Alaska winter starts to look pretty drab by mid March. I need some green in my life! Here’s a simple, inexpensive project to tide me over till spring.
What you’ll need:
Old tea tins (cheap at thrift stores)
Small house plants
Hammer and nail
Potting soil
With a hammer and a nail, poke a few drainage holes in the bottom of your tin. Fill with soil and transfer your houseplant to the tin.
Thats it!
Jack is getting into gnawing. He’s got two tiny bottom teeth and pretty much anything he gets his mitts on will get gnawed: the coffee table, my W-2 sitting on the coffee table, day-old floor apple bits, etc. I recently visited an old friend whose daughter was sucking on a little brown slab. She seemed to be going to town on it. When I asked her what it was she told me it was a teething biscuit she had baked herself.
I was intrigued, so I decided to give it a whirl. Jack loved it. He dedicated 10 whole minutes of gnawing to one biscuit and he only chewed up half of it. One batch made about two dozen little rectangular cookies. They are hard as a rock, but that’s perfect because they won’t fall apart while your baby is slobbering all over it.
The recipe my friend sent me called for whole milk, but since I still haven’t fed my 9 month old cow’s milk, I decided to try it with breast milk. It was kind of funny baking with my own milk, but that ensures baby gets some homegrown nutrients in every gummy bite. It also calls for unsulphured molasses, which is a decent source of calcium, magnesium and iron.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup unsulphured molasses
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1.5 cups white flour
1.5 cups whole wheat flour
Note: you can use any combination of whole wheat and white flours. I used half and half. Experiment with different types of flours, if you dare.
Directions:
Mix together the wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the flours to the bowl and combine till a tough dough forms. Knead the ball for about 5 minutes on a floured surface. If your dough is flaky and dry, add a little bit of water. Knead till the dough is smoothish. It should be pretty tough, but hold together well. Wrap in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Roll out your dough till it’s a rectangle about 1/4-inch thick (I didn’t measure at all). If the dough doesn’t stay together very easily, add a teaspoon of water and fold the dough back on itself and re-roll it out. It was tough to roll it, but luckily this dough has no elasticity, so it will stay in the shape you make it.
Cut the dough into 1 x 2.5-inch rectangles and place them on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and let sit for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before storing. I placed them in a Ziploc in my freezer so they’ll keep longer.
Good luck with teething!
In case you haven’t noticed, it’s baby season. In my circle of acquaintances, babies are being born left and right. Although it’s always thoughtful and nice to give a cute baby outfit to a new mom, there are lots of better ways to show new parents you care.
When we had Jack four months ago we had more support from our friends and family than I could have ever imagined. In addition to the adorable baby outfits, here are some of the other things you can give or do for new parents that will mean the world to them.
1. Bring Dinner
Fact — newborns require every fiber of attention in a new parent’s body and sometimes she doesn’t have the mental or physical capacity to feed herself. During the first few weeks of parenthood, my best friend organized a group on Facebook of friends and acquaintances to bring us dinner three times a week. This was quite a feat. Now with sites like mealtrain.com, it’s simple to organize meals for people who need them. We had so much food that there were plenty of leftovers for the days people didn’t bring us anything. Sometimes people didn’t have time to make us dinner so they brought us a hot pizza or Thai food. The best was when a friend made stuffed Italian shells and brought them to us cold so we could pop them in the oven whenever it was convenient for us.Word of advice — if you value your Tupperware, use disposable containers or you probably won’t see them again (although I was very diligent and wrote everyone’s name on the bottom of each container. They were eventually returned).
2. Bring Snacks
Again, I found myself too tired in the beginning to make anything for myself to eat and when our family friends brought us a huge basket of grapes, oranges, bananas, mangoes and apples I was really appreciative. If the parents are meat eaters, an antipasti platter of salamis, olives, crusty bread and olive oil makes for a tasty snack or lunch.
3. Hire a Housecleaner
One of the best gifts we got was my mother hired a woman to clean our house one day. With round-the-clock feedings and diaper changes, cleaning my house was the last thing on my mind. It was a refreshing feeling to find my kitchen clean, my living room tidy and my carpets vacuumed.
