Weekend Round-up!

Greetings from freezing Chicago!

Sorry I've been MIA over on the blogesphere; we've been busy with heaps of family events and parties! Thankfully we made it to that white winter wedding (it even made the evening news!) in one piece (minimal skidding involved!), and we made sure to party hard with the adorable bride and groom (you can view some pictures of the wedding party here). I haven't had much face-time with my computer this week, apologies for the lack of posts! But here are some links from around the web that I've been meaning to share with you all:

- Dwell Studio now does mobiles.

- PASKEZ Teeny Bits Cookies featured on the Not Martha blog!

- A new and useful mom-in-the-kitchen app.

- Dreaming of springtime in this awesome bracelet...

- An easy ode to Valentine's Day.

-  The most adorable little French bow-ties.

Wishing you all another fabulous weekend!! Stay warm my cold-weather compadres!

Festival of the Trees

Freida and I celebrated this lovely little holiday by reaping some early-spring garden-bounty, and planting some little seeds. At the Mommy & Me session this morning, Freida got to play around with the textures of seeds and soil while potting some dill and parsley. She never held little seeds before and she seemed to find it rather intriguing...

Later that day, we stopped into Freida's Bubby's backyard to pluck some of the ripened Meyer Lemons from one of her trees. I would have never thought this fruit would grow so ripe this early in the year! In a few months from now these sweet and fragrant fruits will be sold by the (way-overpriced!) case-full at the Farmer's Market; I thought I'd take advantage of this early spring bounty!! Plus, was a perfect little lesson for Freida on Tu B'Shvat (not to mention we could make a legitimate Shehecheyanu blessing on them)... There's something so significant about the way children respond to seeing fruit on trees - her expression always amazes me. Taking children fruit-picking is one of the very important ways we can help to improve the way the future generation will relate to food - we are teaching them it is not just something that comes in bulk from the shelves at Costco, but rather something that is planted, cultivated, and reaped - by man working the earth and God making it grow. They should know that food comes from someplace much more special than the grocery store...!

(She even found a lone little pomegranate - either a left-over or an early-bloomer - from the neighboring tree!)

Later that afternoon (after a good long nap for her and lots of errands for me), we put the lemon-y treasures to use by making little meyer lemon pies. I had ripped out the recipe from an old Cookie magazine, and never got around to actually trying it. It was basically little graham-cracker crusts (baked), with a filling made of blended firm tofu (I used Mori-Nu), lemon zest and juice, and confectioners sugar. I guess it's meant to be like a little cheese-less cheesecake (all that protein-rich tofu in the filling made me think this would be great as a super-healthy dessert). While Freida was most definitely fond of licking up the filling, I personally wasn't so keen on the outcome... but it is supposed to set fully overnight, so I can let ya'll know in the morning. Maybe we'll attempt a Tofu-Meyer-Lemon-Pie breakfast! :)

Here's the recipe, in case you want to give it a go... but I'd probably just add the zest and juice to a basic cheesecake instead. Chag Sameach!!

Yummy Earth: Nixing Negative Candy Connotations

When I was a kid, my mother's stash of (what she considered) "candy" ranged from carob-covered rice cakes to oatmeal plum & raisin bars (dubbed "poop bars" by my younger siblings) to a tiny box of Sunmaid raisins. There were some Glenny's lollipops in the mix, but they were far from "yummy". I made a promise to myself when I was a little girl that I would never subject my children to the sort of candy-withdrawal I felt as a kid... I was always stuffing birthday party candy in my pockets, and hoarding the cupcakes because who knew when the next time I'd meet sugar would be?  (Sorry Mother! I do understand you though...)

