32 Weeks and Counting . . .

So I'm 32 weeks--8 more weeks (give or take) to go.  I'm starting to think more and more about labor, partly because it was not so easy the last two times.  I read a book about hypnobirthing that had an interesting premise.  That extreme pain (apart from complications in pregnancy) can come from fear responses of the body.  So I'm going to try not to panic this time (fear has dominated my labors ever since things went south while I was in labor with Micah).

Welcome Spring!

Is anything more beautiful (ok, foodwise) than fresh strawberries, green onions, and baby radishes and turnips?  We just tried Chestnut Hill farmer's market for the first time today.  I'm becoming a farmer's market junkie on weekends.  It's all I want to do.  Owen's being a terrific sport about it.  He knows once the local weekday ones open we'll be able to do something different occasionally on weekends.  Um, like take care of a newborn, I guess.  :)

Boys in Bunk Beds

Micah and Jesse are thrilled to be big boys in their bunk beds--not exactly sleeping quite as much because it's still too exciting . . .

Beach in a Bag

This is a less than impressive craft idea, but it was fun for the kids to make and got them excited for the beach!  My oldest son wanted me to think of a craft, and for whatever reason I came up with this.  We took a small amount of sand from our sandbox and then put it into ziploc bags.  Each child chose a color of food dye and we put in a few drops to make red and yellow sand.  I sent Micah into the backyard to pick sea shells out of the sandbox (we always stick some in there when we get back from the beach each year) and find some seed pods or pinecones.  We added these.  Then I gave them each a cork and a pile of noodles and beans (the noodles and beans are less thematic, but they were thrilled to color the noodles with markers and pretend that they were little crabs or sea dwelling I-don't-know-whats).  I then sealed the bags and put packaging tape on them. 

Stir Fry Brainstorming/Garden Clean-up

So I needed to thin some radishes, pull broccoli rabe that was spindly and bolting, pull out last year's kale to make room for squash, and I pulled a pea shoot and a few arugula plants.  I washed and trimmed everything into bite-sized pieces and have them with a little water in a bowl.  I'm thinking of adding some tomatoes, asparagus (both local, yeah!), cashews, spring onions, sesame seeds, chicken . . . and making a stir-fry to serve over rice noodles.  And I have bean sprouts growing on my windowsill I can put in.  Ooo, and I have a few leftover mushrooms.  If anyone can think of anything else, let me know for next time!  :)

RHUBARB!!!

Finally!  Local fruit besides apples!  Well, what is rhubarb?  Does it count as a fruit?  With enough honey and sugar and strawberry added, it sure tastes like fruit.  So I wanted to use rhubarb, honey, a tiny bit of sugar, tapioca starch to thicken, and to stir in strawberries at the end.  But I couldn't find a recipe for rhubarb sauce with all of those ingredients (why are so many people hung up on pie?), so I got some basic ideas from talking to my mom; remembered what my friend, Juliane, told me about stirring in the strawberries at the end; looked online at Cat's Kitchen website (http://web.mac.com/catherinehaug/iWeb/CatsKitchen-Recipes/Rhubarb.html), and then did a little improvisation.  Here's the final product.  I'm halving the recipe, assuming that most people won't be starting with 5 lbs of rhubarb.

Rhubarb Sauce
Cut 2 1/2 lbs rhubarb stems into 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices (after washing stalks and removing all leaf, which is poisonous).  Put in pot and sprinkle with a little bit of sugar (or skip it and add more honey at the end) and just a little bit of water in the bottom of the pot.  Simmer for 45 min. or an hour (until the pieces start to fall apart when you stir).  Add about a cup of cut up strawberries (or raspberries).  Stir in some tapioca flour/starch (or corn starch), a teaspoon or so.  Next time I actually will try mixing it with a little bit of water first so I won't get clumps in it.  Add about 1 generous cup of honey or however much sugar or honey you need to until it tastes really good and not like a vegetable.  (Actually, if you're using sugar, you can add it right from the beginning.  I mostly just used honey and added it at the end.)  It's really good.  Enjoy!

Guess What? Philly's zone 6.

Just in case anyone is counting on this blog's accuracy . . .

While I initially saw Philadelphia listed as zone 5b, I have recently found that Morris Arboretum (in Chestnut Hill) lists itself as zone 6.  So get those tomatoes in!!!

Pumpkin Breakfast Muffins

So I had leftover frozen pumpkin to use up from my freezer.  And I wanted to make a healthy breakfast muffin out of it.  I couldn't really find one I thought fit the bill.  The closest I found was actually a cupcake recipe on Wellsphere:  Original pumpkin cupcake/muffin recipe

What I made was actually . . .   (approximately . . . )

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 24 muffin tins and a little loaf pan.

