A Little Door Candy by Tomato Mama

Happy Birthday! By Tomato Mama

Today is a busy day for birthdays! Happy Birthday to my Mom (Tomato-Mimi), Dad, Tomato Papa's Grandpa, and at least 4 friends ( thanks Facebook!) My little brother is turning 20 on Saturday and my Sister in Law - to be has one later in the month. Happy Birthday to you all!

We celebrated with my Mom and brother last night. The festivities included an ice cream cake ( my felt version shown is just as cute, but not nearly as tasty) and having a Nerf Dart gun fight. That's right, my Mom got Nerf guns for her birthday. She is always so much fun, and more than a little fiesty. She has a hilarious sense of humor, is a really talented artist, is so caring and sweet, and is my favorite chick movie date. 

This year though, we can also describe her as a breast cancer survivor. I'm so incredibly blessed to have a Mom like her and give thanks that she is healthy. It has been a really scary winter and to be able to have hugged her, spoiled her, and watch her play with Pickle last night is a miracle to me. Love you Mom! 

Sensory Experiences by Tomato Mama

One of my secrets for getting through this endlessly snowy winter with a 3 year old is the sensory bin. We are doing our best to get out of the house when we can and play in the snow when it's warm enough but it's still tough. This is always a hit and gets me a little "sanity time!"

I bought a couple of big bags of rice at Aldi ( I may add one more next time I go) and poured them into this "under bed" storage bin. It is low to the ground so that Pickle can easily access it and it also fits under the train table when not in use. Add some trucks and you have an instant preschooler construction zone.

A few pieces of rice do make it out of this from time to time, but our rule is that if he makes a mess, he has to pick it up before moving onto another activity. So far he has done a great job with it. 

There are endless variations to this idea ( more to come on this in the future) but one of our other favorites is to clean out the rice and put in some water and some cups to practice pouring with. You should never leave a child unattended with water so make sure you are able to give this activity your full attention before beginning.  On warmer days it's fun to put in an ice cube and observe as it melts. Also, try freezing some ice cubes with food coloring in them and watch and see with your child what happens as they melt and the colors combine. 

Good Conversation by Tomato Mama

Love is in the air! Valentine's Day is a week away and I'm beginning to bedeck my house in pink, red and hearts! I know a lot of people do not like Valentine's Day. Some say that it is a holiday made up to sell more greeting cards and that it should not be necessary to have a holiday to remember the ones you love. I disagree. I love Valentine's Day. I have so much love in my life that I welcome a day to spoil the people that I love just a little bit more! On top of that, it's such a cute holiday.

Conversation hearts are a Valentine's  Day staple. I usually put out a bowl of the candy variety but this year I thought I would add to my V-Day decorations with a bowl of felt ones as well.  I love to sew with felt. I love the bright colors and patterns. I have a ton of it stashed in my craft room so I pulled out a variety of colors to make these little cuties out of .

I used a heart shaped cookie cutter as my pattern. Cut two for each conversation heart out of the felt. 

I like to choose a contrasting color of embroidery thread to stitch with and use a blanket stitch around the edges.  Stop before completely closing it so that you can stuff it with poly-fil.

Close and stitch on  "conversation heart" sayings on them. I'm not sure if I am going to hang them up or leave them in a bowl. I think that they will look pretty cute either way!

Stuck on Honey by Duck Momma

Honey is just one of those things. You know what I'm talking about, that one thing you want to splurge on. You keep coming back to it. Not only is it absolutely delicious but it is totally fascinating. Its unbelievably versatile in its uses. It can range in taste, color, and texture.

I love the sweet simple clover honey. It makes an amazing honey mustard dressing. Just add :
•5 tablespoons of honey ( use your favorite variety)
•3 tablespoons dijon or spicy brown mustard ( I like spicy whole grain)
•2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar ( rice wine vinegar works too)
• whisk until completely combined and enjoy!
So easy! I was so proud! Its naturally fat free, no pesky gum thickeners, and really there is something about making your own dressing that makes salad night feel like such an accomplishment.

