Hearts on a Hike

Last week the girls and I went on a hike.  We went to one of my favorite hiking places, Marshall Mesa Trail.  It's a fairly easy, scenic trail head about 20 minutes from our house.  When we're hiking, we look for things, flowers, birds, and animals.  Just for fun, I suggested we look for hearts.  (inspired by another blogger - who posts Random Hearts - I told my girls that we should take photos of all the hearts we see).  A fairly odd thing to look for, but you would be amazed... I am not sure if we see what we want to see or if they are always there.  Call me crazy if you want, but this is what we found that day. (Be prepared - this is a photo heavy post)

 We spent a few minutes making hearts - and then looking for them. I was surprised at how many hearts we actually found on our hike. We looked for hearts in the rock, leaves, shadows, flowers, and sky.

Petal hearts fallen from this wild rose.

  

Look at the top of this mal-formed flower.

The sightings didn't stop there.

Shadow heart.

Lots of hearts in the rocks.

Graffiti heart in the sandstone.

Lichen heart on a rock.

Look between the girls, a heart worn away in the sandstone.

Take a closer look at that heart.

Worn away in the sandstone.

We found too many rocks and pebbles on the trail - here is just a sampling:

And finally, a heart shaped pool or water as we end our hike.

So, we found some hearts on a hike.  A little cheesy, yes.  A little silly, yes.  But, the proof is in the pictures.

Recipe - Grandma's Cobbler

My mom and I loved to go shopping and out to lunch.  It was kind of a special treat to go to the mall and eat at Grandma's.  The mall, now defunct, was fun to walk around, but Grandma's Restaurant, was really our favorite.  It had that 80's "country charm" that was so popular then (and not so much now). The menu items were simple and homey, with a Southern bent.  We always ordered the cobbler; my favorite was peach. 

One day my mom asked the waitress if they would share the recipe.  She sent the cook out, who spouted off the recipe and my mom took notes.  The recipe came with quantities that would feed a mess hall, but we cut it down and I have been using the recipe for Grandma's Cobbler ever since.
This time I used mixed berries, but you can use whatever fresh fruit is in season.  In a pinch, I am sure frozen fruit would work well, too.

Grandma's Cobbler

Ingredients
3 cups mixed berries or sliced peaches
1 cup flour
1 1/4 cup sugar (divided)
1 cup milk
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup dry tapioca (or less)
1 1/2 t baking powder
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix berries, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 T tapioca (use 1/4 cup for juicier fruit), and 1/2 stick of melted butter.  Let sit while you mix the batter.
Mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1 cup milk in a bowl, until smooth.  Add vanilla and cinnamon.

Pour 1/2 stick of melted butter in 8 x 8 baking dish (I used a round one with no difference).  Top with batter.  Top the batter with the berries. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

The result of this recipe is a warm baked fruit with a golden cakey topping.  You could certainly experiment with different combinations of fruit.  Next time I want to try adding an oat or granola topping to add extra crunch.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

Vacation is over

I think that vacation has come to a close.  We had a fabulous trip at the beginning of June.  I returned to some busy volunteer work with the Art on the Street program.  Then, I retreated to the mountains for a quick respite with my daughters.  Ahh! Vacation.

Now, it's over. 

Reality is here - still the laundry and the cleaning are waiting for me.  And I have been missing working in my studio.  Missing creating things.  Missing writing several times a week.  Missing being in routine.  Vacation reminded me how important all those things were.  Don't get me wrong, I LOVE vacation!  Who wouldn't love to live like that all the time?  But, really, routine is nice, too. 

With just 7 more weeks of summer break left, I think we will fall into the lazy routine of summer.  Taking time to create and write; taking time to play and enjoy friends; and taking time to get the chores done!

Don't cry because it's over,

smile because it happened.

-Dr. Suess

Time to slow down

The school year has come to a close and it sure did fly by.  Thinking about time - and it's ever increasing speed, I thought about two things.  The first was a conversation with my 12 year-old, who one night when I was tucking her in, said, "Mom, time is going by too fast. I wish it would just slow down."
I almost cried.  She's only 12.  If time is whipping by for her now, what will it feel like when she's my age? 

The second was at dinner several months ago.  My 9 year old was looking out the window, got up from the table, grabbed her camera and said, "I've got to take a picture."  Resisting the urge to tell her to return to the table and eat, I joined her outside.  She took several beautiful photos - that wouldn't wait until after dinner. 

In that moment, we both slowed time, and enjoyed that moment. 

Slow down and enjoy life.

It's not only the scenery you miss by going too fast -

you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.

- Eddie Cantor

Enjoy the moment.

