Herbs, Spices, Cooking Classes & Kids Camps
It’s the little things in life that make it so amazing….
Like my Acme Juicer. Given as a wedding gift 11 years ago, it still works like it’s brand new.
Sorry about the blurry picture, but I was trying to juice and click at the same time. This one has an easy “On-Off” switch…just one switch, how novel.
I juiced 12 oranges from our tree and made enough for a batch of Pineapple/Orange Sorbet and two small glasses in the morning with breakfast.
Click below to see….
When time seems short and the family just can’t wait any longer, I go to my few old standby’s. We always have eggs and I always keep frozen sliced rolls in the freezer, ready to pop into the toaster for a quick “tasty as fresh” crunch.
Usually this means either Sliders or “Breakfast for Dinner”, either way, it’s always a hit!
With these two things, I can get creative and make a variety of items…
So many coconuts and so little time! How on earth do you get that decadent nectar from a brown dry coconut (as opposed to the young white tipped coconut)?!
Here’s how…
Take a wine opener (yes, a corkscrew one!) and twist it into one of the soft “eyes” of the coconut. When you have gone far enough to make a hole through the coconut skin, tip over and place over a cup or jar. The milk will take about 4-5 minutes to come out.
Excellent on it’s own or in smoothies, use it instead of water in pancake batter, waffles, cake mixes, etc…
I did this with my daughter last Easter…the colors are soft and pretty. To make the stripes, wipe off the dye just after removing from the color bath. You can also soak over night in the refrigerator, just make sure the entire egg is covered with the dye water.
I adapted the following article from Mothering Magazine Online…enjoy!!
It’s almost time to spend a colorful afternoon with your kids creating beautiful Easter eggs. Did you consider that you could avoid unnatural food coloring and color your eggs by using natural ingredients, such as beets and tea? Some of the materials I will list, such as lemon peels, must be boiled first, and others, such as berry juice, do not. Coloring eggs naturally isn’t much harder than using an Easter egg coloring kit, and you can teach your kids the wonders that food can create besides just eating it.
Here is a list of natural dyes organized by color:
Green: Boiled spinach leaves
Blue: Frozen or canned blueberries and red cabbage leaves, both boiled
Purple: Hibiscus tea, grape juice (organic), and skins from boiled red onions
Red: Fresh beets boiled, red wine, raspberries, strawberries, or cranberries boiled, cranberry juice, boiled red onion skins, wine
Yellow: Boiled lemon peels, ground cumin or turmeric boiled, boiled carrots, boiled orange, or lemon peels
Orange: Orange juice, paprika, or boiled yellow onion skins
Brown: Strong coffee, any black tea
Steps to dye your Easter eggs:
For ingredients that need boiling:
1. Place your eggs in a pot of water, and bring to a boil. Turn heat off and cover for 15 minutes.
2. Place eggs in cold water to cool.
3. Place whatever ingredient you are choosing to work with (about two cups) in the saucepan and cover with water by one inch, and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and let simmer until the desired color is reached.
5. Strain the concoction so that you catch the colored water in a bowl, add three teaspoons of vinegar for each cup of liquid.
6. Dye your eggs just as you would with conventional dyes.
If there is ever a need for eggs in my classes, chances are the ones we use come from my flock of three hens. Didi, Lulu & Tata provide my family with 15-21 eggs per week, so there is usually an ample supply to bring to my classes. Most students are delighted to see miniature brown eggs (from my bantam hen, Tata) and green eggs from Lulu (an Americauna). Didi, the beautiful black and white hen lays a regular large brown egg…not so unusual nowadays.
My nephew, Izac – pictured here, loves visiting my henhouse and is often found chatting with the birds and picking them up and petting them. I never thought I would be SO in to chickens…they are addicting.
So many of you ask me questions about them, I thought I’d answer a few of the most frequently asked ones here…
We’ve all been there. It’s 3pm and your child gets in the car from a LONG day at school. It’s hot, they’re tired, you’re tired and you both try as hard as you can to strike up a conversation. Usually, my first question to my daughter is, “What was something funny that happend at school today?” This always makes her laugh, because she knows I hate an answer that begins and ends with “fine”. Next, I ask about lunch. It seems that my creative lunch box parcels are just not cutting it and she asked a few months back for me to “not make her lunches anymore” – unless she asked. After I picked myself up off of the floor, I agreed…mainly because I am extremely lucky that she goes to a school where organic, home made lunches are cooked…so, it was not as traumatic as you might think for me…but still…I mean geez, give your mom a break here…I write about this stuff for crying out loud.
