Christmas Chocolate Bark with Neighbors

Chocolate (lots of it) toppings, good friends and children. At the moment I can't think of a much better combination of favorites...OH WAIT....change the children to girlfriends and add wine and cheese with the chocolate and you have another great combo. Either way....it still begins with chocolate. ;)

I'm a dark chocolate kind of gal. I'd like to think that it's because it's better for me but let's be realistic. For some reason milk chocolate doesn't give me quite the satisfaction as it use to and just seems like a waste of calories for me. Ha...yeah I'm a calorie counter of late. However, if you really know me you know that's not totally accurate either.

At any rate. I had a girlfriend come over with her kids and we made chocolate bark to give to our friends. I should probably rephrase that as well. My friend and I make bark, my husband watched our baby, and the children ate their "goop" of melted chocolate with toppings.

It was easy, inexpensive and fun to make. Let's not forget the quality point. Why waste time or energy on crap in my opinion. All very important variables to a mother of 3 under the age of 6.

Here's what we did.
Grease (sprayed) cookie sheets and then put parchment paper down (spray is for the parchment to stick)
use a double boiler (or a boil over a simmer pot of water)
add chocolate to the bowl and stir until melted
pour onto cookie sheets
put toppings on
WALA!

Toppings that we used: marshmallows and graham crackers
nuts, candy cane,toasted coconut, dried apricots and craisins.

Refriderate for 1 hour....break apart and EAT!

Okay Ladies and Gents....here is the EASIEST Bread Recipe you have ever tried. I have always been a baker but up until this recipe I have always left the homemade bread to my mother. She has always been able to go into the kitchen without any recipe and whip up bread to die for. This is not only super yummy it is really really EASY....

5 Minute Bread Basic Recipe

3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 tbsp salt (I use Kosher. If you use table salt only do 1 tbsp.)
6 1/2 cups flour

Combine all ingredients together (I use a kitchen aid mixer but it is not necessary) I also always add a pinch of sugar to help aid the yeast. No kneading!

This will be very sticky! Flour your counter...alot. Dump out and quickly form 2 loaves. The less flour you use the better so don't knead it just flour the outside heavily as you form it and then pat the excess off and put in greased loave pans.

Let raise (I put mine in the oven) for 30 minutes or so. Turn oven on to 400 degrees and put in when the oven is still cool. (Again this is not necessary but it saves you time in the raising process. Cook 3o minutes (the bottom should sound hollow when you dump them out to cool). Waaalaa!

I believe this costs about 50 cents/loaf! So totally time is 1 hour from start to finish and you really are only hands on for 5 minutes.

Now for my healthier version

Whole Wheat/Oatmeal/Flax

3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tbsp yeast
1 1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1/4 molasses or honey (optional depending on your mood or supplies)
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 hand fulls of flax seeds
3 cups whole wheat
3 cups white flour

same process...really sticky but flour generously the outside as you form the loaves then you should be good.

Fire Hot Veggie Box....ready for sale

Neighbor called to see if I had anything ready to put in a box for them. I didn't think I had much but I underestimated.
So pretty and so yummy.

Grilled zuchinni sandwiches on foccacia bread... salad topped with nasturtium blossoms...Snap peas sauteed with fresh mint....YUM

Zucchini
Yellow Squash
Cucumbers
Rhubarb
Broccoli
Snap Peas
Mint
Nasturtium blossoms (great in salads...peppery taste)

Bread and Butter Zuchinni and Yellow Squash Pickles....Check

We came home from a lovely vacation to bumper crop of zuchinni and yellow squash! That's the only thing that seems to be growing de cent in this rain.
I then proceeded to pick all the ones that were ready thinking that I would have the time to put together veggie boxes for my customers. Well the boxes never happened that week and I stared at a milk crate full of zucchini for a couple days hoping that some magic lady would appear and do something good with it. Alas....no magic lady. They were still in great shape and probably in the condition you would find at the store but I don't like to sell anything that I haven't picked within 2 days.

So....One evening I put the kids to bed early (miracle in itself) and just as I began to start on my pickles I heard the pitter patter of my two year old. "I wanna help you mommy." My immediate reaction at 10 pm was "no you need to go back to bed" His response "See mommy I have a knife. I just want to make you happy" Well as you can see the 2 year old runs the house and learned how to make pickles that night. We did have fun and some good giggles mixed in. :)

If you have yet to make pickles I highly recommend the bread and butter pickle recipe. They are NOT hard to make....I promise.
They are so good but really anything pickled seems to be.