4. Do the dishes
My house was abysmal when my son was brand new and I didn’t feel guilty in the slightest when a visitor would come to meet the baby and then do my dishes, take out my trash or fold my laundry. Listen — new moms and dads are too tired to do this stuff. FOR REAL. If they have any sense in them they will let you do these things for them because it simply can’t be done while caring for a newborn 24 hours a day. If you come to meet the baby, take a look around and nonchalantly take care of a household chore. Wipe the kitchen counters, ask where you might find the broom and sweep the floor. Believe me, this was something that helped me relax better in my own home.
5. Don’t Overstay Your Welcome
I loved showing off my new baby boy. We had lots of visitors in the first few weeks. I would just let individuals know when I happened to be awake or cognizant and if they made it over, fine, and if not, we’d work out another time. Lots of people were anxious to visit, but please keep in mind that new parents are exhausted and as much as they want to hang out with you, they may be too tired or just want to be with one another. If you’re visiting and you notice them looking glazed over or not too social, take it as a sign to leave. It’s a little hazy, but in a couple of instances, I may have just left my guests by themselves in my living room because I was just too tired to even ask them to leave. I wasn’t trying to be rude and neither were they, but be sensitive.
6. Babysit for an Hour
If you are closer to the parents and feel comfortable caring for newborns, offer the new parents an hour of babysitting time. New babies need to eat every two hours around the clock so it can be very hard for a new mom to find time for herself. Once a newborn is fed she usually just sleeps, so come over for a couple of hours and once you see mama is done with a feeding let her take a break for an hour or so. If baby wakes up, just bring her to mama. As long as she is fed and being held lovingly you shouldn’t have too hard of a time babysitting a newborn for a short amount of time. These little pockets of free time were awesome, even if I didn’t get any sleep.
7. Run an Errand
If you find yourself at the grocery store with some time to spare, call up the new parents and ask if there is anything you can pick up for them. This was something I really appreciated because I probably shouldn’t have been operating a motor vehicle in such a sleep-deprived state. There were quite a few times were I needed a few more diapers, some burp cloths or wet wipes and not having to get them myself was pretty much the best thing ever.
8. Endure a Baby’s Cry
Hearing my baby cry in the beginning made me anxious. I had fed him, changed him, rocked him and still he’d sometimes cry. Every so often I just needed a break and I really appreciated it when a visitor would take over for even a few minutes. Let mom and dad take a breather from their crying babe, but only if they feel comfortable with it of course.
9. Be Flexible
Did you set up a time to meet your friend’s new baby and she cancelled on you? Don’t take it as a personal insult. When helping out new parents, go with the flow. If you planned on bringing over a meal, don’t stick around — just drop it off and let the parents have their own time. Follow the parents’ cues and don’t feel bad if they don’t follow typical social graces.
10. Send a Card
Call me old-fashioned, but I love receiving mail. If you don’t have the ability to visit or spend much money, then send a congratulatory note to the new parents. It’s an easy way to show you’re thinking of them. I loved each and every card we got in the mail. Being the crafty type, they have been cut up and collaged in Jack’s baby book.
What are some thoughtful things that people did for you when you had a new baby? Leave a comment!
-Nat
Hey y’all, just wanted to let you know I’ll be continuing my blog at www.alaskaknitnat.wordpress.com so come visit there and say hello!
Thanks,
Nat
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| Sunrise, Punta el Custodio, Nayarit, Mexico |
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Side of seafood store, Zacualpan, Nayarit
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| Party shrimp, San Blas, Nayarit |
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| Sunset, Punta el Custodio |
While basking on the beach yesterday in Punta el Custodio, Mexico, the boys decided to behave like, well, boys and torture a few of the small blue crabs in the tide pools.
After a half hour of chasing them with long sticks they decided to actually catch some.
I was impressed they caught 33 of the poor creatures. I was even more impressed when they cleaned and boiled them. Bisque was on their minds. My dad gave us his recipe he made up last month when it was crab breeding season in the estuary and he captured 240.
