All Ye Lands Lesson Plans ~ Latkes

As I continue going through the basket in the schoolroom that I MEANT to go through this summer I am finding all sorts of goodies.

I ran across lesson plans for All Ye Lands that I had printed from Maureen O'Brien.  Here is the original link but it is no longer working (I'm posting it in case someone can find it)
http://homeschoolblogger.com/maureen/316942/

This is a cached version I found although the format isn't the same.  Maybe it'll help someone or give some ideas (if you know me in real life I can give you a copy of the plans in an easier to follow format):
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://homeschoolblogger.com/maureen/316942/

~ I keep flip-flopping with how I want to use A Trailguide to World Geography.  One dd wants to just go through it as it is designed.  Another dd wants me to cut the pages up into cards like Montessori command cards for her to do.  Other dd doesn't really care.  There is also a lapbook at A Journey through Learning that matches this curriculum (40% off as I type - how tempting!).  The other flip-flopping I'm doing is scheduling it in a more formal way.  Geography is a part of shelf work and they generally choose at least one geography work on shelf work days on their own.  However, if we do theTrail Guide to World Geography together it would be separate from actual shelf work time.  We've jumped ahead by reading Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne for fun before the study (we'll read the illustrated classics version when we're done with the unabridged version) (unabridged is free here if you have a Kindle).  The Trail Guide has it at the end of the study.  I don't think it matters.  Rather than being the cumulative experience, the book is our anticipatory experience :).

What's Cookin'?
Latkes:  Here's a recipe but I will probably just wing it and shred the potatoes, add a bit of chopped onion and salt, flour and egg to make it stick and then fry.  I'll serve with apple sauce.  This tells you how long ago I taught in public schools:  I remember making latkes with my second grade class.  I guess you can't really do culturally religious things much anymore that are Jewish or Christian but back then it was still okay.  A book that I read with the activity was: Latkes and Applesauce.  There is a recipe in the book as well.  For a more humorous story we read The Chanukkah Guest  (this still comes out every year with our Christmas books). 

Maccabee is one of my heroes - their perseverance and courage inspire me. It was during the rededication of the Temple that the miracle of the oil, thus the Festival of Lights (Hanukkah), occurred.  [An aside:  another inspiring hero for me is Miguel Pro - I've been thinking about him a lot lately (his Feast Day recently passed) and saw some photos taken just before his execution.  He forgave his executioners, prayed, denied the blindfold, and died saying "Viva Cristo Rey."  Although it was against the law to be practicing Catholicism at the time around 20,000 mourners defied the oppression and went to the streets for his funeral.]

One Last Black Friday Deal (on Cyber Monday)

This will be a short and sweet post so I can get this code to you (aren't you glad... but I'll be sure to ramble in the next post!). 

A Journey through Learning's Black Friday sale runs through today (Cyber Monday): 40% off instant download products.  I got their Overview of the 20th Century to fill up our gap in the history text we use (From Sea to Shining Sea) but unfortunately I got the wrong one when I ordered from currclick a while back(argh!!) - I got the unit study instead of the lapbook and we'll just have to adjust it.  The e-mail said that the sale is for downloads only and does NOT include materials from Geomatters.  They have lapbooks that follow some of the Apologia books by Fulbright if you are using those.  Some examples are:  Exploring Creation with Botony; Exploring Creation with Astronomy; Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day; Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day; Land Animals of the Sixth Day.



















































If you sign up for their newsletter you get a free copy of the Overview of the 17th century lapbook unit.

Years ago we did the Astronomy book by Fulbright and really enjoyed it.  I think that was our first lapbook and we had to create it all from scratch. I have some photos here; click on next to see the next one in the sequence and I think there are 9 for the space lapbook.
http://family.webshots.com/photo/2610721590100452258HQYPzL

Okay, I ended up rambling anyway!  Here is the link and the code is:  BlackFriday40
http://www.ajourneythroughlearning.com/

Enjoy one last day of savings!

A Few Black Friday Deals

The lapbook Black Friday deals have a new link different than the one I posted earlier.  They have a new website and the old link didn't work.  Today is 40% off with other sales through Monday. Try:
https://www.handsofachild.com/
The code for the sales is BlackFriday.  There is a box to insert the code once you are in your shopping cart and it deducts the price for you.

