Time She Started Pullin' Her Weight Around Here!

I have started Abby on the road of true personal satisfaction - I have allowed her into my kitchen. Now, don't get me wrong, she has practically been there since birth. She has "helped" me plenty up til now but never has she really prepared anything before. When I started looking over her curriculum for the 2nd semester of our little Crane Family Homeschool, I realized that she was really interested in the "Domestic Arts" and that I was more than able to teach her these things as part of our larger lesson plan. We started a unit on sewing right away and I also started allowing her to help plan, purchase ingredients for, and prepare one home-cooked meal per week. We didn't start off with cereal or anything, but with a real dinner (and one she should be proud of). I left out the meat since that invites a whole new aspect to the cooking process (germs and bacteria and all) and helped her pick out a meal that any vegetarian would devour. She chose Cooking Light's Spagattini with Olive Oil and Garlic. She was able to follow all of the steps and it was a delicious success! She even practiced her hostessing skills by serving up sensible portions to everyone else first and herself last. I am so proud of my budding chef!

Feelin' Better

Well, cold and flu season is in full-swing out there and even while homeschooling, we have had our share of little sneezes, sniffles and fevers. Last year, we all had the flu - the real flu. Abby and Ford got Tamiflu and thankfully, Ford never really came down with it because he started taking the Tamiflu before his symptoms started. He would have had to put off his surgery otherwise so that was a huge blessing. Abby, however, had a fever one night over 105. That's scary stuff, let me tell you. I also fared pretty poorly, with secondary infections all over and a total length of illness over one month. Anyway, we're fairly home-bound right now but we still pick up little germs here and there. This past Sunday, Ford got suddenly hit by something and had a fever of 103.6. He slept and slept all afternoon and when he awoke, fever considerably down, I administered the best medicine I know of: chicken soup.

Now, there is chicken soup and there is chicken soup! Whether canned or restaurant prepared, nothing else compares to what you can make in your own kitchen. The medical establishment used to down-play this long touted home remedy but recently have began to identify a mysterious "property" that chicken soup contains that actually does help the immune system. I think what they're looking for is nothing less than a good ole dose of TLC - but it may have more to do with bone marrow and spices. Every batch of my soup seems to improve and come closer to perfection as I discover a new flavor to add or an even better noodle. Here is my latest version which perked Ford up in time to attend Yoga Sprouts on Tuesday.

CHICKEN SOUP

2-4 Bone-In Chicken Breasts

1 Medium Onion, quartered

2 Cloves of garlic, crushed

2 Stalks of Celery, quartered

1-2 Stalks of Rosemary

Place these five ingredients in a large pot and cover with water. Poach chicken breasts about 45 minutes, or until flesh is cooked and no longer pink.

Remove chicken from pot and place on cutting board to cool.

Strain broth into a second large pot and cool slightly. Skim off as much fat as possible, either using a spoon, the end of a rolled-up paper towel, or other method.

Place broth pot on stove and heat to boiling. Add to stock:

1 Cup Carrots, peeled and chopped

8 Oz Noodles (use something small like the new Piccolini bow tie pasta that stays very small when cooked) Cook 8 minutes, or until pasta is al dente

While pasta is cooking, discard skin from chicken breasts and tear chicken off the bone. Add torn chicken to the soup along with

1 tsp Cumin

a few dashes of Turmeric

a few dashes of Coriander

Salt, to taste

Ladle into bowls and allow to cool slightly before serving to your little ones with Saltine Crackers. There really is something to chicken soup. It may be a miracle drug or it just may be that the comfort it lends helps the body to heal. Whatever the case, don't take any shortcuts here and serve Chicken and Stars - NO! In just a little while, with a few ingredients you probably already have on hand, you can make a delicious bowl of soup that would make your grandmother proud. Stay well out there!

Enjoyin' Birthdays - Crane Family Style

We do birthdays right around here. Abby just had her 6th birthday and it includes a full day of delicious fare, all chosen by her.

Birthday Breakfast in Bed: everyone gets breakfast in bed on your birthday, even the kids. Of course, they don't really want to eat in their own beds, so ours (complete with TV) does very nicely. On the menu for Abby's birthday? Ricotta Cheese Blueberry Pancakes, tropical fruit salad, tropical blend of juices.

Birthday Lunch Out: a la Brett's Casual American! Great menu - great prices - and great people own it. This is fast becoming my favorite restaurant in town!

Birthday Dinner: Don't ask me where this one came from, except that it is one of her favorite meals. I promise, there's nothing pretentious about it! On the menu: Croque Monseiurs, .... and a "cake" actually consisting of Krispy Kreme Donughts stacked into a tower. Oh la la! I highly reccommend the Krispy Kreme idea if you need a cake fast or your kid just really likes doughnuts. It was super-easy, super-fast and super-delicious! We finished them all in the bat of an eye!!