Well, thank God I live in a time where markets are filled with heaps of goodies that are made of goodness! I discovered Yummy Earth Organic candies when I was pregnant with Freida. It seemed that every baby boutique we frequented had a bucket of Yummy Earth pops at the checkout counter (after snagging a few at a time - I was hooked). Now we go through bags of these natural and truly delicious "Poppies" (Frieda named them that, and it stuck); I always have one of their pop pouches in my bag (I refill it on demand - it's the perfect public-meltdown-prevention tactic), the play-daters go directly to our pantry in search of Tooberry Blueberry or Strawberry Smash (Freida already knows to pluck out a "white one for mommy" - Sour Apple Tart), and even the adults can't seem to pass up a round of Yummy Earth suckers!

Invented by two Daddies looking for some sort of healthy candy for their children to consume guilt-free, this line of lollipops and candy drops are made from only the most natural and organic ingredients - including the flavors and colors! There's a tag-line on all the bags, "The best lollipop I've ever tasted!", and it is so damn straight!

P.S. We snag bags of the Vitamin C variety at Marshalls - $5 for 50 pops!

You can find out more about the making of these wonderfully succulent candies here:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlFrEFb0Dmg&feature=player_embedded]

Chai Tea Latte: The Anti-coffee

A few weeks ago I posted a picture of a chai tea latte in my For the Love of Winter post, and got some questions as to what "that foamy tea" was.

Chai (or, Masala Chai) is a sweet and aromatic black tea originating from India. It's traditionally made of Assam or Darjeeling tea, spiced with star anise, black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, fennel and ginger. Today, chai tea is consumed worldwide primarily for the taste, but the spices used in chai tea, as well as the brewed tea itself, have long been used in Eastern medicine; believed to be a powerfully natural anti-oxidant, stress reliever, mood elevator, immune and circulatory system stimulant and breath freshener. This stuff really delivers! I lived on Chai Tea lattes during my pregnancy with Freida when I opted to forgo coffee consumption. It lent me a fair amount of caffeine to get me through those pregnancy days, and now I really enjoy using it in the evenings when I'm in the mood of a "coffee break" sans late-night jitters.

You can use Organic Chai Tea bags, or you can go with the Original Oregon Chai Tea Latte boxed beverage. The boxed version is super delicious, but loaded with sugar. If you use the tea bags you can add a teaspoon of honey or even some calorie free sweetener. A "chai tea latte" is basically made up of 1 part chai tea, 1 part steamed/frothed milk. You can use any kind of milk you want, just froth it until it is hot and foamy.

Even Freida enjoys taking little sips of this sweet and spicy foam.

(I'm sure she likes to fantasize she's finally allowed to drink some coffee...)

Sick as a Mother!

I'm still grappling with the concept of mothers getting sick... can't seem to come to terms with the fact that this is a normal part of life. At the moment I have only one little tot to care for, and yet my experience during these past few sick days have forced me into complete and utter fear of what goes on when mothers of multiple children come down with the flu! The feeling of climbing out of bed to collect my early-rising cheerful child while feeling like I've been hit by a bus is downright dreadful. Watching her as she tries and tries again to engage me in playtime has been painful. "Dance Mommy! Common Mommy, dance with me!", "Sing with me Mommy! Twinkle, twinkle - your turn Mommy!" etc. At least I know she's got some form of advancing leadership skills!

It's just the idea of a sick "nurturer" that has me thinking it's a twisted concept. Not having the option to "call in sick", or "take the day off" just has a way of making things feel impossible. Even with the amount of help a working husband is able to provide (thank you so much, love!!), it's the everyday tasks that have got me down. Simply put, I don't believe mothers should be allowed to go out-of-commission. It totally bites!

On a happier note, there are some things about living with this viral cough and cold that have been absolutely delicious: living day-in day-out in thermal leggings and my husbands cotton-knit crew neck sweaters, consuming cup after cup of steaming TM teas with spoonfuls of honey and fresh lemon, and my new favorite part of our daily routine; joining Freida in her bath! I'm so jealous she gets to do it every evening - now I too go to bed smelling of french lavender and chamomile bubble bath... I guess being sick brings out some of the simplest pleasures in life - in those moments, lying in a warm tub full of bubbles with my precious little girl in our small and cozy apartment, I honestly can't think of anything better! Except maybe feeling well... :)