Wow! So much to survive this month. Amira is officially six years old. We celebrated with a family party on her actual birthday. This was followed by a celebration at school. Then, of course, she had a small party with some friends at home. I think she feels officially celebrated!
Thankfully that birthday celebration at school was not a sugar overdose. I love that school! They made a bundt cake (from scratch) and served it with yogurt, fresh whipped cream and sliced fruit. And there was definitely a ritual that was so sweet. All the children in the class (and parents and teachers) gave each child a special wish and the teacher put together a book of drawings made by the class for each child. Of course there were fresh daffodils and snowdrops. It was really beautiful.
I, on the other hand, made the much sought after "treasure chest" cake. Oy!!!!
(I will upload pictures as soon as Michael comes back from his testosterone laden zombie shooting man fest in the woods. He's got the camera).
Well, I can't blame the kids for craving some sort of sweet. My home has become the "fermentation station". On the counter I have some home made sauerkraut, beet kvass and kefir fermenting. I also have a big crock pot full of beef stock going. Of course this stock is made from the parts of grass finished cows who presumably had a happy life in some grassy pasture until I took a hit out on one. In the fridge I have some home made yogurt cheese and tons of kombucha plus the finished kefir and naturally fermented pickles. I also have a big jar of way too much whey. These mad scientist jars are all crammed in there with the left over stir fry, mung bean sprouts, cabbage, apples and left over chicken soup. Now, I have to confess that the Kombucha is store bought. I aspire to find a scoby and make my own one of these days ... if I can find the counter space.
Michael says my fridge looks like a dare. He showed it to one of his friends today who took a picture of it with his cell phone and shuddered at the raw milk. He says he's going to show it to his kids so they can be thankful.
Why, you may ask, am I turning my poor kitchen into a giant science experiment? Well, for one, it's fun. And for another thing, I realize how expensive these probiotics are! My goal is to get as many naturally occurring probiotics into our diet as possible. Those little buggers and the natural digestive enzymes are very important to absorbing all the nutrients we are taking in. Lots of living food! None of that dead processed stuff. Well, okay, on a limited basis.
We finished off the last of our kale chips last weekend. My poor kids! They don't get to go to the grocery store like all the other kids. They go to the co-op and the CSA and farmers market. I'm hoping that my obsession with whole foods doesn't create crazy eating disorders later. "Go ahead kids! Pick out anything you want and eat it!! Carrots? Good choice! Parsley? Great! Squash? Okay, you talked me into it!"
I mean, they do get pizza and mac and cheese too. And today I made some home made raspberry rugalach. (I used some of my homemade cheese in the dough!)
I am dealing with
some rebellion. Rex has chosen to log the effects of diet versus regular soda on himself and his friends for his fourth grade science experiment. This allows him to put a Sprite and a Diet Coke in the fridge -- along side all my experiments. Otherwise soda is anathema -- unless we're having a party or something. But even then I won't let Nutrasweet or High Fructose Corn Syrup across the threshold without feeling like I'm killing my family and guests.
I'm having a recollection of myself in high school. I came home to find that my my mom made a "tofu lasagna". I took one bite, swished it around my mouth and with much disdain shouted, "Where's the meat?!" When she told me it was a tofu lasagna, I sneered, "I'm going to the mall to get a corn dog!!!" Poor mom.
Somehow I sense karma on the horizon.