I have to admit that I debated and debated on this one but finally gave in.  This herbal remedy e-book is 50% off right now.  For $4.50-ish I finally decided that it would be worth it since I have been trying to get away from toxic ingredients in 'medicine' for everyday ailments.  The code is THANKS50.
http://frugalgranola.com/books/

The 50% Black Friday sale is over but this e-book is on sale until Monday for $4.00.  Healthy Snacks to Go will be a good resource.  We don't buy processed snacks anymore (well... usually we don't!) so this should be very helpful.  Her blog is awesome and very helpful.  The code is cybermonday. 
http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/ebooks-at-kitchen-stewardship/

Amazon has a morphing Black Friday sale with new things being added throughout the day.  Click on the first link posted for a scrolling view or on any deal posted underneath here.

Raised Bed Covers

This design will go down in family history as either brilliant or... not so much.  I chose the 1 mm thickness plastic drop cloth because the 2mm size wasn't in 5's and my biggest bed is 5x5 feet.  Here are the steps so that next year I'll either know what to do or what NOT to do :).

1. Get 10'x20' 1mm plastic drop cloth.
2. Play with dog while rolling it out to 10' (while still folded up longways) in the living room.  Interrupt olders' chemistry notetaking while playing with the dog (oops, sorry!).  Tell dog that game is over now.
3. Unfold the now 10x10 sheet and refold in half.  Cut along fold making (2) 10x5 sheets. [I made them twice as long because I'm keeping the trellis for each bed up for now.]
4. Get 4 donated hair bandies from dc (2 for each one).
5. Roll each sheet up and slip a bandie around each end so it looks like a long skinny taffy candy.
6. Once outside staple the bandies to the back end of the bed.  Staple the end of the roll also to the backside of the bed and a few on top of the end.
7. That was still a bit saggy so... Cut some jute rope, twine, whatever.  Staple 2 sections of jute to the top of the wood in different places, slip through between the plastic and the wood, wrap around the roll of plastic and tie an easy to undo knot.  Remember the weather will be miserable when you go to undo so an easy knot is better.

How to attach at the other end when undone (I have several ideas and will try a few):

A. Staple it
B. Screw in some eye hooks; pull a bunch through and tie a knot.  3 for bigger bed.
C. Jute stapled into wood at the other end (2 strands).  Pull a bunch together and tie tightly.  I am going to try this on the skinny strawberry bed. 

Re-rolling:

Just undo, roll up, slip bandies back around ends, tie jute again in easy to undo knots.

Dh says that the setup is good but the material is too thin and will get ripped to shreds.  Unfortunately I think he's right, but I couldn't get really thick material at the moment.

Let's just hope it works!  I only need it for about a month.  The lettuce is just finally coming up; as are the beets, kale, kohlrabi, and some green beans.  The carrots we planted last APRIL finally look really good - same for the cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli.  They did nothing all spring, summer, and now most of fall.  I'd hate to lose them right when they are thriving.  The green beans I planted as seedlings in early fall are doing well and producing. [note to self:  plant a lot more than 3 next year!]  I also need to cover some random plants.  I finally got my first little eggplant of the season but it's only 2 inches long so far.  I had lots of flowers all along but no fruit.

Here are the carrots, finally growing:

These are the green beans that I planted as seedlings:

This is a really good GMO article:

http://momsforsafefood.net/2010/11/15/would-you-choose-genetically-modified-food-if-given-a-choice-some-animals-won%E2%80%99t/

By the way, my grass is STILL scorched black from back in September when I got Frankenfrosting on it while cleaning out some free frosting buckets from a local grocery store bakery.  Scroll down in these old posts for pictures.  It doesn't do it justice though regarding just how BLACK and DEAD the grass is:

http://eclecticlvng.blogspot.com/2010/09/blueberry-pudding-frankenfood-frosting.html

http://eclecticlvng.blogspot.com/2010/10/montessori-chemistry-works-part-2-ive.html

Gottatries:

Recipes from this week's Real Food Wed I have 'got to try' very soon (now that it's already almost time for the next RFW!):

http://glutenfreewithjudee.blogspot.com/2010/11/wendys-crunchy-and-creamy-vegetable.html

