WOW..it may not look like much, but these 5 Ingredients really made my Chili pop! They made my meal feel fresh and not so heavy. Simple, but so delicious!
*** No shots of Nye's Naked Weekend. Just a photo of her tromping through some water with Aunt Mimi, on Saturday, when a water main broke near our house. Fun times!
This Weekend, we are attempting to Potty Train Nye-Nye. She is going to spend the next few days at home being naked.
Well, at least without any diapers, pull-ups or underwear on.
She had shown interest at 15 months but completely lost it after a month or so. I didn't push. Especially when I got pregnant and knew a new baby would probably cause a regression.
Now at 34 months, she has declared she wants to use The Potty.
She read several Potty Books at Ra-Ra's house last week and that seemed to spark her interest. We also explained that if she wanted to go to school, she would have to use the toilet.
Last night, she went to the store and picked out some Chi-Chi Presents (chi-chi is what an Indian nickname for poop). We know peeing in the Potty won't be the issue, so Daddy bought some small presents (a journal, head-bands, those expanding sponges, etc...) to help encourage her.
We removed the large rug in our Living Room. Put out the Potties. And, have our wet Swiffer primed and ready to go.
Glorious Garden Dreams in the middle of the Winter.
Sigh.
I have been pouring over photos from the lovely book I received for Christmas. "Edible Landscaping With a Permaculture Twist: How To Have Your Yard and Eat It Too."
Michael Judd is a local boy (from Frederick County) who spent many years in Mexico and Nicaragua learning about and experimenting with Permaculture. He is a genius at turning Yards into low-maintenance Gardens and Orchards. No weeding, no watering (except for in the beginning). Seriously, why Garden any other way?
He's transformed the Gardens at Volt.
You may have heard of that place.
I listened to him speak at the Holistic Family Health Conference in Frederick, last Spring. He's a dynamic speaker. When he mentioned an upcoming book, I was thrilled.
I am all about digging up that grass and planting useful and beautiful plants.
Even though, I was familiar with a lot of what was in the book, it was great to see more examples of "Herbal Spirals," learn about growing Mushrooms and be given so much information of Uncommon Fruits that grow well in this region.
Judd's section on Rainwater Harvesting, Swales and Rain Gardens may completely change your relationship with your Yard.
I had never heard of a "Hugelkultur" (which is a shame because it's a terrific concept and would have been helpful to know about when my Sister had all these fallen down trees in her Yard).
If you are in Maryland or Northern Virginia, you are in luck. He does 1 1/2 hr-2hr consultations starting at $175 (depending on where you are located). His schedule fills up fast, but now is the perfect time to have him come out and brainstorm with you on how to transform your Yard into a beautiful, edible Landscape.
Early Mother's Day present? Or maybe forget that fancy bouquet and expensive dinner this Valentine's Day? Hmmmm....
We will be moving from one rental house to another this Summer, so planting much is out of the question. But, there are always Mushrooms...
*** Yesterday, I started feeling like I was coming down with something nasty and quickly made a patch of Elderberry Syrup. Along with the Elderberry, Acupuncture and Acupressure has been helping me keep it at bay (knock on wood). So, I thought this would be a good time to re-post this....Jane this one is for you...Love you....
It sounds like the Flu Season has really begun in earnest here in Northern Virginia. So, I wanted to share again how to make "Elderberry Syrup" for your family.
In 2011, Medical News Today reported how German scientists had found that extracts of "Sambucus nigra" had been shown to inhibit "the growth of influenza A and B viruses and bacteria associated
with upper respiratory tract infections."
If taken
before being infected with the flu virus, Elderberries can help prevent
infection. If taken, AFTER being infected, Elderberries can help reduce
the length and severity of your infection. Pretty nifty, right?
Since making my first batch of Elderberry Syrup,
Nye-Nye and I have both been taking a tablespoon of Syrup every day.
It's safe for pregnant women and children, over the age of 1 year old
(just remember to run it by your Doctor first).
Whenever
it seems like we start coming down with something, I up the dosage to
4-5 tablespoons a day. The one time I ran out of syrup and I took awhile
to make some more, we both got sick. Otherwise, we've had a healthy
Winter (so far).
As I wrote in this post, my daughter enjoyed helping me make the Syrup.
She helped pour the
1/2 cup of dried Elderberries I got from Frontier Herbs into the pan. She
carefully added the tablespoon of crushed ginger, the cinnamon stick,
and the 5 cloves to the mix. She then stirred the mixture for a few
minutes (totally unnecessary...but she was having so much fun).
Together we added the
2 cups of water and then I put the pan on the stove. I covered
it and brought it to a boil and then down to a simmer for 15 minutes.
She watched as I
strained the mixture and used a spoon to squeeze out all the liquid from the
berries. "HOT, HOT, HOT," she reminded me. Together, we sampled the syrup after
it cooled.
GOOD.
I agree.
We've
since made several more batches, some of which did not include the
ginger, cinnamon stick or cloves. Those batches didn't taste quite as
yummy. I definitely recommend adding all three of those ingredients.
I bought 1 lb of dried Organic Elderberries from Frontier Herbs which at $21 seemed expensive. But...when you
look at an 8 oz bottle of Commercial
Elderberry Syrup costing $16, you quickly realize how much money you can
save by making your own!
The pound of Elderberries made
enough Syrup for our family for 2 months. I just went to order some
more from Frontier and found out they are already out of the Organic
Elderberries.
Lesson learned....buy ALL the Elderberries you need by September.Mountain Rose Herbs was out by the beginning of October.
I
bought 3 lbs of the wild-crafted berries sourced from Poland
(non-Organic). Frontier Herb serves numerous health food stories from
around the country, so I'm hoping that they are very responsible
about where they picking their berries. I can't wait until the berries
arrive and we can make another batch.
If you are
interested, check out this simple video on how to make your own! It's
easy and fun to make with children (even toddlers). Enjoy and stay
healthy this Winter...
Snow, snow, snow. We have been experiencing a bit of it here in Northern Virginia.
I thought I share one of the books I've been reading to Nye, over the last few weeks. It's a charming book, about a child and all the clothes required to go play outside in the Snow.
It's nice for a Pre-reader because there are some illustrations that are substituted for words. It's terrific for reading along with your child. I particularly like the sequence in the Mudroom. It reminds me of the house I grew up in.
And, here are some photos from the Snow before this one. Kids playing in the Snow....nothing like it!