Recipe - Homemade Pancakes

This recipe comes from my favorite cookbook, Passion for Good Food and Lively Kitchens, by my friend Lisa Maloney.  Unfortunately it's not published.  She put a collection of her favorite recipes together for friends and family and bound them together for a Christmas gift years ago.  Our copy is well-work and used almost weekly. 

One of our favorite recipes is this one:
Homemade Pancakes
1 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
2 T sugar
3/4 t salt
1 egg
2 T melted butter

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, beat egg, add milk and melted butter.  Add wet ingredients to the dry, whisk gently.  Mix until just incorporated.  Do not over mix.

Heat griddle.  Cook over medium heat until bubbles form and stay open, then flip and cook until golden brown. 
Variation:  Add 2 T wheat germ to the dry ingredients.  Add a smidge more milk to the batter, as needed, after mixing.  The wheat germ will thicken the batter quite a bit.  I usually add 2 -3 T more milk.

These are our favorite pancakes.  Serve with real maple syrup and fresh berries.   And, if my kids happen to be making breakfast, they will also add a bit of Special Dark Chocolate Syrup and whipped cream.  It makes for the perfect "fancy breakfast."  Perfect for Mother's Day!  Mmmm.

Thinking of Mom

I am a mom to two wonderful girls.  I am so happy to have that role in their lives and to have each of them as my daughters.  This weekend is Mother's Day. My girls take great care make a special day for me.  Unfortunately, I am not always so gracious.   Sometimes I am sad or mad or just plain frustrated. 

Mother's Day is a bittersweet holiday for me.  My mom died over 12 years ago.  Amid the Hallmark hoopla and the FTD flower ads and cooking shows about making mom breakfast and tv specials about great moms, I sometimes struggle.

Since I lost my mom, I have felt that I belong to an awful "club" of motherless daughters.  It was one that none of my friends belonged to (at the time, I was only 27).  It was something that people were uncomfortable to talk about, for fear they would make me sad.  And I was sad.   Losing my mom changed my life, as I am sure it changes each person's life in unique and different ways.

My mom and me, sometime in the fall of 1992, in the Colorado mountains

In many ways I am stronger, in some I am more vunerable.  In some ways I am more shut off and others more bold.  It is hard to describe to anyone who hasn't experienced it.  My life is divided into two halves:  life with mom, life without mom.  My life before included getting an education, getting married, becoming a homeowner, and teaching.   My life after includes becoming a mom, not teaching, opening a business, closing a business, volunteering (a lot) and finding my way.

Since that time, some of my friends have "joined" my club.  And I mourn with them.  I have met other people who lost a parent way too soon.  And on this weekend that celebrates motherhood, there is little to acknowledge the mothers who aren't here. So, I take a moment to pause.  I think about my mom.  I think about friends who are in my club. I take a moment to be sad.  I don't want a "sorry you don't have a mom" card.  I am not sure what I want - perhaps just a quiet moment to remember. (If you want to see some of my memories, look at this post)

So if you're a member of my club, I am sorry.  Be gentle with yourself.  It's okay to be sad, to remember, and it is also ok to be happy and celebrate.  She would have wanted that.

Recipe - Breakfast Parfait

Sometimes it is all in the presentation. 
This "recipe" really makes the morning for my girls on those blah days.

Breakfast Parfait
1 cup berries
1 cup diced mango or sliced banana
1 container fat free yogurt, any flavor

2 pedestal dessert dishes

Divide the fruit into the two dessert cups.  Top with yogurt.  Serve with a side of your favorite cereal, I prefer granola.  Top the parfait with the cereal.

Ok, so this recipe is really not a recipe.  But it's not all a loss, either.  Sometimes the details are all in the details.  Use a pretty dish, try a new presentation, serve with a unique glass.  The reaction to the meal can be totally different if it looks different from the everyday and ordinary.  And, really, it didn't that that much more time to create.
Enjoy!

Recipe - Baked Pancake

This recipe has been part of my family for as long as I can remember. I have it committed to memory. It is quick and easy, but also impressive for a Sunday Brunch. It is also one of my girls' favorite weekend breakfasts. I have heard it called many things. It is basically like a giant popover, served with syrup.

Baked Pancake

(aka Big Fluffy Pancake, German Pancake, Dutch Baby)

Preheat a 12 inch oven safe skillet in the oven with 3 T butter at 400 degrees. Watch the pan so the butter doesn't burn, remove the pan when all the butter melts and let the oven reach full temperature.

3 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup flour

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until smooth. When the oven has reached temperature, pour the batter into the pan with the melted butter. Return to the oven; bake for 20 minutes, until golden and puffy

Serve with fruit, powdered sugar, or syrup.

The pancake will flatten as soon as you cut it, if you're looking for a fancy presentation, take it to the table before you cut into it, so your guests can see how beautiful it is.