I would have to tweek to make a soaked recipe or use flavoring/spices ideas to our soaked/baked/dehydrated recipe:
http://bellesqueaks.wordpress.com/2010/11/17/thanks-be-to-granola/

For these muffins I'll soak the flour and water with 2 tablespoons kefir overnight.  Then I'll continue with the recipe.  I have a six-muffin tin that I think will fit in the toaster oven. [update: dc really liked these!  I had to actually pop out the muffins after the cooking time and put back in the toaster over upside down so that the muffin bottoms would cook before the tops burned]
http://likeabubblingbrook.blogspot.com/2010/11/maple-pecan-muffins.html

Coconut Cookies:
I wonder if they would work with almond meal.  I have never gotten coconut flour.
http://nurturedfamilylife.blogspot.com/2010/11/coconut-cookies.html

Gingerbread Pancakes:
http://debbidoesdinnerhealthy.blogspot.com/2010/11/gingerbread-pancakes.html

I must, must try this.  I may also try it as a baked, dried cereal... or even as granola bars.  I'll have to wait and see how it bakes:
http://domesticbydesign.com/2010/11/soaked-pumpkin-pie-baked-oatmeal/

Sidedish of butternut squash, cranberries, and Brussels Sprouts:
http://spicypaleo.blogspot.com/2010/11/testing-for-thanksgiving-roasted.html

Interesting: Black bean burgers.  I actually have all the ingredients on-hand, including a pint of cooked black beans:
http://www.thecottagesisters.com/2010/11/black-bean-burgers.html
I knew these as a teenager as "one-eyed Jacks."  I had forgotten all about them!
http://www.freshhealthycooking.com/Egg_in_a_hole.html

This looks worth a try.  There is no flour in these chocolate banana muffins.
http://www.16ballsintheair.com/2010/11/wake-up-and-smell-chocolate.html

Muffins.  Maybe soak flour, yogurt (kefir), and applesauce overnight so it won't be so thick?  Maybe bake as a cake? Could make asap 'cuz actually have all of the ingredients:
http://senseofhome.blogspot.com/2010/11/harvest-muffins.html

Not from RFW, but still from Kelly's blog ~ Really?  Homemade shoestring onions are that easy?
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/11/green-bean-casserole-with-homemade-crispy-shoestring-onions.html

Easy Flatbread (make ahead and freeze?):
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/11/mini-pizzas-quick-compromise-version-and-homemade-version.html

Free Thanksgiving Bonus Mini-Lesson from Happy and Healthy Holidays by Nourished Kitchen:

Go to the top tab for the Freebie, but you may want to watch the video first and look at her helpful concept of per class or whole series options.
http://nourishedkitchen.com/ecourse/holiday-online-cooking-class/

CareerShip:

This was recommended by clickschooling.  It looks interesting and might be very good for the olders.  I need to explore it myself, maybe I can figure out what I want to be when I grow up...
http://mappingyourfuture.org/planyourcareer/careership/index.cfm

Writing Lessons Resource:

There are so many aspects to teaching writing that there is no way to cover it all.  This is a resource that I use sparingly but it's great to have when you just can't think up another lesson from scratch :).  It uses trade books to read for the writing model, has real student writing as models as well, has prewriting 'stationary' and teaching ideas for the lesson.  It is called Writer's Craft: Models, Lessons, and More.  It says grades 3-5 but with the variety of read-aloud options it could be used for a broader range depending on the needs/interests of the children.

Another book that has nice spelled out lessons to teach writer's craft is Craft Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8 by Fletcher and Portalupi.  It also uses real trade books to teach writing lessons.

















On a sour note:

I just want to pull my hair out when I read about governments dictating WHAT we eat... Not regulating ingredients such as, I don't know, petroleum or benzene (major carcinogen) in our children's food, but actual food choices.  To tackle obesity "they" want us to not eat saturated fats and only eat margarine (read: trans fats); no sugars but neurotoxins and excitotoxins that literally kill your brain cells are okay (remember the proposed soda tax on non-diet ones, but diet ones were considered healthy??).  Well, I lost 20 pounds when the only thing I changed was TO eat saturated fats and dropped trans fats from my diet.  I'd better stop before I really rant about it.  However, everyone should know what is going on in Norfolk Island.  I purposefully chose this article that gushes about it instead of the counter argument:

http://www.scu.edu.au/news/media.php?item_id=1641&action=show_item

Hurry!

