new years pretzels

To greet the new year Sophia and I backed New Years Pretzels this morning. Most of them are already eaten, so I think they turned out really tasty. Some made it to our neighbor friends as well.

Give them a try. Here is what you will need to do:

1 1/2 c warm water

2 c all purpose flour

1 pkg yeast

1 1/2 tsp honey

3/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 c more flour

Glaze (optional)

1 egg yolk

1 Tbs water

kosher salt

In a large bowl combine all of the top 5 ingredients. Mix for 3 minutes. Then add 2 cups of the additional flour and continue kneading for 3 minutes. (You may need to add more flour).

Shake dough into a ball. On floured surface, cut dough into 10 pieces and roll into snakes. Make pretzel shapes.

Combine egg yolk and water; brush on top of pretzels and sprinkle with salt.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Yummmmmmmy!

day off= being home

Yes, due to Veterans day we didn't have school today.

A day off in the middle of the week is without a doubt very welcome!

Being home meant I got to bake these delicious cinnamon rolls. Sophia helped, and so did Mateo (in his own, sitting on the counter and holding a spoon sort of way).

We were excited for the results and Sophia noticed how they came out looking like a flower. "Did you mean to make them come out like that?" She asked me. Appreciating her noticing, I smiled and said "Yes." She then smiled back and we had a sweet moment together before even taking a bite out of these sticky buns.

But then we did take a bite and they were really yummy. As she always likes to plan ahead and think of special events, Sophia asked to have these as a Thanksgiving treat with tea and our neighbors for company.

I agree and think it is a wonderful plan. Who wants to join us?

As we are still keeping Mateo away from artificial sugar, he got his own version of fresh bread with a little honey, cinnamon and raisins on the side. He declared many times how much he liked it, so no hurt feelings there!

Enjoy!

menu planning

I am at home today hoping to get all better by tomorrow. Tomorrow we have parent teacher conferences at school.

But for today I am home and I like to think about what I can do at home when I am here.

I love to cook and find comfort in having a tasty, holistic, and colorful meal on the table. Lately, my cooking efforts slowed down, and it is time to pick it up again.

Here is what we will be eating for the rest of the week:

(most recipes come from this book)

Wednesday:

Minestrone with home made baguette

Medjool Dates with cream cheese and pecans

Thursday:

Grilled cheese with tomato, basil and garlic (I will use the left over baguette for these). This is not the biggest menu, but we have a commitment that night, and so it will a perfect quick dinner. I do have to stay realistic! ;)

Friday:

Asian Tofu with Ginger Dipping Sauce

Asian Noodles with Vegetables

Gingersnap cookies

Saturday:

Sunflower burgers

Home made buns

Garlic fries

and toppings

Sunday:

Potato and Broccoli cream soup

Apple Crisp

sunday brunch

On Saturdays I am still busy, trying to unwind from a busy week, but then by Sunday I can feel relaxation coming over me and the need not to rush things. Therefore, our breakfast likes to turn into a brunch. Since I have a Yoga student on Sunday mornings now, our brunches have dissapeared for a while. That is ok, as we try to go with what life brings us and teaching Yoga is something I love doing and feel grateful for the opportunity.

But.... when my Yoga student can't make it we quickly go back to our brunch routine, as if it was never interrupted.

Unfortunately our home does not provide much natural lighting, but the yellow tinge almost gives these picture a more cozy tone, don't you think? ;)

sweetness for the morning

It is time to go back to work. In the next couple of weeks I will be getting the classroom ready, organizing materials, thinking about all the fun and educational projects I want to create with the children, and most of all setting the energy for another school year. It is always a new year with new energy coming in. The energy I bring into the classroom in the next couple of weeks is like sowing the seedling for the year tree. I love to sing while I work and look for inspirational quotes to frame for the room.

Last year I was inspired by this quote:

Love is a choice you make from moment to moment.

by Barbara de Angelis

It is a precious time, thinking of all the little people who will come to the classroom. To make the transition still a little sweeter I began a ritual of making sweetened fruit tea. The children love it too. I drink it with the children, and we have some around for the rest of the day.

I usually use Trader Joe's organic raspberry tea, brew it in a nice big pot, add a helping of honey and it is ready to drink, almost like juice. A little delicious sweetness for your morning.

popover's with blueberry butter

While feeling low on the weekend we decided to pep up our day with some popover's. I found the inspiration here. They sure were a hit in our household. They were tiny since I used our mini muffin tin, but that almost made them more fun.

We ate them with delicious blueberry butter. Oh, it all was so good and did the trick because we all felt a little more peppy in the end! :)

Yes, he enjoyed it....

...and so did she.

you know that summer is here....

.... when all she wants to eat is fruit and yogurt. And since the temperatures are really climibing high right now we are back to having a fruit salad + yogurt daily. With a little cinnamon on top, helps the digestion and is helpful in maintaining your blood sugar level.

"Mmmh Yumy" (like Mateo exclaimed)

falafel

The other night I made Falafel's from scratch. Being Vegetarians I am usually looking for other new ways to mix protein into our diet.

