November 2012 – Page 3 – a hippie with a minivan

3,780

Do you know what that number means?

It is the amount of days that I have been breastfeeding. Non stop…

First a newborn,

then a toddler nursing throughout a pregnancy,

then a newborn and a toddler,

then a toddler and a little kid throughout a pregnancy,

then a newborn, a toddler and a little kid,

then the little kid got big and turned five and weaned…

then back to a toddler and a little kid,

then two little kids nursing throughout a pregnancy,

then another turned 5 and weaned,

then I was left with a little kid nursing and still pregnant,

then a newborn and a big kid,

then the big kid weaned and I just had a toddler…

and now she is a little kid and still loves her “maju”

If I use a conservative number and say that in average over the 3 780 days that I have been nursing, I have nursed 4 hours a day during that time. Nursing newborns, tandem nursing, triandem nursing, nursing for nourishment, nursing to sleep, nursing for comfort, nursing through sickness and nursing on normal days just because…

I will have already spent more than 15 000 hours breastfeeding.

Pretty amazing isn’t it?

Baba Ganoush

If you have never had it or you are wondering what Baba Ganoush is, it is really not as strange as it sounds.

Baba Ganoush is made from smoky roasted eggplant, Tahini (Sesame paste) lemon juice, garlic and a few herbs and spices. It is creamy and has a subtle smoky flavour that is greatly paired with crisp tortilla chips straight out of the oven or next to fresh-cut veggies. Though the traditional spread is not made with chickpeas, I add them in to add a bit of bulk and make it more of a complete meal, yet I don’t add enough to change the taste. So maybe this is more a Baba Ganoush style humus if you were really getting technical.

It had been quite a while since I had made it and I kept on forgetting until I found some eggplants in the discount section at the grocery store. A little bruised but perfect for roasting. Wilhelmina fell in love with it and ate it with tortilla chips the night I made it and then ate more for various snacks and even breakfast in the days after with carrot sticks and sliced red peppers. I bought more eggplants this weekend because she was asking for more once it was gone.

Ingredients:

2 large eggplants
2/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
1 1/4 teaspoons Kosher or coarse Sea Salt
Juice of 1 lemon, freshly squeezed
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
2 tablespoon olive oil
a half bunch flat-leaf parsley
1 can of Chickpeas (about 2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 tsp of smoked paprika (or)
- a few dashes of liquid smoke*

* The smoked paprika or the liquid smoke add an amazing depth to the Baba Ganoush. You don’t want to overdo either though, especially the liquid smoke, so use sparingly and adjust at the end as needed.

Preheat the oven to 375.
Prick each eggplant a few times, then broil in the oven until the skin blackens turning over a few times. Keep a close eye on them to not overdo it.
Place the eggplants on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until they’re completely soft. You will able to prick them easily without resistance.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Split the eggplant and scrape out the pulp. Place the pulp in the blender or food processor with the other ingredients and process until smooth.
Taste, and adjust seasonings.
Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of chile powder or smoked paprika

For the Chips:

Preheat oven to 400
Combine a tsp of garlic powder, a tsp of chile powder, 1/4 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp of salt to a few tbsp of olive oil.
Cut some tortillas into wedges and place on a baking sheet.
Brush the wedges with the seasoned oil and bake a few min until crisp. They will cook fast so keep an eye on them and take them out when golden.

More Crafts

During the daytime I find it hard to get into the sewing room. I mean, I don’t mind when Wilhelmina is with me, though she does get into everything. But it is when she is not with me that I worry what she is getting into because she is the type of kid that is always getting into something.

So during the day, while the kids are doing their own thing and I have done what I want to do around the house, I either read, which doesn’t work for long because I am always interrupted or I am on the computer and honestly I am getting sick of it. The computer is such a waste of time. I read the news, read a few blogs, go on Facebook, search for things the kids ask me, check a few random sites, get lost on Pinterest or Foodgawker, watch a TV show online etc… but really what I am doing? Not that much… at least nothing that I feel really good about at the end of the day.

So I decided that I would get back into Knitting and Crochet. I have known the basics of knitting since I was a kid, but I have never really made anything more than a swatch, and I tried a bit of crochet a few years ago but didn’t really get far into it. I had the tools that were passed down to me years ago, and I am now taking the time.

I got all of my things out last week and used one day to practice knitting using the Stitch N’ Bitch book that my friend Gen passed on to me. I had never really lost the technique but I just got my hands used to the motions again.

The next day I taught myself how to Crochet.

I started by the basics: making a chain, single, half-double, double etc and then after not long, I made my first granny square.

I am now working on a different type of square that I will be able to piece together into a blanket. I love being able to do something that I have something to show for at the end of the day and that I can do when I am with the family and not hidden in my sewing room. I also love that I can do it and it doesn’t matter if I am interrupted.

What is also great is that Colin is interested in learning how to knit now and Wilhelmina has been playing with a ball of yarn and crochet hook and wants to do like me. Maybe this will catch on.

Meals for the week…

Over the years I have tried to start this as a weekly thing but I only do a few weeks and then I forget.

So here is to another try… and as a bonus I will add last week’s meals also.

Last week we had an all vegetarian week which is something I love to do because I feel so much better eating vegetarian meals, however, my family is not as much on board. We have figured out that pork and chicken just doesn’t agree with any of us much anymore, so we will not be making many meals with those ingredients except for a few exceptions. However, we do enjoy beef, and I have a good butcher, so this week I am adding back a bit of meat so that the rest of the family is happier.

Last week:

Homemade Baba Ganoush (or hummus as I made it with eggplant and chickpeas) with homemade pita chips
General Tso Tofu (using this recipe but with Tofu)
Spinach Salad with Roasted Veggies and Garlic Bread
Homemade Pizza
Spinach Salad and Perogies
Snack for supper (bread, cheese and other snack things)

This week:

Homemade Poutine (request from the boys) while Simon and I made do with other things
Hamburgers made with local beef, my homemade buns and Salad
Pasta with meatballs and tomato sauce
Beef, Red Pepper and Udon Noodles
Salad, Roasted Veggies and Garlic Bread
Tofu and Coconut Quinoa
Falafel with Taratoor Sauce

Do you plan your meals in advance? If you are interested in knowing more about my menu planning, check out this post.

More than 2 weeks in…

I am now on day 16 of NaBloPoMo (National Blog Posting Month) in which the goal is to post a blog post a day for a whole month.

Surprisingly it hasn’t been too hard up to now. I think the habit of writing everyday is sinking in slowly and now I find myself thinking about posting and trying to find things to post about. I used to look at the my blog dashboard and shy away because it was no longer a habit and now it is feeling natural again. (though I do look forward to having a small break)

I have been wanting to write a few parenting posts and I have a few subject that I know I want to touch on, or go back on, since many of my posts are now a bit outdated. (for me) But, each time I sit down to write one I have trouble getting the words out. It is like that idea is there, but the passion that I need to write it is just not there at the moment.

That got me to thinking of why. I think that one of the ways posting was made easier over the years was to participate in online forums. If you have even been active on an online forum you will know that not only are they a “time-suck” but they are also breeding grounds for drama. I would read or participate in a post and then I would come here and rant and let all of my opinions out. That is of course how and why my blog started in the first place.

I need to find a way to find that voice somewhere else now. I don’t want to be sucked into the drama anymore, but I enjoy sharing my parenting views and I believe that there are people that like reading them also. So I am going to make an effort to find that passion in another way so that I can get these posts out of my head and onto the blog where they belong. I am also going to go back to a few of my older posts and re-work them and include the parenting experience that I have now.

Stay tuned…