(Variation: Using a 10 inch skillet, use 2 eggs, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup flour.)

 Take a look at Sweet Tooth Friday over @ Alli-n-son.

Happy Rally Day - and trivia ad nauseum....

I found this sweet postcard invitation for Rally Day

What is Rally Day?  I asked myself. A quick check of Google and Wikipedia, found many possible answers. One source says Rally Day is a "warm-hearted homecoming when friends greet one another again," after Labor Day. There are girl scout rally days, church rally days and legislative rally days. Many car clubs use Rally Day to signify a car show - Rally Day in Wiltsire, England brings 10,000 people together to celebrate rally cars. 
The real Rally Day began at Smith College in 1876 as a celebration of George Washington's birthday. Over the years the celebration has included speeches, awards, performances, music from the glee club, square dancing, carnivals, formal teas, and dinners. This year's Rally Day is today, February 23.

George Washington was born on February 22, 1732. You probably know all the good stuff he did from your American History courses, but did you know he was a high school drop out and never went to college. He never learned Latin, Greek or any foreign language, like his contemporaries. He married late in life, at the ripe old age of 27 and was the happy step-father to Martha's two children.

While Martha was devoted to George, she was a less willing first-lady and is quoted as saying "I think I am more like a state prisoner than anything else, there is certain bounds set for me which I must not depart from..."

Two year's after his departure from office, George fell ill with pneumonia. The pneumonia probably isn't what killed him, though. Most likely, the doctor's prescribed treatment of blood-letting and doses of Mercury Chloride did him in.

But his legacy as the Father of our Country is what we celebrate on Rally Day. Don't forget to put on your Rally Day hats, and send out your Rally Day cards. Be sure to bake yourself a Martha Washington cake (see recipe below) and celebrate Rally Day!

And certainly, don't forget what Martha said:

I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.
                                                                                             -Martha Washington

Happy Rally Day!

*****
Martha Washington's Great Cake
(One of Mrs. Washington's favorite recipes- I love how this is written, what about bake times and temps and how big of a pan do you need to accommodate 40 eggs and 4 pounds of butter and sugar?!?!)

Take 40 eggs and divide the whites from the yolks and beat them to a froth. Then work 4 pounds of butter to a cream and put the whites of eggs to it a Spoon full at a time till it is well work'd. Then put 4 pounds of sugar finely powdered to it in the same manner then put in the Yolks of eggs and 5 pounds of flour and 5 pounds of fruit. 2 hours will bake it. Add to it half an ounce of mace and nutmeg half a pint of wine and some fresh brandy.
********

(Although Postcardy pointed out on Postcards, Etc. that my postcard is most likely for a children's Sunday School Rally, I still like all the interesting stuff I dug up. Check out Postcardy for some more George Washington facts.)

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my 12 year old!  How time flies!

Happy New Year!

So, I've been a little slow to keep up with the blogging during the holidays (and also the laundry).  The hustle and bustle of the busy season has been so fun this year.  We had lots of family to visit, celebrations with friends and family, dinners and parties.  I am exhausted.
When the routine sets in next week, I am looking forward to a slower pace.  A little more predictable time.  Perhaps, back to exercising and making art.  A little less baking and eating.
I hope the holidays treated you and yours well this year. 
Happy New Year!

Diabetes Awareness Month

Last year, a very dear friend of ours was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.  She was 11 at the time.  While I have had several friends who've also have Type 1 Diabetes, I have learned more about this disease in the past year than I had known before.  As the CDC is releasing information that numbers are rising for Type 2 Diabetes, it is important to be aware of Type 1 Diabetes as well.  They are different. 

Our friend, and her family, have learned the ins and outs of Type 1 Diabetes.  They have experienced how people react, how schools handle kids with special circumstances, and how to maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle.  They are now on a life-long journey of living with diabetes.  You can follow their story on the blog Type A Mom Type 1 Kid.

In the meantime, take a look at the information.  It is important to know.  November is Diabetes Awareness Month.  Share what you know, pass this along, spread the word.  Information is the key!

Information from the JDRF – Basic info on type 1 diabetes.  
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved.
Affects Children and Adults
Type 1 diabetes usually strikes children, adolescents, and young adults, but it can be diagnosed in adults as well. It comes on suddenly, causes dependence on injected or pumped insulin for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications.
Needs Constant Attention
To stay alive, people with type 1 diabetes must take multiple insulin injections daily or continually infuse insulin through a pump. They must also test their blood sugar by pricking their fingers for blood six or more times a day. While trying to balance insulin doses with their food intake and daily activities, people with this form of diabetes still must always be prepared for serious hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and hyperglycemic (high blood sugar) reactions, both of which can be life-limiting and life threatening.
Not Cured By Insulin
While insulin injections or infusions allow a person with type 1 to stay alive, they do not cure diabetes, nor do they necessarily prevent the possibility of the disease’s devastating effects, which may include: kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, amputations, heart attack, stroke, and pregnancy complications.
Difficult to Manage
Despite paying rigorous attention to maintaining a meal plan and exercise regimen and always injecting the proper amount of insulin, people with type 1 diabetes face many other factors that can adversely affect efforts to tightly control blood sugar levels. These factors include stress, hormonal changes, periods of growth, physical activity, medications, illness/infection, and fatigue.


