A Butterfly for Breakfast ?

A butterfly spoon, that is.

First, Sienna would like to wish you all a good morning, though!

Hmmm ... now to try eating with a butterfly spoon!
Tricky. Here are a few snapshots ::

Thanks to Grandma Diane & Grandpa Paul for buying the very cute china butterfly spoon in Leavenworth! I'm sure Sienna will find many uses for it ... perhaps, she'll use it for a little tea party.

Now, we are off to some craft stores to get ideas for Christmas gifts and then to do a little grocery shopping. We're going to make Tortilla Soup for Daddy since he will be out in the rain all day working!

Until next time ...
xoxo

Lunch Date

Do you have a 12:00 lunch date?

I do, with a one year old every day.

Today's menu ::

For me: mozzarella grilled cheese sandwich on whole wheat
For her: cheese & crackers and winter squash

Sorry for two posts today!
She's getting so big and I wanted to share it with you ...

A Cup of Joe for Mama

Every morning, I wake up according to Sienna's schedule, which happens to be sometime between 7:00 and 8:30. No joke! This little girl loves to sleep in ...

Then, she watches some Sesame Street or as she calls it "Melmo." She's really into this one. It came as part of a 3-disc set called Sesame Sings. The show only lasts about 30 minutes, which is a perfect amount of time for Mama to wash dishes, make breakfast for Sienna and of course, make a cup of joe.

I make my espresso in a Bialetti Brikka, which I love, love, love. Right now, we have Starbuck's Espresso on hand, but our favorite is made by Blue Star Coffee Roasters in Twisp. Their Espresso Blend is soooo good!

Here are some snapshots of the Brikka in action ::





The Brikka makes something that Italians call "crema" on the top. I turn mine into an Americano, of sorts. I add steaming water and a little nonfat milk. I would like to try one of these. I love the Mooo print!

After the coffee's made, Sienna and I sit down to enjoy breakfast together ::

Mama loves her coffee ...
Sienna loves her Cascadian Farm Purely O's cereal and yummy Yobaby yogurt ...

Brrrr!! Welcoming Autumn

We welcomed Autumn this morning by starting our first fire in the wood burning stove.

And by getting warm & cozy in our slippers, of course ...

Daddy makes fire!

Sienna doesn't like when the fire alarm goes off every time the door of the wood stove is opened. She makes her very sad face!

Papa Bear

Mama Bear

Little Bear

Now, off to enjoy pancakes with homemade blackberry syrup and more coffee ...

Friday Rhythms: Part 2

While we waited for Daddy to get home from work (he had his hair cut after work), Sienna took a bath, put on her new "bapple" shirt and blue jeans. She even had time to play in her kitchen and read some books!

After Daddy got home from his haircut, he started out by putting flour on the pastry mat and putting a little flour on the dough ball. He then kneaded and worked the dough a little bit. Then he allowed the dough ball to rest for 10 minutes before he used the rolling pin and flattened the dough ball out.

Then, Daddy put the pizza dough on our pizza stone and spread the sauce over the dough. He also preheated the oven to 450 degrees.

Next, he grated mozzarella cheese and spread it over the pizza.

Last, he baked the pizza for about 20 minutes, or so.

Sienna having some "num-nums" while Mama sets the table for dinner.

Watching Mama set up the table. I think she's ready for some pizza!

The table is all set! A yummy homemade cheese pizza and salad with some veggies from our own garden.

A closer look at the salad and beautiful flowers David's coworker picked for Mama from his garden.

Friday Rhythms: Part 1

Last January, we began a family tradition of making a homemade pizza every Friday night. This means that part of Sienna's daily rhythm for Friday includes watching Mama make the pizza dough and sauce. She usually plays and sometimes comes to watch. When she was very little, I either carried her in my Ergo or she was napping during this time.

Today, I would like to share some of the pizza making process with you:

1. I usually begin, by getting out all of the ingredients that I will need for the sauce. Then, I chop 1/2 an onion and get my garlic ready for the press. We love garlic, so I usually have many cloves ready!


2. Next, I abandon the sauce. Don't worry we'll get back to it later! Time to get the dough started. Since the arrival of my Kitchen Aid mixer, we've been loving Emeril Lagasse's Perfect Pizza Dough. I used to make the dough by hand and it was a process, especially when I had to pick up Sienna and my hands were covered in dough. We've also tried using 1/2 whole wheat flour and all whole wheat flour, but Daddy prefers the white flour.

Here are a couple of snapshots of the dough, in action:

warm water, yeast, and sugar
just beginning to foam ...

ready & waiting!

I like to push down the flour that gets stuck on the sides of the mixing bowl.

ready to rise

keeping away the drafts

3. Now, I return back to the sauce. I don't actually have a "recipe link" for this one, as it's a combination of my own additions/modifications to other recipes. In a pan on medium heat, I put 1 tbspn. of butter and 1-2 tbspns. of olive oil. Add 1/2 an onion and how ever many cloves of garlic to your family's liking. Turn the heat down and simmer until the onions are transparent.


4. When the onions are transparent, I add in a 15 oz. can of tomato sauce and then a 6 oz. can of tomato paste. We enjoy using Muir Glen Organic tomato sauce and paste, but we would like to try fresh tomatoes next year, when we get those going in our garden. Once the sauce and paste are stirred in evenly, I add a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of sugar. Then, add in herbs to your liking. Today, I used a couple tablespoons of both basil and oregano. Sometimes, we add in a few bay leaves. We've also tried fennel seeds. Now, let it simmer to your liking. Mine will be simmering on the lowest setting for a few hours today.


A few more snapshots of the pizza sauce, in action:

A makeshift spoon rest. This year for our 2nd anniversary, we decided not to buy gifts for each other. Instead, we will choose some pottery pieces together. We need to get around to picking them, one of which will be a spoon rest!

I always move my dough next to the pizza sauce, so the heat from the burner aids in the rising of the dough.

5. Next steps ... wait for the "pizza assembly man" to get home from work. This post will be continued with pizza assembly instructions from Daddy and snapshots of yummy pizza.

To be continued ...

Mother Nature: Down the Drive

We frequently have visiting animal friends from the woods at the little house. So far, we've had visits from deer, snakes, and squirrels. On Monday, two coyotes visited as Sienna and I sat down for breakfast.

Today, two deer stopped by for an apple snack ...

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to snap a picture of the doe with the apple actually in her mouth!

We're looking forward to sharing many more visits with our forest friends as the weather changes ...

A Visit to the Tropical Butterfly House

Don't worry, this blog will feature Sienna & butterflies, as promised.

Sienna just wasn't feeling very photogenic today, although she has completely recovered from this weekend's fever. Thank goodness!!

Last January, we had the opportunity to go and see the Lucy's Legacy exhibit at the Pacific Science Center. This was very exciting for me! Growing up, I frequented the San Diego Museum of Man, which had a "Lucy" exhibit of sorts and I loved learning about her.

After seeing the Lucy's Legacy exhibit ...

After the exhibit, we headed on over to the Tropical Butterfly House, where temperatures are in the low 80's and humidity is 60-70%.

Here are some of the beautiful butterflies we saw ...

And here is Sienna, not enjoying the heat of the exhibit!
Remember, it is January and she is bundled for Washington winter weather.

Ready to leave the Butterfly House ...

An "almost" smile, as we stand in line to leave ...
(You have to leave as a group, so less butterflies escape!)

I promise next week will feature Sienna with a butterfly of sorts in the same picture!
We have some "big plans" thanks to Grandma Diane & Nana Sandy ...