Well If I Don't Post Something...

my mom is going to wonder what's wrong - so here is a post to let her know we are all well - just nothing to write about.

Going to take the kids swimming (indoors of course!) in a few minutes. In the fall and winter we try to go once a week on Fridays. It's nice b/c if we go right when the pool opens - there is almost no one else in the pool for the hour we are there. Sometimes there will be an elderly man or an elderly lady - sometimes both! But never a crowd.

Having the pool to ourselves means I don't have to watch the kids as closely (there is a lifeguard) and don't have to worry about them accidentally splashing some old lady's hair, causing said old lady to turn and glare.

Question - why go to the pool if you don't want your hair to get wet? Why go to the pool if you are only going to stand in the water the whole time talking to one of the lifeguards (as some of the elderly seem to do)?

Sometimes I Climb Up Onto My Soapbox

And then climb back on down.

Good thing that there is a delete button.

Japanese Sweet Potato - Sasumaimo

My daughter hasn't yet met a sweet potato she didn't like, so of course she enjoyed the Japanese sweet potato. I'm kind of iffy on sweet potatoes - but I thought this one was quite yummy.

We were surprised to find the inside a pretty yellow.

"Satsumaimo potatoes are mainly harvested in fall. Satsumaimo have dark-pink skin and are slightly sweet. The taste is similar to yams. It originally came from south America through China. Satsumaimo are sold fresh at grocery stores and are also used to make shochu (distilled liquor) in Japan."

GroovyGirl Cooks Macaroni & Cheese

Today I let my girl begin cooking using my old Junior High cookbook. I chose the recipe - but I let her do the work - and I just hung around for supervisory purposes.

The recipe was a simple baked macaroni and cheese. Might have been the first time my kids ever tried real mac and cheese. They are pretty content to and actually prefer to, eat plain pasta. Gag.

They do like Kraft Dinner type mac and cheese as well - but an actual baked mac and cheese was something new.


The girl told me later that as she was preparing the dish, she got to thinking that she probably wasn't going to like it.

It was delicious! Well - at least I thought so. The kids were wishing for their plain noodles.

For a school cooking cookbook - one problem, well actually two problems I found with the recipe were: no indication of what size casserole dish to use (easy for an adult to figure out - but not for a beginner cook) and no even approximate cooking time - just "brown in a hot oven". Well how brown is brown and again - for a beginner cook - not so easy to just guess.

Mac & Cheese (revised a bit)

1 c cooked macaroni
1 1/2 T butter
1 1/2 T flour
1 c fat-free milk
1 c grated cheese
bread crumbs
1/2 tsp salt
f.g. pepper

Melt butter - blend in flour, salt & pepper. Add milk and stir over low heat until thick. Add cheese - stir til melted. Add macaroni to sauce, dump into a greased casserole dish - sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake for about 15 min at 400 degrees.

I'm sure the kids would have enjoyed it more if there was more cheese in it - and if we had used a sharp cheese instead of mild...but I wanted to stay as close as possible to the original recipe and I also didn't want to turn it into something unhealthy.

Cucumber & Spearmint Water

I've never been a big fan of bottled water. To me there is always a slight bitter aftertaste that I've never become used to. I usually only use bottled water when we are on a long car trip or picnic.

I do enjoy carbonated flavored water - whether it's sweetened with real sugar or fake sugar - not as good as soda mind you - but it'll do in a pinch.

At Target recently, I came across a couple of flavored waters - cucumber and spearmint. I think each bottle was about a dollar. This morning we tasted them both.

Cucumber results:

Dd - "Tastes like water after a cucumber has been dipped in it - pretty good!"
Ds - "Tastes nasty!"
Me - "NASTY!" Sure I like cucumbers - especially soaked in vinegar with a sprinkle of salt and pepper on top - but this water was unpleasant and it had the bitter water taste.