Not enough to satisfy your honey fix? Me neither! I discovered the world food section at the store the other day and stumbled on a amazingly dark German forest honey. I promise I'm not exaggerating when I say its perfect. It's intense and very deep flavored. It made me think of all the bees buzzing through a shady cool forest, seriously. I mentioned I'm a told foodie right? Anyway suffice to say it is rich and amazing and totally begs to be used. So I made honey wheat bread. I believe at my limit for using the word amazing but... it was. And again pretty easy. I can't say I will never buy bread again, but I will whip this up again soon. Got a pen? Here are your ingredients :

•2 1/2 cups warm water

•1 packet active yeast

•1/4 cup brown sugar
•1/4 cup honey (I really recommend a nice dark rich honey for this)
• 1 softened stick of butter
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups wheat flour
•1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 4 cups bread or all purpose flour

Got everything? Okay, here's what you do :

Combine all ingredients and knead til dough is smooth, about 7 minutes. Set aside and let it rise to double its size. ( for me this took an hour or so) Punch it down and form into loaves and place in 2 standard bread pans. Preheat your oven to 375° and let it rise to double again. You can do a light egg wash and sprinkle with more oats if you like but its not necessary. Bake until bread is crusty and brown. Every oven is different but it took about 40 minutes for me. Let them cool and enjoy! It is so great with eggs and bacon... or by itself with a pat of butter...

I hope I've created a buzz about honey for you (more puns!) I will have more recipes soon. Until then bee sweet and enjoy!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Cupcakes and the Best Frosting Ever by Duck Momma

Cupcakes are everywhere these days, totally in food fashion. I have always been a fan, even before they were in style and everywhere. Who doesn't love a little hand held cake?

But alas this story actually begins with the frosting. Its like which came first the chicken or the egg? Well in this case it was the frosting.

You see, my husband hates buttercream. I know, I know. Go ahead and gasp. I personally love it but I'm not baking for just me so buttercream is out, as is the convenient frosting in tub. So what is a girl to do? Well I will skip the long boring part and skip to where we find something amazing.

It starts like whip cream:
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 to 1 cup confectioners sugar depending on your desired taste
1 teaspoon (approximately ) vanilla
Whip like crazy. Now here is the brilliant twist. Add 1 packet instant pudding. We started with vanilla and its the current favorite but there are so many options. And therein lies the danger. So many tasty options. Not only does the pudding add great flavor but it acts as a stabilizer. It will stay fluffy and wonderful. And I'm sure you assumed but to be safe I will say, it does need to stay cold.

With frosting like that it just begs for creative touches. So using my favorite cake mix( bread I can bake, but made from scratch cake is way intimidating. I promise I'll try someday. Just not today) I bake a batch of cupcakes. Hollow a crater inside, not all the way through mind you, and fill with homemade strawberry jam. I topped it all with a white chocolate frosting. Yum!

But what about the leftover frosting you ask? Well I toasted and tossed some crushed pecans with butter and mixed it together with that frosting to make little butter pecan parfaits. Yum again!

And so I travel down the sugar fueled pathway of cupcake madness, riding the bandwagon while dreaming up flavor combinations. Butter pecan. Lemon. Caramel filled with chocolate. Lavender (yes lavender ). Bananas foster...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Daisy the Dragon by Duck Momma

Daisy is a dragon. Well, not a real dragon, but close enough. Daisy is our one year old 100+ pound puppy. And if you ever wanted to know what owning a dragon was like, please come walk her.

Now she can't breathe fire, but my not so secret life as a gamer taught me not all dragons do. She sits in her lair, or on her step hoarding every toy she can. Its her treasure. She will sit on it like a bird on its nest, gnawing her giant cow bone.
She doesn't mind adding a shoe to the mix if you aren't watching, in fact she loves that. And for a dog that is as sneak proficient as, well a dragon she is really good at stealing them. For example it is negative degrees outside, but yesterday I swear she stole one of the neighbor kids flip flops. ( she was running like mad from the kid, happy as can be until I stepped in)

And for a dog that can rest her giant head on the table with out stretching, most things are in her reach; Like the laundry basket buffet line. But you always know she has something because like any good dragon she has to show you her treasure.

Now before you go thinking she is a mythological mischief, she has some wonderful redeeming qualities. She loves her family, including and especially Goose. In fact trying to keep the baby from kissing the dog has become an active pass time of mine. When she walks away the baby squeals to get her back.

And she does look out for us, like if the little dog across the pond goes zombie or the nice old man that shovels the snow goes rogue we'll know. Or if the dwarves in my husband's video game escape, she will be all over that. Apparently they are bad news judging from her recent vocalizations.

Despite her faults I love that silly dog. She has taught me a lot about patience and observation. She is a one creature mommy trainer. She makes us laugh and loves us despite our own short comings and flaws. She may raid the cookie jar and try to steal your socks (on or off) but she won't let harm come to you. She will sit faithfully beside you on your bluest day and chase every tear and cat away
I always wanted a dragon of my own.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6