out which things sink or float.

~Draw pictures that are THE BEST.

~Mommy have 10 more babies.

~Paint pictures that are also THE BEST.

~Draw a picture of our family.

~Make paper flowers.

~Paint a very cool picture that is purple with Gideon and Mommy.

~Make paper birdies.

~Learn about different birds and colour them.

~Make lots of new stuff.

~Make paper food.

~Dance with Tiergan another day.

~Make paper horses today and go ride real horses another day.

~Colour fishes and stuff.

~Catch and eat a gingerbread man. (<- That one had me in tears from laughing so hard!)

~Mix oil and water.

~Count the days until summer.

~Find out what is at the center of the earth, but don't touch it. Actually, let's just look it up on the internet.

~Draw a picture of My Little Pony and a frisbee.

~Play X's and O's.

She seriously came up with those things one right after another and I could barely keep up writing them down! The only reason she stopped was to play X's and O's with me right away, and then we never got back to her list.

It was too awesome not to post!

George Foreman Grill Cleaning Tip!

We were fortunate enough to receive a George Foreman grill as a wedding gift, almost 8 years ago. It has been a great little thing, and we have used it a lot. Even when we were vegan it was great for veggie burgers! The only thing I have always hated about it was cleaning it. It involved scraping off all the dried on bits, and then scrubbing it down. It generally took about 20 mins and was a huge pain in the butt. So much so, that it would often sit on the counter for days before I would get around to cleaning it.

Fast forward to this past Mother's Day. Dave was graciously cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes for me. It came time to do the George Foreman grill, and as any good nerd would, Dave ran to the computer to try and find an easier way to clean the thing. He found a site that gave him a "cleaning hack" for the grill, and voila! My life is now all the more worth living.

So, this is how it goes. Once you are finished using the grill, unplug it, and immediately get 3 or 4 squares of paper towel, layered on top of each other. Wet them, ring them out, and unfold them back out so they are back into their square shape. Then simply set them on the grill and close it. Enjoy your food while the grill cools.



Then simply open the grill (don't wait too long, an hour or so is fine), and use the paper towels to easily wipe off the grime. It does a surprisingly amazing job, with basically no effort! You don't need soap, and it's very gentle on the grill itself. Awesome! Yay for nerdy husbands!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Mothers

My own mother sent me this forward:

Real Mothers don't eat quiche;
They don't have time to make it.

Real Mothers know that their kitchen utensils
Are probably in the sandbox.

Real Mothers often have sticky floors,
Filthy ovens and happy kids.

Real Mothers know that dried play dough
Doesn't come out of carpets.

Real Mothers don't want to know what
The vacuum just sucked up...

Real Mothers sometimes ask 'Why me?'
And get their answer when a little
Voice says, 'Because I love you best.'

(I can provide photo evidence of all of the above!)

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese

When we decided to go gluten-free, this was one of my first missions. Just like when I got pregnant with Judith after being vegan for a while, this was my biggest craving. There's just something about mac and cheese! I tried a few recipes that were more complicated than this and turned out quite starchy. I just kind of threw this one together one day, and thought it wasn't bad!



First of all, get some gluten-free (ie rice) elbow pasta, and cook according to the directions. Rinse the noodles well and make sure there are no clumps after draining them when they are done, or they will all stick together and be a yucky, starchy, horrible mess.

While the pasta is cooking, throw this simple sauce together:

3 tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
3 tbsp arrowroot flour (you could try using less if you want it to be less starchy, but then the sauce won't be as thick)
1 tsp salt
Shot or two of hot sauce (optional)

In a small pot over med-low heat, melt the butter. Then add milk and wait a minute or two, stirring constantly, to allow it to warm up (do not ever let it boil!). Then add cheese, a little at a time, while whisking. Once the cheese is all melted and integrated (it takes several minutes, be patient and keep whisking), slowly sprinkle in the flour (you don't want it to clump), while continuing to whisk, and then add the salt and hot sauce (if you want).

When the noodles are ready, pour the sauce over top, mix, and voila! Mac and cheese without irritating your gut. Unless, of course, you have issues with milk. Sorry.

The cheese sauce is also wonderful served over steamed broccoli and cauliflower!



Judith decided to eat hers with ketchup instead of hot sauce. The other kids and I had ours just plain (pictured above). The kids ate it all up, when normally they leave half a bowl of the boxed mac and cheese, score!