U-Pick Raspberries at Garcia's Farm!

Holy Raspberries!! 2.5 gallons later we are on our way to making Raspberry Rhubarb Jam! What a great way to spend a couple hours with your family! We were in awe of the unlimited supply they had. The golden ones are my favorite. They are so much sweeter than the red ones...but alas had to get red ones too. :)
My 6 year old picked his own bucket and told me I wasn't allowed to make jam with his but was excited that he could have homemade jam on his pb&j's for kindergarten....my 2 year old chose to pick and eat the ENTIRE time! :) Fun times had by all. Make it out and support a local farmer if you can. $4/lb....can't beat that!

Red Hot Veggies!

All our hard work has been worth it! Red Hot Veggies is in business!
I just picked our first true harvest of French Breakfast Radishes with my boys. This is our favorite variety. They are more mild than the ones you get in the store and I think they are prettier. :)
The best part of the entire picking was my boy's oohhs and ahhhss when they pulled out a big radish. We cleaned them and put them in bunches along with bagging arugula and spinach.
So 20 bunches of radishes, arugula, and spinach are now ready to sell.
All this done with 20 lb baby on my back or one handed when she felt like she wanted to be in on the fun. :)

I am finally doing something I believe in and love!

Want to try something new? Radish appetizer. Fresh radishes, herb butter (or regular), sea or kosher salt.
Arrange radishes on plate with butter and salt in ramekins. Sounds boring....It is sooo not!

Rhubarb!
So I haven't decided what or whom to blame for ruining my "diet" this week but last week Rhubarb and Martha Stewart's Rhubarb Cupcakes were at fault!
With the help of my 6 year old we had our first harvest of rhubarb cleaned cut and froze in an hour. Well that is if you added the time up. Really it took the day to get it into the freezer but that's another story. 24 cups to start in all. I of course HAD to make something with the fresh rhubarb so tried out Martha's Cupcakes. Ummm....yeah...to die for...or at least to blow a diet for!

Love to see all of or hard work growing now. I think we might have gone a little crazy the last month and a half but now that veggies are popping up and strawberry and raspberries are blooming I get reminded why we do this every year.

Had our first salad of the season two nights ago with baby arugula and french breakfast radishes. Made us smile. :)

Someone asked me the other day at my son's soccer game why I don't join the "MOM's Club" for activities to do so I don't get bored.......ummm yeah I'll get right on it. :)

Planting is DONE!

I should have logged how many hours we spent getting everything planted before we went on vacation last week. I think it might have been a record for us. We keep on saying (as we add on a little more each year) that someday we will just have to plant and not add any more beds.....someday. :) Up until the hour we left I was shoving the remaining broccoli plants and green bean seeds in places and pots and dirt just so they wouldn't go to waste. We came back to everything green and germinated (I'll post pics soon) thanks to my neighbors and sprinklers on timers.

Someone asked me the other day if I was already weeding my garden. HA...uh NO!! I don't mind pulling most weeds but once chickweed has taken root I'm done with weeding and hope that my veggies grow up and faster. Any advice on chickweed and I'm all for it. ugh....

My first harvest of Rhubarb is ready to pull. Flowers on on my strawberries and tomatoes and I see "tiny" cucumbers and zucchinis starting to grow!
Yay the fun part has begun!

Get Ready Friends "Fire Hot Veggies" CSA is in production....

Let the planting begin! You are NOT too late! I am so excited to see that I have neighbors planting gardens for the first time this year!

I spent 6 hours in my garden the last two days prepping to plant. My husband is building raised beds in our greenhouses this year as well. YAY! Our goal is to have everything planted by Memorial Day weekend so we can head off on vacation for a week and come back to little green shoots popping up.

I have had a lot of questions on what I grow from seed and what I get seedling starts from. I really don't have the space in my house to start many seeds early so anything that I need to be ready by spring I get from starts. To make that even easier for you here are my two lists below. Next year I will be trying to start some more seeds from starts as I'm taking over a section of my garage without complaints...yet. :)

For locals my favorite local greenhouse is Perennial Gardens on South Birchwood Loop Road! Local family that know what they are talking about. Very helpful and some of the best prices I have found around! Bushes Bunches has great prices in Palmer as well.