2 cups pumpkin

4 large eggs
1/2 cup honey
2 large mashed bananas
1/2 cup olive oil

Mix above ingredients first.  Then add:

3 cups ground whole grains (you could use whatever flour you want, I imagine)
1/2 cup flaxmeal (approx.)
4 teaspoons baking powder
about 4 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir, then add 1 cup chopped walnuts.  Spoon batter into cups and put leftover in mini-loaf pan.  Muffins take about 25 min. to bake, and the loaf may take a little longer.  Test with knife or toothpick.
I think if I make them again I will add raisins or dates.  I would also consider experimenting with a little applesauce.  If anyone does anything different with these or has a similar recipe, please post under comments!  My measurements are mostly approximations, I should add as a disclaimer.

Whale Show

Micah and Jesse wanted to make a movie and put in on the computer.  It's very short and pretty family friendly, though it gets a PG rating for slight violence.  Enjoy the show!

Click on the link below:
Micah and Jesse's Whale Show

Summer Home Haircuts

So, I need to add a picture of Jesse to be fair, but I thought I should post a picture of today's biggest accomplishment, summer haircuts for the boys.  It took forever, their hair was so long and thick, but hopefully this will last them until the fall (their dad won't think so, but I'm sure I'll think they're good to go.  Plus I'll be giving birth in July, so we should just be glad we snuck in this haircut in time.  :)  Some minor touchups are still needed.  Thank goodness they have a little wave to their hair to hide errors.  I just have to get good before they get to grade school.

Homemade Iced Tea Recipe

In case anyone gets a craving for some good ole homemade iced tea and doesn't know how to make it, here's one way:

Boil about 2 cups of water on the stove.  Let sit at least 15 minutes.  Add 5 green tea bags and 3 black tea bags (or 4 of each if you prefer).  Get a gallon pitcher and add 2/3 cup of sugar.  Pour in the tea mixture (I like to add water and squeeze out the tea bags several times into the pitcher to make it stronger).  Fill water up to the top of the pitcher.  Squeeze in the juice of one lemon.  Add a few sprigs of mint if you have them growing in your backyard (optional).  Chill and serve.

I use Celestial Seasonings decaf green tea because they:

• Use all natural ingredients
• Engage in ethical trade for their tea
• Don't use bleach in their tea bags
• Don't use strings in their tea bags or wrap them (to eliminate waste)
• Use recycled paper boxes

I actually just signed up to get them through Amazon subscription for cheaper (6 boxes of 40 bags at a time).  I use Tetley black decaf tea for no impressive reasons.  They do not do most of the above listed impressive things.  My husband grew up drinking Tetley iced tea and believes it is the black tea, that is the only reason for that.

Natural Homemade Cleaning Spray

This recipe is from Sophie Uliano's Gorgeously Green book (mentioned on Earth Day on this blog).  I use this in my kitchen, but plan to use it in the bathroom, too, when my store-bought natural cleaner runs out there.  (The store-bought one is citrus-based, and I've actually heard that you need to avoid pine and citrus oils on high smog days because they combine with ozone to create formaldehyde, so I'll have to phase it out as summer gets smoggier anyway.)

Ingredients for All-purpose Cleaner:


32-ounce plastic spray bottle

2 cups water
1⁄2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure castile soap (peppermint is my favorite)
3⁄4 cup hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil (sold at Trader Joe's)
20 drops of lavender or lemongrass essential oil (optional)

Either put this in a bottle that isn't see through or store somewhere dark because of the hydrogen peroxide.  I don't always add the essential oil at the end, though those are anti-bacterial and make it smell better.

Dinner Tonight

I was excited.  Between the local grass-fed beef burgers, fries made from local potatoes, and the toppings (sauted mushrooms, lettuce, and greenhouse local tomatoes) all local . . . the only "grocery store" parts of the meal were the ketchup (I toyed with the idea of making some but ran out of time), mayo, and wheat rolls.  It was pretty cool.  We've been doing really well at Clark Park on Saturday mornings lately, they have a great selection, and I've been getting a lot of things from a farmer that lives near my parents. 
Can't wait for the farmer's markets to open closer to my house!

