Waldorf Wednesday: A Retreat

A dream retreat for a Waldorf mama; a cabin in beautiful woods along a lively river with two good friends who share a love for knitting, deep conversations, chocolate and red wine.

Simple French Food: Recipes and Hints

As a part of my tribute to simple cooking, I am re-publishing our own recipes from years ago. I realized that the "search" feature on Blogger does not work for posts older than one year. So, here are my favorites again: 

What to eat with your beautifully cooked chicken: (those instructions below)? How about green beans, or maybe zuccini? Here is a simple way to cook up a vegetable

A Day Off? Letter-Writing, The Blood-Red Moon

I woke up this morning and thought that maybe we needed a day off. I sat down with my tea to contemplate what that would look like, and opened up the MCC *(Mennonite Central Committee) review we receive. I read about a day in the life of Congolese refugee children and their mother in a camp where they have lived since 2009. I realized that every single day of my life IS a day off. It is all about perspective.

Refreshed and ready then, I thought I would share our "back-to-letter-writing-campagn,"

Signs Not to Ignore

Sometimes I know that the task set before me may not be easy, but I feel the utter necessity of following through if my kids are going to grow up to be anything more than dissatisfied adults with unfulfilled lives full of tv, bad food and lite beer.

Self-Directed Science Study

...and family support and supervision. While researching targets for knife-throwing, Charles came across a recipe for making a cork explosive. Between just these two activities, I believe that our lives would be more complicated in a less understanding, less compassionate neighborhood. So, here is the family, out to watch as, after a whole day of reading, diagramming and assembling, my son:

Apple-Picking: Wordless Wednesday-or Thursday...

Latin, Stars, Sailing, Car Washes and Dance

What a vast richness fill our lives. My oldest, Cate, is sailing in Madison today with the U of I sailing club. The next oldest, Duncan, is busy writing music when he is not in his two high school classes or at work, washing cars. He's rediscovered his skate board and is even biking more. Nothing like not having a driver's license yet to motivate one to new levels of locomotion.

Latin is back in our school days, to my great pleasure. Charles expressed an interest in learning Latin and I, super-casually, exercising great restraint, armed with only 3 of my 4 Latin courses, jumped right on that. He is surprised to see that because of his knowledge of Spanish and French, many Latin words make sense right away to him.

Lesson Plans: Grade 3, 5 and 8

I love this first week of school when everything is fresh and new, as well as the level of enthusiasm; it all seems possible. We will all speak fluent Spanish and read in Latin by the end of THIS school year. They will be performing at a 12th grade level in math and writing stories and reports that put a college freshman to shame. No, I guess I never was ambitious in that way...or not to that extent. I periodically rewrite

Leek and Potato Soup: The Base of French Cuisine

Leek and Potato Soup, the Base of French Cuisine

This is a recipe that all of my children over five know how to make, easy and delicious.
3 leeks
3 potatoes
1 large or 2 small bouillon cubes or 1T "Better than Bouillon" any flavor
salt, pepper

Fill a 3-4 quart pot with water, add salt, heat to boil
Cut leeks lengthwise and chop into 1/2 inch slices, soak, wash, rinse, repeat until all sand and dirt is gone (2-3 times).
Wash and peel potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
Put both into pot, add bouillon, bring to boil then lower flame to simmer for 30 minutes.

Once soup is finished, you may add pepper, if desired. It can be served as is, or pureed in a blender. Some kids prefer it pureed and served with a straw, it goes down faster when it's new.

Variations: add any other vegetables, a hamhock for non-vegetarians. Pierre's grandmother adds beans (Great Northern), carrots and angel hair pasta (the short variety).

If you are planning to eat a chicken that week, plan the soup for the next day. Chicken soup recipe for tomorrow.

Serve with a loaf of bread. And it would be a shame to forget the red wine.

Millionth Vegetarian Clam Chowder

Once upon a time, I had a fantastic recipe for a soup that the whole family loved. Everywhere this soup was brought, it made taste buds happy. And I could bring it anywhere; it was vegetarian! Then, the cooking website I always found it on no longer had it there; just like that. I searched through every single option offered on every food and recipe network/website and blog available; nowhere. So I had to re-make it up, and it took me this long. Tonight, after months of it turning out "OK," I tasted it; success? I think so...I had my mate and taste-tester with no compunctions about telling me; "eh, so-so," try it too. His verdict: "Success!" So I will share it, below. It's more or less my millionth attempt to get it right.