Spearmint results:

Ds - "MMmmm - yum...great! Tastes just like spearmint gum!"
Ds - "I like the cucumber better."
Me - "NASTY!"

I think I'll stick with my ordinary tap-water.

Laumeier Sculpture Park

This weekend we went on a hike and then visited Laumeier Sculpture Park. Seems like we usually end up at the LS Park when it is beastly cold outside - so it was nice to be there when we did not have to wear winter jackets, hats and mitts.

The kids really enjoy the park - they only wish they were allowed to climb all over the sculptures.

My favorite sculptures are - the giant eyeball at the top (pic taken last yr when we were there), the giant orange/red barrels below...

And the photo below (I think it is called "Birds Fly Through Us". It's kind of creepy looking, reminds me of a little cemetery...but I like it)...

Here is another view:

Simple Cookery for Kids

I still have the cookbook that I received when I was taking "Home Ec" classes in Junior High School.

One recipe that I remember making was fruit salad...not too sure why that stands out in my mind. I think we also made pizza...probably the Piece de resistance at the end of the year. I remember during one class in "Home Ec" everyone was talking about how many children they would like to have when they "grew up". I said 10. I have two.

The book has been coverless for many years - wish it was still on as I'd like to know what it was called. The recipes are pretty simple and the directions are written well - so I figured it might be something my daughter could use.

I don't use cookbooks very often - if I'm wanting a recipe I search on-line. But I have made a few of the recipes in this book...like the muffins :)

At the back of the book there are helpful instructions on canning fruits and vegetables and doing laundry. It would probably do me some good to review the section on ironing. Ironing is probably one of my least favorite household tasks - unless I'm just ironing something flat and short like a tea-towel. And no, I don't usually iron my tea-towels, but I do sometimes. And actually they are good things for kids to practice ironing on...no tricky collars and sleeves and if the iron scorches a bit - no harm.

Here are a few of the recipes that I think would be good for my daughter to try:

Baked Apples
Egg In A Nest
Never-Fail Souffle... (I don't think I ever made a souffle - so maybe my dd can make one so she won't have to say she is 40 and never attempted to make one)
Welsh Rabbit...just love the way it sounds
Chili Con Carne... is that any different than just regular chili? The recipe sounds like a regular chili recipe...I almost never use a recipe for my chili so if it turns out great - I won't be able to repeat it.
Bread Pudding...I've had some good bread pudding and some lousy bread pudding - but I've never attempted to make it myself.
Queen Elizabeth Cake...Hey it was a Canadian school...I think this cake sounds elegant!
Butter Tarts...if you've never had them you don't know what you are missing out on!! My girl hates raisins though so she might not be too thrilled about making these - but it's definitely an old family favorite from when I was a girl - so I'd like my girl to at least learn how to make them.

Recipes I don't know if I could stomach:

Shirred eggs...just the word shirred sounds unpleasant - like something that is jiggly and not quite cooked.
Creole Franks on Rice...I like hot dogs - but I don't like wieners in any other fashion...they are pretty much one of the most unhealthy meat "substances" on earth so they rarely make an appearance in our home. The idea of eating wieners for a meal other than a hot-dog gives me the same feelings as the word shirred does (though if I'm really hungry I probably won't turn my nose up at beans and wieners).
Tuna Bake...I love seafood in general but I don't do tuna casseroles. If I make it myself - I can eat a tuna sandwich - but if someone else makes it - I will avoid it at all costs. I do make tuna patties (similar to salmon patties) and the kids love them - but not a favorite of mine. One recipe using tuna that I do like and haven't thought of in years, but loved it as a child, is creamed tuna on toast. YUM!
Liver Creole...I do not eat organ meats.
Crispy Liver Steaks...same as above.
Cream of Celery Soup...never been big on celery and did you know that celery is one of those foods that some people are highly allergic too??

There are many more good, simple recipes in here - and maybe my girl (and the boy) and I will just try working through the cookbook systematically...