Anyway, our banter back and forth usually ends on the topic of a snack…and by “snack”, my daughter means yogurt, a cookie or some other “treat” that somehow doesn’t count if she eats it in the car or after school. I don’t know about you, but a 3:30 yogurt might as well be a shot of Mountain Dew in the arm. It really kicks in right about 5:15…just before dinner – and lasts until about 7:45, when she’s literally punching her legs under the covers, because she has NO idea what do with all of that “energy”. I tell myself again, no more yogurt after school. But, it’s so hard, when it seems everyone else is doing it and it doesn’t seem to be affecting them!
So, I decided…starting last week, yogurt (and any sugary, icky “snack”) is off limits after school. At least for a few weeks. I haven’t broken it to my daughter yet, but I will…in my own matter-of-fact, manipulative way. From now on, she will need to settle for a real fruit smoothie loaded with a protein powder (I will just call it a shake or something)…I may even allow a piece of whole fruit (gasp!) or even a piece of string cheese and some dates. I read that adding protein at every meal staves off sugar cravings…we shall see.
The whole reason for this post was mainly to talk about the great snacks I have recently found that may (or may not) be a huge success for the car ride home from school. Of course, I do pack a snack box for her at pick-up, but no matter what I have in it, it’s just not what she wants…I know, I may need to start looking for another career. Just when I thought I had all of the answers! Anyway, here are some of the things that do work for me (at the moment). She did not ask for yogurt after school ALL week…so I consider this a major accomplishment.
Here are a few (packaged) snacks I like right now…of course, if your little peanut eats the wonderful fruit, nuts, crackers, etc…you pack, then by all means, you don’t need to read further 
My daughter has gotten alot better at trying new things. I have decided to start a list of all of the things that SHE loves and maybe by doing so, you will get ideas about what your child might want to try or already enjoys!
Green “Leafy” Salad with “Ranch” Dip Dip
Tamari Kale Chips (I still can’t believe she eats these!)
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While coconut possesses many health benefits due to its fiber and nutritional content, it’s the oil that makes it a truly remarkable food and medicine.
Once mistakenly believed to be unhealthy because of its high saturated fat content, it is now known that the fat in coconut oil is unique and different from most all other fats and possesses many health giving properties. It is now gaining long overdue recognition as a nutritious health food.
Coconut oil has been described as “the healthiest oil on earth.” That’s quite a remarkable statement. What makes coconut oil so good? What makes it different from all other oils, especially other saturated fats?
The difference is in the fat molecule. All fats and oils are composed of molecules called fatty acids. There are two methods of classifying fatty acids. The first you are probably familiar with, is based on saturation. You have saturated fats, monounsaturated fats, and polyunsaturated fats. Another system of classification is based on molecular size or length of the carbon chain within each fatty acid. Fatty acids consist of long chains of carbon atoms with hydrogen atoms attached. In this system you have short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), and long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Coconut oil is composed predominately of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), also known as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT).
The vast majority of fats and oils in our diets, whether they are saturated or unsaturated or come from animals or plants, are composed of long-chain fatty acids (LCFA). Some 98 to 100% of all the fatty acids you consume are LCFA.
The size of the fatty acid is extremely important. Why? Because our bodies respond to and metabolize each fatty acid differently depending on its size. So the physiological effects of MCFA in coconut oil are distinctly different from those of LCFA more commonly found in our foods. The saturated fatty acids in coconut oil are predominately medium-chain fatty acids. Both the saturated and unsaturated fat found in meat, milk, eggs, and plants (including most all vegetable oils) are composed of LCFA.
MCFA are very different from LCFA. They do not have a negative effect on cholesterol and help to protect against heart disease. MCFA help to lower the risk of both atherosclerosis and heart disease. It is primarily due to the MCFA in coconut oil that makes it so special and so beneficial.
There are only a very few good dietary sources of MCFA. By far the best sources are from coconut and palm kernel oils.
Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed our Kids
Adapted from one of my all-time idols…Ina Garten…this sauce is delicious. I will be teaching it all summer in my BBQ classes. If you freeze it, do so in small batches, so none ever goes to waste.
Makes 6 cups
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 large onion)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup tomato paste (10 ounces)
1 cup cider vinegar
1 cup agave
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup tamari
1 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon Bonnie’s Beach BBQ Blend
1/2 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes
In a large saucepan on low heat, saute the onions and garlic with the vegetable oil for 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are translucent but not browned. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer uncovered on low heat for 30 minutes. Use immediately or store in the fridge.
This sauce freezes for months.