Statistics

• As many as three million Americans may have type 1 diabetes.
• Each year, more than 15,000 children – 40 per day – are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in the U.S.

Warning Signs
Warning signs of type 1 diabetes may occur suddenly and include:

• Extreme thirst
• Frequent urination
• Drowsiness or lethargy
• Increased appetite
• Sudden weight loss
• Sudden vision changes
• Sugar in the urine
• Fruity odor on the breath
• Heavy or labored breathing
• Stupor or unconsciousness

Recipe - Pumpkin Soup

Another yummy pumpkin recipe.  This one come by way of my daughters' first grade teacher, and has been a favorite ever since.   We love it on a cool fall night.  You could probably substitute Butternut Squash for the pumpkin for a different flavor.  Try it, you'll love it!


Pumpkin Soup

3 cups chicken broth (low fat, low sodium)

1 cup half and half (use milk for a lower calorie soup)

1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin

2 tablespoon dark brown sugar

1 teaspoon (or more) chili powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

cayenne pepper (optional, to taste)

black pepper (to taste)

¾ cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

Mix chicken stock and half and half in a pan over medium heat.  When it starts to simmer, mix in canned pumpkin and all the spices.  Reduce heat and simmer until soup thickens, 20 – 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.  Add salt and pepper, to taste. 

• Top with cheddar cheese and toasted pumpkin seeds.
• This recipe can be made a day ahead and reheated.

This recipe was adapted from Ms. Laverdure’s 1^st grade Pumpkin Soup recipe.  It is enjoyed by adults and children, alike.

Recipe - S'Mores

 Yes.  I am going to share my S'More recipe with you.  No, these aren't any usual s'mores.  I, in fact, do not even like s'mores.  But, Sunday evening turned into s'more night at our house. 

Our family habit this summer was to build a fire in our small outdoor fire dish, wait until the coals burned down, and roast some marshmallows. (The Hanson family secret for the perfect marshmallow, is to wait until there are no flames, only glowing coals) 

This waiting time is difficult for some.  It really doesn't even look as though there is enough heat to roast a marshmallow, but this tried and true technique will prevent your marshmallow from catching on fire and turning into a charcoal mess.  And the time around the fire is the perfect moment for chatting with the kids about the week to come or the week that's ended.

But, as I don't even like s'mores, I had to do something to turn the basic into the bold.  How could I spice it up a bit?

We discovered the way to make a Gourmet S'More is to substitute the sublime for the mundane.  Instead of graham crackers, use any variety of Anna's Thins (we've tried the Ginger Thins and the Almond Cinnamon, both are yummy).  Instead of Hershey's Milk, use a one of Boulder's own Chocolove's varieties of dark chocolate bars (Our favorites, so far, are Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate and Orange Peel in Dark Chocolate).  We still use Jet-Puffed marshmallows - I have tried the "off brands" and they always end up sticky in the bag.  I haven't tried to make my own, that may come next. 

One of the nice things about this way of making S'mores, is the possibility to "customize" your own, and share your new creation with one another.  The girls love to try the different combinations and flavor profiles.  And, yes, don't forget to serve the adults red wine with their Gourmet S'More.

So, there it is:  our fancy S'More.  These are S'Mores I can sink my teeth into!

Teaching Friendship

One of my daughters entered middle school this fall.  She was excited to be a 6th grader.  I was excited for her.  But, I had not so fond memories of middle school, myself.  I didn't share those with her.  I hoped that she had a strong self confidence and a stable friend base that would help to give her a positive experience.  I think I was lacking those things when I was her age.  Unfortunately, those things aren't the "cure all" for the madness that can be MIDDLE SCHOOL.

The 6th grade social scene can be quite brutal.  Girls!  It's true, girls can be horrible.  My daughter has had some unpleasant experiences with friends.  I don't have any concrete answers.  We are trying to figure it out together.  My hope is that we can ride out these years and come out stronger on the other side.  My goal is to teach my daughters to be strong, to be good friends, and to be confident in themselves.   I hope that with these tools they will end up alright when they have to weather these storms as adults.



photo by M. Hanson



Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It's not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.

- Muhammad Ali