Breakfast, again?

When cereal is not an option, every morning becomes a challenge to put a nourishing breakfast on the table that the kids will devour. My recent decision to go mostly Paleo has added additional difficulty. I mean really, how many eggs can a kid have before they just won't eat anymore?

I still let my kids eat some grains, (sprouted of course), because it helps to round out my weekly meal plan...and well, to be perfectly honest, I am not a huge proponent of throwing all of your proverbial eggs into one basket...

Which brings us to this morning! (Well, not technically since it has nothing to do with grains...)
I was reading through one of the Paleo blogs which just has tons of food ideas and came upon one that I knew would work for the kids. And then I modified, of course.

I knew that the main draw for this breakfast would just be that each kid get's their own individualized dish. The possibilities are endless!

So here it is:

First, heavily butter some ramekins, (raw butter for my allergy boy).
Add in some homemade salsa (ours is lacto fermented) or veggies, meat (we did bacon and chicken) and raw cheese (not paleo).

Lame picture that is blurry. That is bacon and chicken with a bit of cheese.

Crack an egg or two on top, add another tiny bit of raw cheese, some salt and pepper and bake in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

My kids all had special requests. One didn't want bacon, (I know, I know! I am working on her!), one wanted extra salsa, one only wanted one egg...and really, it is SO easy to make them exactly what they want!

Overall, it was a good response. My non-bacon girl didn't like it, (duh! It needs bacon!), and only one of the ramekins ended up on the floor!

Coffee Kombucha

Photo by wikia.com

I have been making kombucha off and on for 3 or 4 years and I have to admit, I am a bit unconventional even to the unconventional. Once I figured out that the scoby (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) will ferment anything with sugars, I tried a variety of juices including but not limited to: grape, apple, and blueberry. They were Uh-mazing! So when I saw this post for coffee kombucha on FB, I knew that I had to try it.

Once I brewed up the coffee, I added palm sugar/coconut nectar sugar, allowed it to cool, threw in my scoby and left it alone for a week.

Sampling was interesting since I like my coffee sweet. This stuff was NOT sweet and had a bit of a sour tang. It wasn't bad though, which prompted me to have several people sample it that week. (You know, just to make sure I wasn't crazy)...Once I decided that it would be okay to drink, (nobody keeled over or threw up, though there were a couple of shivers), I was faced with figuring out how to make it palatable for MY tastes.

Keep in mind that this whole experiment was an effort to allow me my specialized coffee drink, but in a nourishing way. (I am all about getting around restrictions-even self imposed.)

The iced latte recipe on the blog I read didn't sound great for two reasons: 1. I don't care for honey in my coffee or my ice cream. 2. Kefir is not my favorite way to get cultured.

So, after more experimentation I found a delicious combination that I just had to share!

Ice Blended Mocha Bucha
1/2 cup coffee kombucha
1/2 cup raw cream (or raw whole milk)
1/4 cup coconut milk or cream
1 1/2 tbsp raw cocao powder
1 tbsp maple syrup
1/2-1 tsp pure almond extract
ice (maybe a cup?)

Throw it all together in the blender and blend on high until all the ice is ground and it looks properly slushy. Add more milk or ice as needed for texture.

I'm already addicted. Mmmm!

A New Chapter

Quite literally, a new chapter!

Just last month, my friend Tracey and I, (at her urging), started a chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation in our area. In the past, I had considered doing this, but just had too much else going on to make it happen. But really, it wasn't time until she came along. I can't even tell you how much more is getting done because of her motivation and follow through! We already have a website, (thanks in part to the Santa Barbara folks), a gmail account, a way to send out a monthly newsletter, a FB page and an event, (hopefully with many more to come)!!!


The best part about the website is that we are actually setting up a resource page that I wish I had had three years ago! The joy! No really, it is a pretty exciting time!

In the meantime, we are very excited for summer to start, though we are almost as unplanned as last summer. Hubby is done with school, but hasn't really stopped working yet. The kids will be doing school through the summer, though admittedly it will be much more about field trips than writing samples. Our hope is to head east for a couple weeks to visit family and hit as many historical sites along the way as we can.

Perhaps now that I am on the computer more, I will be blogging more.

Do you have a new chapter starting in YOUR life?

Where I'm From

My cousins, Anna and Martha, started this with a homework assignment and then a followup. I loved it, but wasn't going to do my own until challenged...sotospeak. Now, I'm so glad I did. It really brings back so many amazing memories of a childhood filled with love and joy and an extraordinary family that most could never relate to.

I’m from treehouses built out of scrap wood, raw milk, and walks across the 71^st street bridge for a 27 cent burger, including tax.

I am from the huge garden in the backyard near the chicken coop, the tiny house with the attic bedrooms and the flooded yard that doubled as a rainy day pool.

I am from the fruit trees in summer, the pond up the street where we were chased by bad tempered geese.

I am from “place and pillows saved” and love that knows no bounds, from Bell and Castagna, and an equal partnership of matriarch and patriarch.

I am from the one couch for ten people and food waits for no sleeping person.

From a long line of strong women and stories told again and again and again, until eventually all but one or two have heard and others more than once.

I am from church is the people, God is real and loves us really, and the attitude of service. From home is where the heart is, but home is wherever you are at the moment.

I’m from the windy city, real southern living and the golden state, from Mom’s spaghetti that now has chucks, and melt in your mouth caramelitas.

From the “looking down on you with respect”, the Great Depression with only one day out of work, the love of teenagers who met in a Jewish deli.

I am from hallways of age progression cousins and Christmas Eves taking turns looking through scrapbooks before opening presents.

I am from multiple parts that make a whole and pieces of an intricate puzzle that make a beautiful picture.

Now, why don't you try one? You can post the link in the comments section.

A new day

I figured that I would start out the new year with the hope of writing a bit more. Even as I write that sentence I am wondering how on earth I will have enough time to think about it, let alone actually sit down to do it...but we try.

Just a quick review of 2010:

• Everything this year is measured in time around "the accident". My sister, her husband and their three children were in a near fatal accident on May 26th. It took 90 minutes to extract the adults from the car that had gone full freeway speed into the back of a parked semi truck. For those who know of the "golden hour", they were not expected to make it. My BIL was airlifted to the hospital while my sister was taken by ambulance. My nieces and nephew all suffered broken bones and 4 out of the 5 of them had surgeries. I was first to the hospital and it was one of the hardest things I have ever been through. Still. Miraculously, they all did survive, though not without some lasting effects in each of them, some physical, and some not so physical.

• We replaced every appliance in our entire house this year, starting before the accident, continuing through that time and finally ending some time after. Dishwasher, stove, refrigerator, washer and dryer, mixer and blender. It was a killer year for appliances...

• My kids all turned odd numbers this year. 9, 7, 5 and 5. It is shocking to no longer have babies. If you are curious, we are physically done having children, but there is no telling what God has planned for our family. Ask me sometime about the conversation we all had in the car this week.

• My buyer's club of real foods from real farmers doubled in size when our local natural food store closed. Still not sure how I feel about the extra work, but am truly enjoying the growth of community.

• I started working on the beginnings of our city's first community garden with a member of the buyer's club. We are hopeful that it will be off the ground, (or in the ground rather), this year. I can't wait to see the community that develops from that!

Now today is a new day. We are now in a new year. I have made no resolutions and no plans or promises. I can hope that I will be back to compose again soon. And I can hope that you all will join me.

What are your plans/resolutions for this year?