Purchased Starts

55 Tomato Plants
30 Zucchini
40 Cucumber
40 Cabbage (savory, green and red)
12 Brussel sprouts
40 Broccoli
40 Kohlrabi
4 Pepper plants
Herbs (LOVE my fresh herbs!)
spearmint
basil
tarragon
thyme
rosemary

Plants that I start from seed directly into garden (super easy and hardy!) Do not buy these as starts. Waste of money and they really do better when they are not transplanted.

Snap peas
Green Beans (trying the pole beans this year)
Carrots (Nante variety are my fav)
Radish (french breakfast)
beats
lettuce
arugula
Herbs
cilantro
flat leaf parsley
chives (they come back every year so plant them somewhere smart)
scallions
dill

I will take pictures as I go over the next 5 days to help out new gardeners but here are a few tips.

* Buy a inexpensive soil test kit (lowes,walmart,fred meyer) and see what your soil looks like. The package should tell you what you need to do if your NP or K is low. Steer manure is $2.00 a bag at most stores and is one of the best ways to improve your nitrates. Compost is another way to enhance your soil. (you can purchase or start your own) Chemical fertilizers are okay but to be honest you will have to work harder later to get your soil where you want it.. My advice is if you add chemical fertilizers (instead of manure) is to still add compost.
* I soak my peas and beans for 24 hours before planting to give them a head start. (NO longer)
* Plant radishes and carrots in the same row. Radishes come up and are ready really early and carrots come in later. (space saver!)
* I do the block planting method for lettuces and herbs (space saver again) just mark off square foot blocks and scatter seeds per package direction!
* Flowers:I also plant sweat peas (flowering only) throughout my snap peas for gorgeous color and they smell awesome! My all time favorite seed flower for my veggie garden are cosmos. After planting all my veggies I go back and sporadically put in cosmo seeds (many other seeds work for this as well but make sure they grow by seed in Alaska and do not have to be started in doors) Nasturtiums work well too. You will love the flowers popping up throughout the summer!

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles
So what I really want to be doing is gardening. This week my goal is to get all of my seedlings and yard ready for planting. Yeah right. We seem to be really good at doing things last minute. I have always had a love hate relationship with May. With my scheduled packed as full as it can be I get a little stressed out. So, what do I do.....BAKE....and EAT....and oh yeah Workout....but baking is what I do when I'm stressed and I just let everything else fall to the side while I eat the rewards and....workout :) However, because I like to bake AND eat I try and make things as healthy as possible and have found that I prefer the whole grain hearty taste better now too.

This morning I made waffles for breakfast. Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles. I made 3 batches (yep 3) and froze the majority of them to pop in the toaster throughout the next couple of months for the kiddos and for me (late night snack!) I figure if I'm already making 1 batch I might as well take the little extra time and make a few more to help me out when I don't have the time to cook or when we want breakfast/dinner on the run. (tip:put parchment paper in between the layers when you freeze them so they are easy to take apart later)

My kids will grab these off the counter and eat them plain for a snack.

Whole Wheat Buttermilk Waffles...by the way...this does not have to be exact.
1 3/4 cup whole wheat
1 3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
2 tbsp canola oil
1/2-1 cup applesauce (I used a homemade blueberry sauce I had made last year)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs (you can use egg whites instead just use 4 instead)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp. flat seed

Tip: if you don't have buttermilk, just substitute regular milk but use 1 tbsp. baking powder and no baking soda)

Toppings:
maple syrup
peanut butter
jelly
nutella
bananas
berries

ENJOY!

Strawberry Banana Smoothie! YUM! "MOM can you make a smovie?"... " Mom me too luv mooie "

I am not kidding when I say that I make this smoothie for my kids (and myself) at least 4 times a week. We don't have a problem with consuming fruit in our house but if you do this helps you get your 5 fruits. I make all sort of varieties to this recipe but they all have similar ingredients. We have them for breakfast and dessert.

I always start out with yogurt (whatever I have on hand, plain or flavored)
I always add a banana because it keeps the smoothie from separating, they are always at my house
I add frozen strawberries because I can always have them on hand and they are cheaper. I thaw them slightly before blending but I like them partially frozen for a really thick smoothie.
I always add a pro biotic and ground flax seed in my smoothies because both are REALLY good for you and you CAN'T taste them when I put them in this way.