Everyone loved them, including the children. I served them with homemade Tzatziki, cherry tomatoes, flat bread and lettuce. Quick, yummy and fun to put together!

Falafel

16 oz. can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans.

1 large onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon cumin

2 tablespoons flour

Salt

Pepper

Oil for frying

Drain chickpeas, and place in pan with fresh water, and bring to a boil.

Allow to boil for 5 minutes, then let simmer on low for about an hour.

Drain and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper (to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.

Mash chickpeas, ensuring to mix ingredients together. You can also combine ingredients in a food processor. You want the result to be a thick paste.

Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball. Slightly flatten.

Fry in 2 inches of oil at 350 degrees until golden brown (5-7 minutes).

Serve hot.

Enjoy!

lots of baking happening

This was a busy weekend. We helped our dear friend Barbara move, Theodore went to two conferences and we, well, we did a lot of baking at home (among many other things, like raking the yard and spring cleaning our living room).

(Sorry for the yellow picture, it was already too dark to go outside for better light)

On Saturday I had to try this French bread recipe. Her blog is wonderful and she is a very good cook. I never doubt her recipes! As it was, the bread tasted delicious, and if I had started before we were already hungry and impatient, I think it would have been even better. Next time I will try to keep that in mind!!!!

Today we made our favorite mini blue berry muffins. The children love that they are so tiny and cute. Since our vegan friends joined us I supplemented oil for the butter, molasses for honey, rice milk for cow milk, and applesauce for the egg. They still turned out very yummy and moist.

Here is the altered and regular recipe:

1 3/4 c flour (I mixed ww with white)

1/3 c molasses or sugar or honey

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c fresh or thawed blueberries

3/4 c rice milk or milk

2 Tbs apple sauce or 1 egg

1/3 c canola oil or butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 400F. Combine the flour, sugar (I added the molasses with the liquid ingredients), baking powder, and salt. Mix with mixer on medium speed. Add the blue berries, oil (butter), either milk, egg or apple sauce and molasses (if that is what you are using). Mix well. Fill cups half way and bake until tops are slightly browned and spring back when touched.

If you use a mini pan, baking takes only about 10 minutes or less.

We are ending our Sunday with home made pizza. I used the kitchen aid recipe and just used whole wheat flour for half the flour amount.

Crusty Pizza Dough

Yield 4 Servings

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 c warm water (I needed a little more water due to the whole wheat flour)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp olive oil

2 1/2- 3 1/2 c flour

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed mixer bowl. Add salt, olive oil, and 2 1/2 c flour. Mix for about a minute. Add remaining flour and mix until dough clings to hook. Let the dough rise for about 1 hour.

Press dough into 14- inch brushed pan. Add toppings as desired. Bake at 450F for 15- 20 minutes.

The pizza is in the oven as I type. I love how the smell fills our home and it makes me hungry! Of course for each recipe I used my new kitchen aid and therefore everything was even more fun!

Bon Appetit!

thank you for my kitchenaid

This really is a post for Dede, since she just bought me this amazing machine, or is it my extra pair of hands?

Thank you Dede! It has already come in handy as I tried out a new peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe. (It turned out yummy!)

The next day I was so glad for this addition in my kitchen, as I had to make two batches of sugar cookie dough and cream cheese frosting for our valentine's celebration at school.

Now that we have a long weekend, I think I will try other recipes as well.

Thank you again, Dede, I am grateful for this wonderful early birthday present.

Love,

Julia

valuable event

Haven't written much, because I have been trying to keep up with everything that is right in front of me. I had three extra meetings at work last week, students to understand and to find ways to help them, an event to plan and oh yes, Theodore's mom (Dede) was here with whom I of course wanted to spend some time with....

However, last weekend after I left all the not so clear cut situations and went to the store to buy some nice flowers which I cut up and put in predictable vases! The event was for YS, which is the foundation Theodore is starting. We are in the plans of starting a charter high school. I am a big supporter (little bias, I know) of Young Spirit. Looking at our education system, (I want to say again system because I know there are many very amazing and brilliant teachers out there working harder then most people can imagine and yet have to fight and work against this system that we call education) there is something really important missing. We are not just educating and teaching little brains and bodies. We are teaching a person, who grows up and needs to find a place in this crazy world. Of course we all can and most of us have gone through the "system", but don't you think we can do better? YS is trying to create a space where children can learn about themselves, about others, and finding a place for themselves!

Last weekend we had a fundraiser to support this valuable cause and for that I put some food together. Others helped of course, donating contributions.

I made open sandwiches. They turned out not just cute, but delicious as well!

We had white table cloths, with vases of flowers and glass jars with candles in them, and delicious finger food. The musicians were the best. I had no idea how much you can get out of a gitar. Theodore's mom sang beautifully, the dancer was lovely dancing to a poem by Hafiz, and the band at the end made us all rock and rock the clean up super fast!

A huge Thank you to everyone who participated. Lets keep spreading the word of YS, with each event we are consistently growing!