Interesting Article on Food Aid

I don't actually know where Owen finds them, but here's another article he forwarded to me about how the "Slow, Local, Sustainable" movement is of no help to Africa and other countries with many in extreme poverty.  The article suggests that people are less interested in supporting the modernization of agriculture in these places because of a belief that modern agriculture is so bad (a belief that, I will admit, I share).  The U.S. is shipping food instead of investing in improved farming methods (according to the article), a real shame since this reaches way less people. 

Here's the article:
Attention Whole Foods Shoppers

WANTED: The Mouse in my Kitchen

We have a mouse in our kitchen, a young, friendly one.  It keeps popping out every few hours or so, at least, causing Mommy to scream and stamp (or scream and run back out of the kitchen) and resulting in contractions.  Mommy is 6 months pregnant.  She does not need the drama of 7 mouse sightings in one day.  She shared this need with her brave and capable husband, saying that she needs the mouse to be gone and to not have to see it or hear it squeaking half dead on a glue trap.  (Her husband laughed and pointed out the irony of her "City Mouse" title to her blog, though he did go buy some traps and set them up in the kitchen.)

Her protective son, Micah, said, "Mommy!  You need to stay out of that kitchen!  You only go in there to clean up or to make breakfast or lunch or supper, but that's it!"

How lovely it would be if that didn't mean most of my day (sigh).

Why I am Becoming a Nut Regarding Plastics . . .

Look at this truly terrifying article about fish and the result of chemicals in our water supply (many of them chemicals that we consume or use daily).  I'll give away the punchline: Male fish are starting to produce eggs in many of our rivers because their hormones are out of whack from all the chemicals.  Wow.  No wonder I am becoming a nut.  (Some may be thinking at this point, "Becoming?  Val, really . . .")


 article:  "Toxic Stew"


If you're looking for ways to cut chemicals from every day living, I found this book really helpful.  It was somewhere to start for me, and the woman (while extreme in her lifestyle changes) was somewhat of a girly girl who liked her products but got concerned about what was in them and did research and changed a lot.  Anyway, it was helpful for me.

Happy Earth Day!

Hope the info is helpful.  Just thought I'd pass it on.  :)

Sad Seedlings

Guess which flat I bought and which one I started from seed myself?

So I tried starting tomatoes and squash and cucumbers from seed.  I guess the window I had them in wasn't bright enough, I should have set up my grow light.  Anyway, I went away for the weekend and didn't leave the window blinds up again and when I returned, all the seedlings had sprouted up spindly and pathetic. 

While I was gone I bought the second flat of plants.  At least those plants look like they have a chance.  Aye me, what a lot of trouble to start from seeds just to create such sad seedlings!

City Kids do Spring

The family went to Morris Arboretum to celebrate Spring, and I thought I'd share a few pictures from our visit.  Micah and Jesse loved the big fields of grass (those poor city kids).

Rocks and water are always a great idea.

Happy Spring!

Urban Gardening Planting schedule (zone 5b)

Here in Philadelphia, we're at the beginning of the spring planting.  I put in a few things in March, but hope to get most of the seeds in in April and some of the plants in the ground around Mother's Day.  From what I've heard and read (and contrary to what I thought before), the early bird doesn't always catch the worm.  Even if your plants survive the nights, they might not be as healthy if they are too cold in the beginning.  I think my planting schedule will look something like this:

March: 

• peas, arugula, spring onion, sugar peas, and broccoli rabe (seeded in ground)
• tomatoes, eggplant, crookneck squash, buttercup squash, zucchini, cucumber, celery (indoors)

April - early May

• green beans, radishes, lettuce, swiss chard, kale, basil (seeded in ground)
• tomatoes, eggplant, crookneck squash, buttercup squash, zucchini, cucumber, celery (seedlings put outside) . . . and pepper and herb plants I'll have to buy since I didn't start those from seed
• (plant raspberries and strawberries if you didn't last year)

June

• second planting of green beans
• carrot, kale, arugula, leeks (seeded in ground, to harvest in fall or spring)

Crafty Trellis for the Garden

This was an idea that I actually took from a kid's magazine.  I usually like to come up with my own ideas (aka: reinvent the wheel).  But this was an idea I've been meaning to try for a long time.  Last time I bought paint I took an obscene amount of paint sticks, so we should have some more of these for some summer climbing vegetables.  I spent a really long time tying it together, then got into a fight with hubby when he picked it up and it fell apart.  The staple gun solution was a great idea of his.  The kids colored the paint sticks with crayons (I didn't want paint in the garden) for the decor.  I think it came out well.  :)

The artists are posed with the trellis below; I'm really excited about the raspberries starting to leaf out behind Jesse's head.  I'm less excited about the lily-thinning I'm going to have to do.