Vision Forum has an Everything 20% Off Sale ending tomorrow, Saturday, November 20th.  The code is ALLONSALE and shipping for any order is only $5.00 right now.

http://www.visionforum.com/

I really, really need want the Southern Belle doll dress for our History doll (Historia) for the dc as a Christmas gift.

One dd really wants to learn some rope tricks but this seems a little high at $20... but as a special Christmas present?

Adrenal Fatigue ~ Beet Kvass

What's Cookin'?


We ate the sweet potatoes that we harvested from our garden.  We didn't get tons but at least enough for one very large meal.  I cut them up (along with a potato) and cooked in about 1 cm of oil.  Then I added some precooked stew meat and some precooked butternut squash.  I poured in about 2 cups of water at the end and it made a nice gravy (I thickened it with about 2 tablespoons of white flour).

Our Amish Butter order arrived Friday.  The lady who orders it is the local co-chapter leader of the Weston Price Foundation so I trust her selection of this company for butter/cheese (thanks, G.!).  The butter is almost the same cost as store brand organic butter with our bulk order.  I've only gotten the butter but was really tempted to get some cheddar this time; I just couldn't this time around.  Maybe next order if I save up for it.  The cost is just cents over a pound of store brand cheddar at the grocery store with our bulk order and we eat a LOT of cheese weekly.  It's just the cost at one time, KWIM?  The cheese/butter that she orders is from pastured cows with no antibiotics/hormones and is gently pasteurized.  I'm not sure what "gently pasteurized" means but I'm sure it's much better than what I'm getting :).

What's Schoolin'?

We keep pluggin' along with our Chemistry studies. 
The olders are ready finishing up their Civil War lapbooks.
Youngest dd has been able to get some really good work sessions in lately with shelf work.  She's been pulling out language materials such as the farm.  A month ago she was all about geography.  This month it's language; with the ocean materials thrown in.  I asked her what she wanted to study and she said sharks, whales, and porpoises.  We checked some books out from the library and I should be able to pick them up tomorrow.  She's also been making addition, subtraction, and multiplication booklets for memory work.  She has also done the fish bowl for addition and is ready to do that for multiplication and subtraction as well.  She absolutely loves the 1000 bead chain and chooses it over and over.  Right now she is setting up some dolls in the living room and will bring out some shelf work to do while playing school... or rather she is playing school while actually doing school!

I just found this site with a long list of free links for things such as typing, art, etc.  I didn't have time to look closely:
http://wonderinthewoods.wordpress.com/2010/06/23/free-curriculum-long-list/

Adrenal Fatigue

Someone asked recently what I've done that has helped my adrenal glands.  I thought I would go ahead and make it a post in case it helps someone else.  Please remember to ask your health care professional before trying anything that I might say worked for ME (that's my disclaimer!).

First of all I should give some background: Lyme Disease almost caused me to lose the function of my adrenals.  I was just barely on this side of the line of getting Addison's Disease.  Thankfully I didn't.

The 2 main things that have helped my adrenal fatigue are:

1) The adrenal support supplement recommended by my dr called Adapt.  To save money I only take 1/2-1/4 of what I should and it still helps.  Mainly I can tell when I haven't.  You can find it here:
















2) CONSISTENTLY drinking 4 ounces of beet kvass as a tonic at 10:00am and 2:00pm when my adrenals would usually crash.  The recipe is from Nourishing Traditions p. 610. [Later on I started adding some raw whey to the tonic right before drinking it (so I would remember) because that has a precurser to a precurser to glutathione which is healing at the cell level... but that would be an entirely different post!]

Beet Kvass was one of the very first recipes I used out of Nourishing Traditions.  It wasn't that I felt wow after drinking it; but rather I felt stabilized after drinking it consistently for about a week or so.  Less of a roller coaster ride and more even keeled.  It's easy and has a nice clean, lightly salty taste.  I guess there is the slight beet/dirt flavor, lol, but I don't notice it much.  It's such a pretty color - how could you not like it??