Happy Thanksgiving!

sun bread for the letter s

Our letter of the week is Ss and we are celebrating. There are many different types of learners and we each remember, take in, and perceive things very differently. In order to experience the sound, name and shape of the letter in as many different ways as we can, we always use different mediums to work with the letter.

Today we baked Sunbread!

The project started with this amazing book. Sun Bread by Eliza Kleven. Her work most definately belongs to one of my favorites. Her illustrations are very intricate and charming.

Later that afternoon we created our own sun bread. The children gleed with joy when they saw this beauty coming out of the oven.

Everyone had a delightful time eating it. I don't think they will ever forget that Sun begins with the sound ssss and starts with the letter SSS!

Mission accomplished!!!!!

apple pumpkin ginger soup

I am helping a very dear friend to organize an event. Her spiritual teacher is here to visit, holding public talks and interviews. It is a rare privilege for her (and everyone invited) to have him here. We want to make everything of course, beautiful.

She asked me to help cook their lunch for today. It just had to be this recipe. The ingredients are perfect considering the season. The soup blends the different characteristics of pumpkin, candied ginger and spiced apple cider beautifully.

Of course a batch of rolls had to be made as well!!

Give the recipe a try, I think you will want to have a copy in your recipe box!

Apple Pumpkin Soup

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tblsp butter

1 15 ounce can of pumpkin

1 c water

2 c apple cider

3 cubes veggie bouillon

1 apple, chopped

salt, to taste

2 tsp white pepper

1/3 c crystallized ginger, chopped

sour cream (optional)

Saute onion with butter lightly in large pot. First stirr in the veggie bouillon cubes. Add the apples (gently heating them will bring out their natural sweetness more). Now add pumpkin, water, apple cider, salt, white pepper and the ginger. Cover and simmer for about an 1 hour. Blend everything with a blender.

Serve with sour cream!

ENJOY!!!!

learning english through cooking

Once a week I tutor a little friend in English. To say we are learning and are having fun is an understatement!

I am always looking to give her a hands on experience to explore our language. Today we baked together talking through each step of the way, learning the names of all the ingredients and utensils we used.

The most important part for her? "Are we going to eat them too?"

Yes, of course we will, after we take off our aprons and hang them back on the hooks. :)

Because she loves to color in and to review all the words, we made a pictorial recipe. We ran out of time, (of course) but she was enthusiastic and talking in English for 45 minutes, and she was having FUN!!!!

german pancakes/ deutsche pfannkuchen

I guess there is such a thing as comfort food, at least for me. Besides mashed potatoes I love my mom's german pancake recipe! Today was a day that needed to end with these, and so I made two patches. One topped with spinach, tofu, sour cream, soy sauce and thyme and the other patch I made with apples and cinnamon.

This recipe looks pretty good too!

We even had enough to take with us for lunch at work and school tomorrow!

Thank you mom for teaching me how to make these delicious pancakes! Sophia and Mateo loved them too!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ich glaube ja es gibt so etwas wie Trustfutter, jedenfals fuer mich. Neben Kartoffelpuerre liebe ich die Pfannekuchen meine Mutter macht. Heute war so ein Tag, der mit diesen Pfannekuchen enden sollte. Ich habe zwei Sorten gemacht. Eins mit Spinat, Tofu, Schmand, Soja Sosse und Thymian. Die anderen habe ich mit Apfel und Zimt gebacken.

Wir haben sogar genug gehabt dass wir morgen welche mit zur Arbeit und Schule nehmen koennen.

Danke Mama dass du mir gezeigt hast wie man Pfannekuchen mach! Der Sophia und dem Mateo haben sie auch sehr gut geschmeckt!

delicious chili bean soup

Today was the first fall day with rain here in California. To celebrate the moment I made my favorite chili. It is simple, relatively quick to make and yet gives you that warm, nourishing feeling that I love in the fall/winter time.

Here is the recipe for you to enjoy as well:

Chili Bean Soup

prep time:60-65 minutes

makes:4 moderate servings

2 Tbs. safflower or canola oil

2 cups finely chopped red or yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups diced green bell pepper

4 1/2 cups water

2 unsalted vegetable bouillon cubes

1 16-oz. can whole tomatoes, incl juice from can

2 15-oz. cans pinto, kidney, or black beans, drained and rinsed

3/4 cup fresh or frozen corn

1 tsp. cumin

3/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp. oregano

large pinch to 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 cup cooked brown or white rice (optional)

1/3 cup sour creak (optional)

1/2 Tbs. finely chopped cilantro (optional)

To Prepare

1. Warm oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to turn a pale golden color, about 12 to 15 minutes.

2. Add water and bouillon cubes. Break tomatoes into bite-sized pieces and add along with the juice from the can. Add beans. Stir in corn and spices. Add rice (if desired). Increase heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Garnish soup (if desired) with dollops of sour cream and sprinkles of cilantro and serve.

I actually use salted broth and leave out the salt later. I have a favorite veggie broth called "better than bouillon" and will only use this kind. Once I find my favorite products I am stuck with them. ;)

I also usually don't add the rice, but instead serve some fresh baked bread with it. I do

usually serve with sour cream though!!! ;)

Guten Appetit!!!