Ahoy!

Tuesday morning featured a sailboat with a school of fish for the little guy.

Pancake boat, apple sail, blueberry sea, grape fish and orange sun. 

And Tuesday evening featured an exceptional evening of dining with some lady friends. Big kid food can be pretty too!

Causitas, a potato appetizer that brought a party to my mouth. 

It was a delectable day all around! And for those of you in the Madison, WI area, I highly recommend Surco, the Peruvian restaurant on Cottage Grove Road. The service is questionable (not bad, just slow) but the wait is worth the amazing flavors they create in the kitchen!

"More kale please!"

Tonight, at dinner my heart just about burst. My little guy of 21 months declared, "More kale please!" I looked over at my mister and we shared one of those parenting moments that transforms insane amounts of sleep deprivation into a minor inconvenience.

Tonight's dinner: seitan barbecue and kale chips.

So what makes a toddler hungry for a vitamin-packed superfood? Turning said superfood into tasty, seasoned chips!

The kale chips were a huge hit!

This recipe is so easy, it's not even really a recipe. Cut or tear 3-5 leaves of kale into tiny pieces, toss in olive oil, season to your taste (I used Penzey's Smoky 4/S) and cook at 275 degrees for 20 minutes.

Yummy vegetables!

These "chips" were easy for this toddler to handle, tasty enough to warrant a request for seconds and packed with vitamins A and C. Triple win!

I love kale!

I know this guy's tastes could change any minute, on a whim. So I'm enjoying these moments and hoping that the more we expand his palate, the less likely he'll be to turn into a hotdog and macaroni and cheese monster. Fingers crossed!

Art is Hard

Some mornings are complete and utter fails and others are questionable and I roll with it. Today was the latter. I was going for an Antarctic scene: penguin, snow, igloo. And I wanted to get a kiwi into the mix. I got to work and wound up with this:

Igloo? Turtle? 

My thought process: Igloos can be green, right? Right. This isn't real. Maybe this guy even wanted his igloo to look like a turtle. And all of his other penguin friends are jealous of his awesome turtle house. Pretty sure penguins don't live in igloos. This isn't real. Oh, right. Does that even look like a penguin? Ugh. I'll just pretend this didn't happen. No, take a picture. It's art. Art can be hard, you have to work through it. Live and learn! Plus it will be yummy no matter what. 

So here you are, "Penguin and Igloo (or Turtle)!"

The most frustrating part? About a month ago I made a complete mess of a kiwi trying to create a turtle! I just couldn't get it. I think I see another turtle in my future...

Testing: Graham Crackers

I love to bake. I have my standard go-to recipes: chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, oatmeal cookies... sense a theme? This week I decided to try something different. Crackers. Graham crackers to be precise. I searched on-line for a recipe that was easy and for which I had all the ingredients. I found this recipe at Kitchen Simplicity and decided to give it a whirl. 

Crackers need to be thin. That means a lot of rolling. I'm not very patient when it comes to baking, so this was a flawed plan. 

Graham cracker dough. Roll, roll, roll. 

My usual sidekick was cheering me along. 

My little helper!

I scored them with a pizza cutter before they went in the oven, and they had to be re-cut when they were finished baking. If I do this again, I'll cut and separate before baking.

Fresh out of the oven. 

My crackers turned out to be kind of like graham cookies. A bit too thick. I didn't take enough time to roll the dough thin enough. Next time, I'll work in smaller batches

Cooling crackers. 

They taste just like graham crackers. It's pretty amazing!

They could be a bit thinner. 

They are a hit with the whole family and pair nicely with milk or a Scotch ale.

Regardless of their height, they are pretty tasty!

Graham Crackers

1 C whole wheat flour

1 1/2 C all-purpose flour

1/2 C brown sugar

1/4 t salt

1 t baking soda

1 t cinnamon

1/2 C cold unsalted butter, cubed

1/4 C water

1/4 C honey

Mix dry ingredients with butter until combined. Add water and honey. Roll out, cut into shapes and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. 

Waiting for sunshine!

It has been a long, long winter. Luckily we're able to find a bit of relief in the fruity creations I whip up each morning!

Sunshine! Pancake, mango, apple and blueberries.

Sunflowers made of oranges, bananas, apples and kiwis. 

The keys to a successful fruit plate include: 1) variety, different kinds of fruit, pancakes, toast, etc. 2) although you want the pieces of food to be age-appropriate, they should be large enough to pick up 3) no pressure! I set it out in the morning and it's always gone by the time I get home. He may take his time to munch throughout the day and that's ok. He usually finishes his smoothie first thing, so I'm not worried about nutrition and calories.

Oh, also, I try to get in as much vitamin C as possible. Especially during winter!

Behind the Scenes

The time I spend preparing my little guy's breakfast is something I've come to covet. It's my morning meditation and reflection time. Don't get me wrong, I may pout or smash grapes if the banana doesn't bend to my whim, but in general, I love using the quiet time in the morning to create something that I know will be nourishing my little dude all day long.

Here is the process, from start to finish, which takes about 30 minutes:

Mama's nourishment is at the top of the list. Because you know. I'm the mom.

Coffee first. Always coffee first.

Then I make a quick smoothie for the little one. This is an easy way to get in some dairy and probiotics. I use an organic superfoods smoothie from the Co-op to supplement vitamins and add flavor. One bottle lasts me all week long. If you continue to follow the blog, you'll soon learn that I'm not so much for precise measurements - unless it comes to baking. So here's how I made the smoothie this morning with approximations when it comes to the measurements:

General smoothie recipe: 1/4 c yogurt, 1/4 c milk, 1/8 - 1/4 c green smoothie, powder from one probiotic capsule. Combine all ingredients in a cup and mix. 

Smoothie time!

 Coffee? Check! Smoothie? Check! Time to grab the art supplies.

Power drinks!

It's the end of the week, so we're running low on fruit. Here's what I was able to scrounge up: blueberries, grapes, pineapple, orange, apple, pear, banana and frozen buckwheat pancakes.

Gather the supplies.

What to make, what to make? I go through this every morning. I think about current events, time of year, exciting new words we've been practicing, peace in the middle east... sometimes my mind wanders.

This morning I realized I've never made a train! The train show is coming up in a few weeks, so I thought I'd give it a try. Once I have an idea, I usually try to find a picture to copy. For example, for the Harley Davidson I did last week, I google-image searched a Harley in order to get it right. Finding a picture of a train in this little boy's house was easy.

Find inspiration.

 Once I have the image in my head, the design goes fairly quick. There is a definite mess made and I eat many of the fruit scraps (I admit I need nourishment beyond a nice creamy coffee).

After the storm.

 Then I take a picture for posterity. And for you all.

Finished product.

 I set up the breakfast area and get myself ready for work.

Waiting for the little guy.

If the boys (baby and papa) are still sleeping when I leave for work, I count on a text message or e-mail to fill me in on the reception. I'm such a lucky mama!

Another (well, the only) satisfied customer!

Thanks for reading! This is a brand new blog and I'm working on my picture taking skills. Since I'm armed only with an iPhone it should be an interesting journey!

By Request

Pancake pyramids and mango sphinx  

Mango, apple and kiwi Harley Davidson

Pancake, orange, blueberry and mango balloons

Banana, blueberry and mango birthday cake