I don't add any sugar and I have a sweet tooth so if I think it doesn't need it then trust me... don't waste your calories on adding any.


I love using the mixed berries too but they disappear quickly at my house. Really I think almost any fruit would work


Try your own combination. If you have one that is yummy please share.

Cinco de Mayo in ALASKA

My oldest son's 6th birthday falls on Cinco de Mayo and we always throw a party! This year we had 60 degree weather with full sunny skies the day before. Then.....on party day, it drops to the 40's and it's raining sideways. What's amazing is that this didn't stop our amazing friends and family to come and have fun (50+people)~! One of our friends (thanks Todd) ran (well drove his truck really) back to his house to get a tarp. He comes back with the largest tarp I have ever seen. Now remember, my husband and I are true hicks from Delta Jct. so I've seen a lot of tarps but this one was gigantic!!

I made Colton's shark cupcakes (idea from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes) and beach cake with his directions on where to put the guy waving for help. :) I made Seven Minute Frosting as that's our family favorite and the one my grandma always made. Only takes egg whites, sugar and cream of tarter to make so it comes in handy in a pinch too. Plus it has to be healthy because it has egg whites and no butter right? :)

Bison Tacos (very healthy for you with whole wheat tortillas)
Homemade Baked Beans (just put black, kidney,garbanzo,butter beans in with one can of baked beans and added molasses, brown sugar, dry mustard, regular mustard,dried onions, pepper, and a little ketchup to taste in a crock pot)
Tons of veggies and fruit
Salad with feta, cucumber, craisins (dressing balsamic vinegar/honey/olive oil/salt/pepper)
Chips n Salsa
Espressos from Bear Mountain Espresso (perks of owning your own shop:)

It was a great day and thanks to all who could make it!

Lately I've been all about the RHUBARB. For a few reasons....

1. I love it anyway shape or form

2. It's really really good for you. There are new studies out that rhubarb has an anti-cancer agent. It is also antioxidant and is being studied as a glucose regulator.

3. I have a lot in my freezer and want to use it up before this years crop is up.

It is really one of the easiest plants to grow up here. It's a perennial and I enjoy what it looks like so that makes it nice to use when landscaping. We also get two harvests of it in Alaska.


The new Martha Stewart Living Magazine had something like 6 full pages all about rhubarb and recipes. I tried a few new ones out and they were AWESOME!

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake- it has a crumb topping that actually ends up on the bottom. YUM. I would add more rhubarb than what it said on the recipe.

Rhubarb Meringue Pie- I think this might be my new pie for the holidays! I liked it even more than lemon meringue. Tip: if you are going to make this pie don't bother with a juicer as the recipe stated (who has a juicer anyway?). Use frozen rhubarb (or freeze first if you have fresh) then thaw out over a strainer and squeeze out the juice. It is sooo much easier and you don't have to mess with the pulp.

On a side note...my yard is finally getting the work it needed before planting time begins. FYI to all those that are slacking or having a hard time getting help....hire a teenager! It's worth the money to hire someone to help. It's amazing what got done in my yard in 6 hours! I don't know if it's when money is involved or when you bring in help from outside the family but whatever it is I'm doing it again! Teenagers also need the extra cash as well. :)

Easy recipes...Do you like rhubarb?

If they help make it they just might eat it!
This is my picky eater of the family. Growing up I have fond memories of escaping to a family friends house (her kids were gone and I still had 4 under me at home ...enough said) and she would make the BEST Chicken noodle soup! The best part was that she'd whip out homemade pasta to throw into it.

Well thanks to Pam I now make homemade noodles too. It took me about 10 years to do so but I finally did make them. There really isn't much to them. You can go with many different variations but they are all about the same ingredients (flour (I should have used wheat..afterthought),eggs,water, oil, salt) I added basil to mine.

Now my favorite part to this chicken noodle soup is that my kids help me. It definitely adds to the character of the pasta as well. :) I have found, especially with my oldest, that the more they help in the process the more they are likely to eat it. I have also read it can take up to 20 times tasting something for kids tastes buds to adapt to it and like it. I can attest to this as it took me close to two years to get this kid to eat anything green. Now he eats veggies like they are going out of style. This has also helped me realize that...the gag reflex after the umpteenth time of mushrooms means he does not like them so, move on.

Try this out (by the way I made this before I had kids so you don't have to use them as an excuse to get dirty:).