How to Make Beet Kvass:

To make beet kvass add the following to a 2 quart jar (or split between 2 jars that are each 1 quart): 

-3 medium peeled and coarsely chopped raw beets.  Do NOT grate them or you'll end up with alcohol instead of lactic acid!
-1/4 Cup whey [If you have never done this, it is very cool:  Put some yogurt with LIVE cultures in a muslin cloth or something like cheese cloth but with smaller holes (or a super clean dish rag) to drain overnight.  In the morning you will have delicious homemade cream cheese in the cloth and whey in the jar underneath.  I can go into more detail with pictures if you want.]
-1 Tablespoon Real Salt or other sea salt
- Filtered water.  Add the water last to fill the jar.

Then stir and leave out on the counter for 2 days.  Transfer the jar(s) to the refrigerator.  Strain to drink.  Be amazed at how refreshing it is!

In this photo is a bag of beet kvass from June, 2009 (yes, over a year ago) that I took out of the freezer a week ago.  It tastes great and feels refreshing just like freshly made beet kvass. [Also in the photo are the spaghetti squash I was getting ready to process.  Actually dd ended up pulling the strings out - kids like gooey things!]

These Beet Kvass instructions are part of Kelly's Real Food Wednesday:
http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2010/11/real-food-wednesday-111710.html

Lapbooks (HOAC)

In the Hands of a Child (HOAC) has weekly specials called $5 e-book of the week.  This week is NASCAR history.  They also have quarterly freebies.  This quarter it is Study Any Great Painter.  Free.  Unadulterated project pack, not some demo.  Free.  I had accumulated quite a few freebies on my old computer that I lost when the computer crashed.

http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/

While I was looking to see what the weekly e-book was I scrolled through Geography.  I think the Europe one would be good to do while the dc are interested in Europe.  It would help give some focus to some things that aren't covered in the Montessori materials that I have unless you are also reading books about the continent.  Even with reading books though, this would give dc focus on pertinent information.  I'm still deciding because $20 is quite an investment for me when I've already spent those $20 on 20 pounds of organic apples (99 cents a pound, remember?  Great and totally worth it).  I think I'll plan on it for the vague distant future and keep my eyes open for some good sales.  They may have a Black Friday sale, so keep your eyes peeled.

This is the Europe lapbook:
http://www.handsofachild.com/shop/Europe-Project-Pack-P509.aspx

Ah!  I found the Black Friday info!  Enjoy!

11/26/10 Black Friday:

40% off all Project Packs ANY FORMAT

11/27-28/10 Saturday and Sunday:
35% off all Project Packs

11/29/10 Cyber Monday:
30% off all Project Packs
PLUS
Receive a free gift with any purchase of
$50 or more on Monday ONLY

What's Cookin'?

Last night I made Apple Crisp again, only this time it literally burned to a crisp in the rickety toaster oven.  That would have been bad enough but it was dh's birthday :(.  We scooped off the topping and ate it anyway.  The good news:  I was able to use some dehydrated apples from those bulk apples.  Had I not dehydrated them they would be rotten by now, so it was worth dehydrating them.  They reconstituted fine.  Before cooking I poured hot water over them and let them sit a while.  Note to self:  COVER it while cooking next time (that wasn't in my notes on the recipe and it burned before the time was up that I had noted from last time for my toaster over).

I also made lasagna for his birthday meal.  I had never made lasagna before - he's the lasagna maker a few times a year.  It wasn't so bad and the platter was scraped clean.  Again, tricky baking in the rickety teeny tiny toaster oven.  I think, especially with the holidays coming soon, if we can't afford to fix the oven (who am I kidding, we haven't even gotten it looked at yet) then I'll look into a decent toaster oven in which I can actually bake.  Any preferred brands/models or any to avoid?

3-Part Card Pouches

This is one of those "if I can do it anyone can do it" posts and one of those "I'm showing you my ungiftedness to hopefully encourage you if you also lack the gift of sewing" posts.  It's also one of those "just do what you need to do IMperfectly to fit your needs" posts.  I'll say up front that when dd-8 saw these finished with her cards in it she was momentarily speechless - in a good way :).  She smiled big and said, "Wow, those are neat."  The cards had been in library card pockets since this summer and she hasn't chosen them once.  I think she will now.  The photos are below the steps.  Let me know if it doesn't make sense or you have any questions.