Do everything exactly as I say and it will turn out to be a treat, I promise. But tell me you substituted skim milk for the cream or celery salt or chili powder for the real things and all bets are off.  Bon appetit!

Millionth Vegetarian Clam Chowder

Oyster mushrooms (10 oz. fresh) (1.5 oz. dried)
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup chopped celery stick
1T Better than Bouillon (vegetable flavor) (or for a non-vegetarian, delicious version: beef)
2-3 red potatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1/4 of a dried chipotle pepper
1 1/2 c whole whipping cream
1/2-1 sheet of dried seaweed, ripped to tiny shreds 

For fresh mushrooms: chop and saute in olive oil with chopped celery and minced garlic until tender; 5 minutes. (For dried, see below.) Continue to simmer for 20 minutes or so to reduce. Boil a quart of water.

Add bouillon to boiling water. Add potatoes and mushroom mix. Cook 10 minutes. Add corn and chipotle pepper. Adjust salt to taste. When corn is hot (5 minutes or so), add the whipping cream and seaweed. Warm through and serve hot. 

For dried mushrooms: soak for 20-30 minutes (you can use the broth you've made with the bouillon.) Remove from water with a slotted spoon and add to the pan with the olive oil. 

Serve with a chilled Chardonnay or a dry Riesling. Homemade bread or a nice, crisp baguette goes well with it too. Now I'm making myself cry. If you find that baguette, drop one off here on your way home, will you? Enjoy!

Not in School: Poor Mom?

No, not "poor mom" and here's why: I keep hearing the joyful exclamations of parents about their children being back in school. I am joyful too; but because there is nowhere else I would rather be! Over the summer, I had a few misgivings about how things would feel in a house where the normal 4 or 5 children was suddenly reduced to 2 every morning. I even fleetingly thought they might be better off in school. Here are some of the things we are doing instead: (as well as yesterday's photos, all from my i-phone, of playing along the Mississippi. The first ones are of a walk we took after dropping off my son at high school Monday morning. Poor us.)

Homeschooling Along the River

The Mississippi
Ten Feet Away:

 From the Hilltop:

It Really is All About Rhythm

Our lives have been turned upside down with just a few flicks of the hands of the clock. Two nights ago, I was saying goodbye in my heart to my oldest; off to college yesterday. I did not sleep a wink. She slept like a baby, thank goodness,

Nature Study and Growing Monarchs

It has been a summer for camping, sailing, bonfires and way too much indoor time because of illness. Ordering monarch caterpillars was an idea that came before kids got sick, one after another, but it has been a wonderful starting point for observation and discussion of life cycles, metamorphosis and the botany we began in the spring in grade 5. A couple of days ago, our lovely critters began to emerge; this is number four and counting. It is so exciting! We have been growing milkweed for six years or so. It all began with our wonderful friends Henry and Vivian who brought us our first monarch caterpillars in mason jars, sealed with cheese cloth. They also brought along milkweed transplants for our backyard. We were all hooked from that very first magical chrysalis rimmed with gold and the naissant butterfly that was reborn out of it.

In the past two years, however, our milkweed seems to have been planted in vain. We had zero eggs or caterpillars two years ago and just one or two last summer. I did not exactly panic, but I do have to fight a little to keep the towering milkweed from being tidied up by some family members, and I wanted to make a difference in the restoration of these beautiful butterflies. So, this year, I ordered bugs, online, and they arrived already rather large and ready to go into chrysalis. Here is where you can find the company: Butterfly Bushes. I would recommend ordering as close to home as you can, so that you can enjoy the caterpillars for longer before they go into their next stage of life. However, this company is excellent: all 20 of the beasties arrived alive and we have had almost all of them survive to chrysalis form. 

We will be avidly observing our milkweed for eggs that may be left on the leaves, and hoping for our next crop or two of monarchs before fall. The children are really good at spotting them and bringing them in before they can be eaten by something else. 

It is the right time of year to raise them, if you have a desire to do so; as late as August the milkweed is still very nourishing, after that the success rate can decline because of the dwindling power left in the plant as autumn approaches. Happy butterfly discoveries!

Rice Salad; A Warm-Weather Simple Meal

Rice Salad

A summer staple in Southern France. Easy to prepare, keeps well, everyone seems to like it.

Rice, we like to use Basmati, but use your favorite. 11/2 cups (uncooked) for 5-6 people;