It is a time consuming process, but the bisque turned out rich and bursting with flavor.
Ingredients:
3-5 pounds fresh whole crab
Chicken bouillon
6 cloves garlic
One onion
2 carrots
3 Tbs. butter
8 ripe tomatoes or one large can chopped tomatoes
Pepper
2 tsp. smoked paprika
1.5 cups cream
Directions:
Rinse crabs thoroughly in fresh water, getting out any grit. Use protective work gloves if using live crabs.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Put crabs in batches into water and cook about 5 minutes.
Rinse crabs again and cut off and discard females' tails if they contain eggs.
With a cleaver, chop an "x" in the backs of each crab and crush the claws with the blade of the knife.
Bring another large pit of water to a boil and toss in all the crabs. Simmer without the lid for 3-5 hours. You should have a concentrated broth that smells über crabby and kind of gross. Strain broth into a smaller pot and discard all the crab parts. Stir in bouillon based on how much broth you have. I added two teaspoons.
Let the broth cool and then refrigerate if you don't have time to finish bisque on the same day.
Toss the butter into a tall-sided frying pan and turn to medium heat. Chop up the garlic and add to pan. Sauté for a few minutes, but don't let it burn. Roughly chop the onion and grate up the carrots. Add to pan and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add more butter if it gets too dry.
Chop up the tomatoes if using fresh. Add tomatoes to the pan and cook till everything is soft and cooked through — about 10 minutes.
Let cool and place in a food processor. Process till smooth, about two minutes.
Add this mixture to the crab stock and bring to a simmer. Simmer for three hours with the lid off so the bisque reduces a bit. Add paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and leave the bisque till it's room temperature. Stir in the cream.
Serve room temp or pop a bowl in the microwave for 40 seconds before eating.
Ok, so it's been challenging being on vacation in Mexico and not being able to drink. I've been playing blind bartender for my friends, serving up tequila sunrises, margaritas, and mojitos.
So tonight I tried to make a pregnant lady mojito and it turned out great.
Mexico has a store bought simple syrup called Jarabe, which is just the tastiest, but you can make your own of you think of it ahead of time. Just boil a cup of water and add a cup of sugar. Stir till fully dissolved and then cool.
Ingredients:
One shot glass of freshly squeezed lime juice
1.5 shot glasses if simple syrup
6 fresh mint leaves
Club soda
Ice
Directions:
In a tall glass, add the lime juice and mint. Muddle with a fork or wooden spoon handle. Add the syrup and the ice. Stir well and top off with club soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint of you like.
My parents' banana tree produced about two dozen red bananas and they've been hanging in the hall for a week ripening. They are finally ready to be eaten so we have to get to work!
I thought I'd make a simple fried banana dessert and it was scrumptious.
You could use any type of banana as long as it isn't over ripe.
La Lechera is just Mexican brand sweetened condensed milk. It can be found in the Mexican food section of the grocery store.
Serves four
Ingredients:
three bananas
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup warmed Lechera
Cinnamon
Directions:
Cut the bananas in half lengthwise. Heat butter in a frying pan over medium high heat. Set the bananas in the pan cut side down and fry till brown. Flip and fry on the other side. Transfer to a plate and drizzle Lechera over bananas. Dust with cinnamon.
These beat deep-fried poppers hands down. Also, they are wrapped in bacon so that's automatically the best thing ever.
Ingredients:
Fresh jalapeños
Cream cheese
Bacon
Directions:
Cut off the tops of the jalapeños. Cut the peppers lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.
Fill each pepper half with about two teaspoons of cream cheese.
Cut each slice of bacon in half and wrap the half slices around each jalapeño.
Place the poppers on metal or wooden skewers. I suggest soaking the wood ones for about ten minutes first.
Place on a medium high grill and turn a few times till bacon is cooked. Enjoy!
I’ve been looking for solid drinking glasses for a while now and this set of six I just couldn’t pass up. It makes milk so much better!
Alaska Knit Nat 