Ordinary Life

Sesame Crunch Candy (I don't know if that is the official name) is one of my favorites.  In times past, I have had to locate a good health foods store in order to enjoy this treat. Every once in a while, I have been delighted to discover it in a specialty candy shop.  Then I stumbled on this recipe at Spoonful.com :  1 cup sesame seeds (about 6 ounces) 3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar 3 tablespoons honey ----------------- Generously coat two large sheets of waxed paper with cooking spray. In a medium skillet, toast the sesame seeds over medium-low heat, stirring often, until they're fragrant and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. In a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar and honey. Cook over low heat, stirring often, until the sugar is melted and the mixture is thick, about 5 minutes (because melted sugar can get quite hot, this is a step best left to parents). Add the sesame seeds to the sugar and stir well with a wooden spoon. Place one sheet of the waxed paper on a work ...

Painting on 'real' canvas with 'real' paint.  Preprinted canvas featuring a fish, a frog, a princess and a castle and a butterfly... neon and glitter acrylics... we're doing serious art here.  Ever since Rye got on her Bob Ross kick, she's been asking for a 'white fing' (canvas) to paint on... this was a start.  (Now...where to hang these wonderful pieces of art....hmmm....)

There are various ways to make seed bombs. We chose the method that used materials we already had on hand. It was one of the cleaner options as well.  Start by choosing seeds that grow well in your area. A quick glance at 'native' plants may be helpful.  Put scrunch tissue in a large bowl - this scrunchy filler can often be found in the gift wrap section of your local Dollar Tree (and possibly lingering in the bottom of any recently received gift bags) If you have a paper shredder, you could recycle the collected shreds or make your own shreds using colored paper.    (gotta make time for BigSib Photo breaks) Toddler helper optional but highly encouraged.  Pour water into the scrunchy paper. You may wish to add layers of color separately to prevent dyes from blending.  Mush the paper together until it will hold shape, then drain excess water:  Mix in seeds:  Roll paper to form jawbreaker sized bombs (or larger if desired) Paper can also be pre...

We made a cat!  No, not THAT cat~ another cat.  A paper mache cat.  Look, if you ever want to work on control issues- do paper mache with a toddler. Whether you need to work on not having to be in control or operating from a place of more self control, getting creative with a tot is sure to help...at least confirm the issues are present. What follows is a pictorial journey from two balloons, some newspaper and flour paste to a new paper friend that follows us around everywhere... except the pool... I had to put my foot down on that :) Pasting strips of newspaper around balloons.  DRYING No one has to teach them these things... she just knew how to paint herself... and she enjoyed it. We were killing time with creativity while waiting for the paste to dry...she was SUPPOSED to be painting paper.  A cat begins to take shape...  ...and a mess. It's always a pink cat she wants...  Staying busy with the 'squirt paints' while Mom works on the smaller detail...

For the most part, ( words you don't normally associate with following a recipe )  we followed the recipe found on Ree Drummond 's site. She has much better photos- if you plan to make this, I highly advise checking her coverage out.  What follows is really just a documentation of our attempt to re-create tasty apple fritters- not a "how-to". We had to scrap our deep fryer as the inside coating was beginning to flake. I knew you could fill a pot with oil as a makeshift fryer but I had never been brave enough to try it until I saw Ree's photo coverage. It was less daunting to see that not only had someone else successfully made fritters in a pot of boiling oil, but that they had done so without burning down their kitchen.  Heat the oil on Medium... a test drop of batter will let you know if the oil is too hot or not hot enough baed on shade and speed of browning.  We halved the batter but not the fruit. So 3 apples went into half the batter. To the other half we ad...

 Rye's art & snack session was set up like this.  Look closely at those pencil leads, it will be important later.  Sugar is brainfood...it was a perfectly nutritious snack...stop judgin' me :)  Sprinkles make ya sweet... ...and Sprinkles are inspiring!  Yes...just a shirt & training pants... it's what works for us...  ~Sugar Lips~ Okay, time for the story.  I bought a container of sprinkles in hopes of convincing Riley to broaden her culinary horizons. Currently, she and Buddy the Elf share a similar palate .  Yes, sprinkles are made of sugar too, but if you shake them over, say, Mashed Potatoes or Chicken Nuggets then sugar becomes a lesser ingredient. Especially when compared with most of her current preferred favorites, like "Big Chocolate Cupcake Cookies" (a.k.a. Reese Cups) and Pink Ice Cream.   It isn't an exact science, but it has met with some success.  So, Riley had a little bowl of sprinkles during her art and sna...