March 28th, 2010 . Posted in Cooking & Baking, Kids, Parenting, Twins | No Comments »
I guess I’ve joined a revolution. A bread “revolution”. My yoga friend Michelle shared her Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day book with me and it has inspired me to bake bread for my family. I’ve gone through spurts of baking my own bread but have never been able to pull it off long term. I always go back to buying bread when I’m in a pinch, or when the kids need sandwich bread. With the unique approach of keeping a wet dough refrigerated for up to two weeks and baking loaves as you need them, I think the five minute a day approach is possible. I actually got the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day because I’m all about the whole grains. My first loaf was a soft sandwich bread and when we cut into it there was a very big hole in the middle. My second and third batches have been better, if only a little dense.
My only complaint with the book is that a lot of the recipes call for eggs and milk or butter but their master recipe (my first freeform loaf picture above) is a basic recipe with just flour, yeast, salt, and gluten. Hopefully my loaves will get better and not so dense, or I’m sure Iris will complain about the hard bread for her sandwiches.
Well, I have a lot more to write about but alas, Finnegan only took a 20 minute nap (no surprises there) and the twins are not playing well together in their quiet time. Most days I feel like I live my life in 10 minute chunks, because that is all the time I ever get to concentrate on one task. This too shall pass, I keep reminding myself.
March 24th, 2010 . Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
Just a few tidbits from our lives of early spring, of kids, of family, of togetherness. I’m so in love with my husband and kids most days I just want to bust. So, here they are.
Daddy pile
Tavie reading to her brother
My little helpers doing the dishes. Yes folks, we are still in the nakey phase.
Mr. Dez
Iris and Grandpa
March 7th, 2010 . Posted in Cooking & Baking | No Comments »
Cowboy cookies are a big hit at our house. The kids love ‘em and whenever a guest eats one they love ‘em too. I’m usually not able to sneak nuts into recipes because the twins are not crazy about them, but for some reason I can get away with it in this one. I’ve been asked a lot for this recipe so instead of writing it out for everyone and their mother I’m posting it on my blog. The recipe comes from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowitz & Terry Hope Romero. These babies are 266 calories a pop so don’t go too crazy.
The photos were taken a few days ago when we made our latest batch. The girls get a big kick out of being in the kitchen and helping out. They are very good stirers! Mr. Finnegan gets to sit in his perch in the island sink so he can get in on the action, too. He’s a big help, too. I think Iris was outside playing while this cooking session was happening.
Ingredients:
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup non dairy milk (I use rice or soy)
1 tbs ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 generous cup non dairy semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans
I also add 1/2-3/4 cup currants even though they are not in the recipe.
Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Mix wet & dry ingredients. Stir in coconut, chocolate chips, nuts and currants. Bake on parchment paper covered cookie sheets for 15 minutes. Cool on rack. Enjoy!
March 4th, 2010 . Posted in Kids, Parenting, Twins | No Comments »
I’m getting the bug. The Spring cleaning bug. I started spring cleaning in the sun room today with great anticipation of many hours spent there – warm and sunshiney. The birds sound different, the sun feels different, people seem happy again. Spring is just around the corner!
Our day? Kira has a cold so we hunkered down and lazed around.
I am crawling, crawling, crawling up a storm.
Apparently the veterinarian says I’ll grow into my droopy eyes. Until then, I’ll just look sad and pouty.
Who needs pants? Most days not me!
I’m a sickey-bickey today.
And last but not least, I was pouting because everyone else got a picture….so here is mine.
February 27th, 2010 . Posted in Kids, Parenting, Twins | No Comments »
Mr. Finnegan has been going through some very profound baby changes these past few weeks. He got his first tooth this week! Whew! And he started to crawl. On account of all these amazing changes, he’s been an amazingly fussy baby! There has been very little sleep in the Puklich household as of late. Naps, nada. More than two hours of sleep in a row at night, nada. He seems to have calmed down a bit the last two days since the first tooth popped through, but he’s got another right next to it creating a very big and painful looking bump in his gums. Poor little guy. Can we have just a little pity party for poor mama right now, too? I thought not.
Oh, he turned 8 months old on the 23rd, two days ago. He’s just a big little boy now! We are still working on getting him into his crib, but he’s not responding very well. It’s a process. We are not cry-it-out people so we realize it’s going to take longer for him to get comfortable in his crib. He really likes to sleep snuggled in between mom and dad. There is also the tiny little problem of him not being able to fall asleep without being nursed.
Tavie and Kira have stopped taking naps so we are transitioning into quiet time for an hour each afternoon. I have them in the same room right now until they get used to the concept, but in a few weeks I would like to get them in separate rooms for their quiet time. So far it’s going well and they are going to bed earlier each night which is nice.
And news of Iris? She went through a rough patch at school and was not doing so hot in a few topics because she wasn’t turning in her homework. But we have NIPPED that in the bud and she’s getting her homework in on time now.
We are all looking forward to Spring. It’s going to be a great summer. Finn will be more portable so we’ll be able to participate in a lot of fun and exciting activities. I am thinking of doing the Mora Classic which is a series of four events throughout the coming year: a canoe race, a half marathon, a 50 mile bike race, and the Vasaloppet, which is a cross country ski race. I am still busy with my yoga teacher training program, however, and I don’t want to overextend myself. It would be a great way to get in shape this coming year.