Below are the steps I followed.  I'm sure these can be improved but in one day they are now on the shelf - that's worth more to me than you know (maybe some of you do!).  At the end I'll post links of some really pretty ones you can buy online - they're beautiful!  Who knows, maybe one day the olders will polish up this process and sell online themselves to support their 4-H activities and contests (we're constantly short on money for their 4-H activities).  Doubtful but you never know.

I got some 'drapery samples' over the summer at JoAnn Fabrics in the sale bin.  Each big square was a dollar and I got 4 pouches from one.

1. Use a set of 3-part cards to generally measure out the fabric (if you're a faithful reader you know by now I'm not a perfectionist).  My cards come from different online sources or are homemade so they are not all uniform.  I picked a bulky set (animal homes, I believe) to measure.  Mark with chalk.

2. Cut with pinking shears.  You could use any scissors but I did this because I didn't plan on putting a seam on the folded up pocket edge.  I sure wished I had a surger at this point!  My pinking shears are dull for some odd reason (odd because I've only used them about 3 times) so this was tedious.

[Optional step:  Trace a flat cutout fabric rectangle on paper to save as a future pattern.]

3. Pin a small seam on each side and fold up to where you marked keeping the seam inside.

4. Offer to pay dd a dollar to sew the seams for you on the sewing machine.  Sew the seams.

[Another optional step:  Label the front flap using fabric markers.  I chose not to because I want to reuse these.]

5. Done!  Take pictures and insert the cards.

Total cost for 4 pouches:  $2.00 (which includes sewing fee, no kidding!) - that's only 50 cents each (25 cents if you sewed them yourself)!
Smiling younger dd and nicer presentation:  Priceless!

Here are some links for premade pouches:

I left the main link for this one because all of her pouches look so inviting:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/montessori


Here are some more 3-part card storage pouch ideas:

Allow yourself time to get complete immersed in this wonderful blog, especially if you have youngers.  I made a similar one over a year ago (or so??) for our Birds of the World 3-part cards that are currently in our Zoology Box.  I'll have to see if I can find a picture later. 
http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/sweetness_and_light/2007/09/wildflower-pouc.html
Same blog.  This may solve my seam problem (might be a little too tall though):
http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/sweetness_and_light/2007/08/3-part-card-pla.html

http://adventuresofarainbowmamamama.blogspot.com/2009/07/hand-3-part-cards.html

http://psmontessori.blogspot.com/2009/07/pouch-city.html

This was my model waaaay back when I made the Birds pouch:
http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/2007/03/definition-stages-pouch.html
http://montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/2007/04/who-am-i-cards-and-composers-definition.html

Another idea:  I used a pretty photo book with a leaf cover to put all of the leaf 3-part cards that are in the Botany Box.

"Recipes to Make Asap" List

Here is my short list of recipes from the most recent Real Food Wednesday that I would like to make asap.  I also tagged a bunch more for later.  What foodie inspirations!

Tortilla Soup:
http://everyurlwastaken.blogspot.com/2010/11/recipe-tortilla-soup.html
[Update:  the tortilla soup was a winner with the family!  For the Italian dressing I just put 2 T oil in the pot and added the following spices/herbs:  Real Salt, onion powder, pepper, fresh oregano, fresh basil, fresh parsley, dried parsley (because I didn't have much on the plant), dried cilantro (no thyme 'cuz I accidentally sprayed the thyme pot with poison while killing a Black Widow a while back).  The only garnishes we used were: organic corn tortilla chips, black beans, sour cream.  I used less tomato sauce than called for but happened to have some in the freezer.  Will make this recipe again!][BTW, I added those spices/herbs because I googled 'italian dressing recipe' online - this first one I found looks good, minus the sugar]

Pumpkin Yogurt (maybe try Pumpkin Kefir??) and pumpkin cupcakes:
http://domesticbydesign.com/2010/11/current-favorite-pumpkin-recipes/


Southwestern Sloppy Joes
http://debbidoesdinnerhealthy.blogspot.com/2010/11/southwest-sloppy-joes-with-honey-lime.html