My Seeds are Now Out of Hiding!
Seeing all the gardening/spring magazines out right now enspired me go and get my bag of seed packets out of my closet. They have been in there for a month now just waiting to get in the dirt. They will still wait another month but I thought they deserved to see the light like the rest of us now.

I usually go with the the Denali Seed brand as I know they have been tested for Alaska and I always have great results. This year though I branched out due to 50% off sales of seed packets and thought I would try a few new ones.

Can't wait to see if the rainbow carrots and swiss chard this year are winners. Think I'm going to plant the chard in pots on my deck for the color along with cabbage and other veggies that look cool visually. My goal is to have mostly edible annuals this year....minus my ever favorite geraniums and a few others of course.:)

I always throw in cosmos/nasturtiums/sweat peas throughout my garden beds because I love the look of random flowers popping up.

Ruby Queen beets are for my mom. I pickle them for all of us but get, Ruby Queen, for my mom...Ruby. I bought these French Breakfast radishes last year and they were our favorite! They were milder than the others but still had the radish taste. After some more trial and error I've found that Nante Coreless Carrots are our favorite too. They are sweet and very crisp!

Here is what I have for seeds thus far: By the way....I ONLY buy seeds that are EASY to grow! Even though I always try something a little different each year for change I always stick to my basics as I only want to spend the time to plant things that I KNOW will come up and produce alot!

Sugar Snap Peas (Never buy anything different!)
Nante Carrots
French Breakfast Radishes
Arugula
Parsley
Cilantro
Dill
Chives
Scallions
Rainbow Swiss Chard
Ruby Queen Beets
Rainbow Carrot Blend
Lettuce Blend
Blue Lake Pole Beans (trying these new as my I haven't had luck with low bush beans in the past)

Sweet Peas (I plant these amongst my snap peas for visual effect)
Nasturtiums (you can eat these too!)
Cosmos (one of my favs, I just scatter throughout my pots and beds and come fall they are all over!)

What are you planting this year?

APRIL SHOWERS BRING MAY ......hmmm flowers right?

It's been snowing ALL day. LAME. Okay, for all you optimists out there, yes it's beautiful, but beautiful for December not APRIL! Only positive thing I can say about this weather right now is that I stepped out onto my porch at 9:42 pm to take this picture and we still have light! Summer is coming, I know it. Even though at times likes these it's easy to forget that I will have a garden in the ground in a month from now. Weeks away....bring it on!

Thai Springrolls without the Spring

So, I was proud of myself today. Not only did I cart 3 kids to the gym (mind you the youngest is 8 weeks so this in itself is a big deal) I then proceeded to go to the grocery store (with these same 3 children, in fact I can't tell you the last time I went grocery shopping alone) to get nothing in particular...not a good idea by the way...$$$$...but this time it turned out okay

As I'm discussing with my 5 year old on why we can't get a $3.00 Mango (Costco is cheaper) I remember hearing that it might snow tomorrow. SNOW TOMORROW as in APRIL 13th!! Anyway, my endorphins must have still been high after the gym because for once I let this thought pass without a "bahumbug" feeling. What my brain did grasp upon was "spring"... as in SPRINGROLLS

I had never made them before but good friends of ours had sent some over one night after bringing home our baby and they had been on my brain ever since. Love these things and after buying the ingredients realized that they weren't that difficult to make either. The best part I was that I substituted about everything in them except the rice noodles to what I had at home. Add the sweet chili sauce and it was a hit to even my kids. So much better homemade and so inexpensive!

I can't wait to make them this summer with all my own fresh veggies!

This is what I added to mine. (note: the direction's are on the back of the package)

rice noodles
carrots
yellow bell pepper
cilantro
cabbage
.....chopped peanuts and sweet chili sauce for dipping

 

I'm a mother of three who decided that staying home with my children was the best for everyone in our family. We live a crazy life and have a crazy schedule but when the light begins to consume our days and dirt starts to show outside we go in full swing.

Unfortunately, no matter how much I love my big state of Alaska, I'm not the biggest fan of our extended winters. So, as I look outide my window at the fresh dusting of snow I try my best not to let it get the best of me. Instead.....I'm back in dream mode. Getting my lists of veggies and flowers I want to plant this year and projects I hope to complete.

Let the planning begin and let spring fever step aside. I'll put my list of things I'm planting along with pics from last year up soon.