Grain-free wraps using veggie puree:
http://balancingtheroadlesstraveled.blogspot.com/2010/11/grain-free-steak-enchilandas-and-mexi.html

Chicken Nuggets:
http://vimandvigor.typepad.com/vim-and-vigor/2010/11/a-new-twist-on-an-old-tradition.html

Fermented Lemonade.  These recipes are almost identical:
http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/11/video-fermented-hindu-lemonade.html
http://amoderatelife.com/featured-blog-hop-recipes/fizzy-limeade-and-traditional-limeys/

Cranberry Citrus Relish (lactofermented)
http://hartkeisonline.com/cooking/holiday-cranberry-citrus-relish-recipe/

Middle Eastern Pizza:
http://gnowfglins.com/2010/11/09/middle-eastern-pizza/

Biscuits/Crackers:
http://www.milehimama.com/2010/11/09/easy-memory-biscuits-or-crackers/
[Excellent recipe.  I only made 1/2 the recipe and it was enough for about 18 biscuits.  They were fluffy enough to fork split and make egg/cheese biscuit sandwiches.  I made another 1/2 recipe but added 1/4 C rapadura and 1/2 C craisins.  Very good and not too sweet. Dc liked those as well.][Oh, for the soaking I used 3/4 C milk kefir and 1/4 C water.][Another update:  I keep playing with this recipe :).  This time I made 1/2 recipe as noted above.  I split another 1/2 recipe to make 1/4 recipe cranberry "scones" with 1/4 C craisins and 1/8 c rapadura (similar as noted above).  The other 1/4 recipe (from that 1/2, if that makes sense) I used to make pumpkin biscuits.  I added 1/8 C rapadura and 1/4 C pureed pumpkin.  Then I kept adding white flour until it was biscuit consistency and could be rolled out to cut.  I also sprinkled cinnamon sugar on the top before cutting out the circles.  I would've added pumpkin spice but forgot until I was rolling out.]

Coco chocolate (uses carob powder)
http://lifeink.wordpress.com/2010/11/08/losing-weight-eating-real-food-and-coconut-oil-chocolates-too/

Egg Pizza:
http://followingmynose.blogspot.com/2010/11/dr-sus-egg-pizza.html

Sweet Potato Salad:
http://comfycook.wordpress.com/2010/11/05/sweet-potato-scallion-salad/

French Fries (blanch first, then fry or bake): *GIVEAWAY*
http://dishragdiaries.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/giveaway-day-three-and-the-great-french-fry-taste-test/

Ham and Cheese Omelet Roll
http://www.easytobeglutenfree.com/breakfast/287-ham-and-cheese-omlet-roll

Pumpkin Puree (can be steamed!)
http://pebblecrossing.blogspot.com/2010/11/making-homemade-pumpkin-puree-by.html

Green Chile Chicken Soup
http://www.antihousewife.com/?p=206

One of these 2 traditional horseshoe cookies from Poland for St. Martin de Tours:
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/view.cfm?id=1167
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/recipes/view.cfm?id=332


Not a recipe but... Good News regarding Monsanto:
http://momsforsafefood.net/2010/11/08/monsantos-going-down/

Jicama Salsa

"I can tell that you've been watching the Food Network."

Yes, that's a real quote, lol.  I'm not sure if I have the right name for this side dish/salsa but it was on Food Network over the weekend. It's what we call it now, regardless :).  It's fresh and has a kick at the same time.  I just did a quick google and apparently there are quite a few different recipes that fall under "Jicama Salsa."  I can't remember the exact recipe (my hands were busy baking on my mom's oven and I couldn't write it down) but this is what I did and it was delicious:

Ingredients:
1 apple (they recommended granny smith, I used braeburn or something like that)
1/4 red onion
1 small-ish jicama
1/2 bunch of cilantro
Juice of 1 lemon
Drizzle of olive oil
Dashes of salt

Dice the apple, onion, jicama and mix together. Mix in the juice from 1/2 to 1 lemon (I used a bit over 1/2 lime since I needed some juice for the black beans I had soaking).  Drizzle olive oil and add several dashes of Real Salt. Chop up the fresh cilantro leaves. Mix all together. If you let it sit it would probably taste better but I couldn't wait!

When I finished putting it all together I served some in a little Pyrex bowl and tasted it. Then I served some more. Then I served some more. Then for lunch... Just when I thought it couldn't taste any better... I served some in a bowl, added some plain guacamole into the mix, and ate it with some potato chips as a lunch. By the time dinner was served there was only 1/2 a batch left, lol. On the other hand, I figured that I had really only eaten 1/2 apple, 1/2 jicama, and a bit of onion so it wasn't toooo piggy of me :).

A. on a forum had the excellent idea of serving this over beans.  I just finished cooking up a pound of black beans. I'll just have to make another batch of jicama salsa. I still have the ingredients because I had gotten 2 small jicamas, although I dried the leftover cilantro so it wouldn't go to waste. I'll just use it dried in the recipe (pictures of the cilantro are below - I crushed it in a paper sack so it wouldn't be a big mess.  Note to self:  take off the stems *before* crushing).

For anyone not familiar with jicama - don't buy it if it looks blotchy or moldy. It should have a solid outside. I've seen stores selling jicamas that look terrible. The type I grew up with is much smaller than most I've seen in stores and had much more flavor and sweetness. I think it's better to get several small than 1 huge one but that's just my opinion.

Normally I only crave jicama when I'm expecting and eat it with lemon and salt (as well as green mango) but this recipe hits all of my palate just right. I just did a quick google and jicamas are a good source of potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. Apples are also good for fiber and vitamin C (and lots of other things), Onions have fiber, B6, folate, potassium, manganese, and vitamin C. Cilantro has thiamine, zinc, fiber, vit A, C, E, K, riboflavin, niacin, B6, folate, pantothenic acid, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, copper, and manganese. Wow - I had no idea!

For dinner we had it as a side dish but since it's called 'salsa' the youngest dd asked for some tortilla chips and we served chips on the side too. I noticed the olders just eating it as a side salad. Funny - middle dd took seconds and thirds and of course she had been the most skeptical :).

The picture of the jicama salsa is fuzzy, sorry.  The sad thing is that I thought it was in focus!

 

 

This post is part of Kelly's Real Food Wednesday at:

http://tinyurl.com/22nvcu9

Grammar Extensions

One of the little works I have on the shelves are some cut up sentences in a little drawer.  When the olders were little (I just can't think of any other adjectives other than 'little' right now!), they would make the little sentence using the little cards and put the grammar symbol cards above each part of speech which they had already covered in presentations.  In other words, if they had only been presented noun, article, verb then that's all they would mark.  When they knew more parts of speech they would mark more.  Then they would copy the sentence in their language notebooks and draw/color the grammar symbols above the words.

I was googling to find some file(s) of sentences to post for you all that you could cut up and came across these that are actually totally different :).

I just printed these antonym cards out on cardstock for youngest dd.  You could print a second set to use for control.  I will probably just label the backs since she is 8 and can use that type of control.
http://www6.swlauriersb.qc.ca/crestview/ls/Literacy%20Centers/antonyms.pdf

Here are some compound word cards:
http://www6.swlauriersb.qc.ca/crestview/ls/Literacy%20Centers/Compound%20Words.PDF

Here are some Montessori printables for word study and there are some grammar sentences to mark/label as well.  The files are inexpensive and although I've never bought from them I have never heard of anyone disappointed by them.  They look really nice.
http://www.shop.montessoriprintshop.com/Grammar_c32.htm

This Grammar Game is ingenious!  I think the little symbol cards I already have laminated/cut out that we use will fit in the squares on the Scrabble board.  Hmmm.....
http://www.mandalaclassroom.com/gr.html

These have some sentences that you could use to make cards (in case you don't want to think!):
http://www.eurocran.org/content.asp?contentID=1269

The handwritten, cut-up sentences that I have are well over 20 years old (Yes, I'm that old!).  I think I made them in an ESL class in college. Hopefully the above links will get you started...

Here are some Ruth Heller books that we've used for the different parts of speech and they are also recommended in the R and D manuals:  Kites Sail High,Many Luscious Lollipops, Merry-Go-Round, Mine, All Mine!, A Cache of Jewels, Behind the Mask: A Book about Prepositions, Up, Up, and Away, Fantastic! Wow! and Unreal!: A Book about Interjections and Conjunctions.