A WEEK OF BREAKFASTS: 3These apple pancakes tasted like a cross between a funnel cake and an apple fritter. As you can imagine, all the kids loved them! Sweet enough with just the dusting of powdered sugar, we didn't even bother with maple syrup.
A little time-consuming, considering the apple grating (though the kids loved grating the apples), these will probably be reserved for special occasion breakfasts. The recipe, which I modified slightly, is below. To see the original recipe + drool-inducing pictures, go here.

Apple Pancakes

2 eggs, well beaten
3/4 cup of milk
3/4 cup of vanilla yogurt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sucanat
3 medium apples, peeled and coarsely grated (I used fuji)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Vegetable oil, for frying
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

1. Mix the eggs with the milk or yogurt in a large bowl.

2. In a smaller bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together.

3. Combine the wet and the dry ingredients and stir in the apples and whatever other flavorings you see fit.

4. Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet over low to medium heat. Drop large spoonful of batter into the pan and flatten it out a little (otherwise, you might have trouble getting them to cook in the center) and cook until golden brown underneath. Flip the pancakes and cook them for an additional two or three minutes.

5. Either dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately, or keep on a tray in a warmed oven until you are ready to serve them.

A WEEK OF BREAKFASTS: 2My oldest son's favorite: plain yogurt, sweetened with agave and vanilla, topped with warm granola. Pecans, almonds, raisins, mango, and cherries were the add-ins of choice for this week's batch of crock pot granola.

A WEEK OF BREAKFASTSWe are in full on apple-season mode around here and apples make their way into almost every meal...as well as being munched on throughout the day. Our family consumes upwards of 10-12 apples a day and we aren't even close to getting sick of them. That's what I really love about eating seasonally. When you wait all year for apples (or pears, or blueberries, or strawberries, or corn...) to come into season, that first bite of that first apple is LIFE ALTERING. That might be a bit of a stretch but just barely **happy sigh**.
We are especially enjoying the warm, cozy breakfasts of fall. There are not many things as nice as snuggling up in warm pajamas with a bowl of warm oatmeal. I wanted to share some of the breakfasts we are really enjoying this season at our house. So, for the next few days, I am going to be doing A WEEK OF BREAKFASTS.
What foods are you loving at your house right now?

This morning, we had one of my middle boys' favorites: oatmeal topped with chopped apples, cinnamon, and a sprinkle of turbinado sugar. I like mine sprinkled with walnuts too.

A RAINY, STAY AT HOME DAY
Baking Bread
Reading on the couch
Homeschooling
Folding laundry
Sipping Cider
Long naps
Stacks of books
Nursing
Chasing the dog
Listening to bluegrass

Just a few of the things that we are doing on this rainy, cozy, ordinary-and-lovely day at home. Lots of thoughts swirling in my head but getting them from brain to computer has been quite the challenge. We are finding a new rhythm and things are settling in. Hope to find time to write here more soon.

A QUIET FRIDAY NIGHTI love that time of night when everyone is sleeping and the house is still. It is some of my best thinking time. And, domestic chores that can seem like drudgery in the daytime, become peaceful meditations when done by the light of a single lamp while the mind is allowed to wander freely without interruption.So I spent my Friday night standing in my laundry room, folding the mountains of clean sheets, shirts, shorts...
And when I was done, I was able to enjoy this rare sight...an empty laundry hamper.

HANDMADE GIFTSThis has been a lovely week full of baby-gift surprises. Wonderful, handmade gifts, sent to me from far off places and delivered to my door step by friends, all unexpected and very much appreciated.
My sister-in-law's sister brought me these sweet jars of baby food she had made. Green beans, squash, and apples. The apples had been picked from my parent's trees, then made into baby food.
My blog friend, Becky, who I have never actually met in person sent me this adorable woodland baby rattle that she knitted.
One of my mother's best friends (and a friend of mine, as well), Katy, made me these sweet baby washcloths!
My friend, Katherine, embroidered these onesies by hand for Wilder. I love that she bought the onesies second hand too. I definitely appreciate thriftiness and the time she took to make them personal for us.
Besides these wonderful handmade gifts, many, many friends have brought us wonderful meals that have been such a blessing and have alleviated so much stress. I am so thankful to live in community with so many selfless, thoughtful friends. Thank you for ministering to me, and to my family, during this time of transition. I am so thankful.

I AM STILL ALIVEI seem to have lost my blogging mojo. Don't know where it went. I just don't have a lot to say that hasn't already been said better, somewhere else. I am sure it will pass. In the meantime, I am in new baby heaven. I pretty much want to do nothing else but kiss on this sweet baby morning, noon, and night. Food and showering aren't that important right now :)

Harrison Wilder (going by Wilder)
August 7th, 2009
7:25 AM
7 pounds, 6 ounces
20 inches long

Oh, I am going to be posting more regularly here again, if you are interested in reading about my weight loss/fitness/raw food life. I like to keep myself accountable and honest there *grin*.

SUMMER FOOD LOVE
There are a few foods that I just can't get enough of this summer. I haven't tried many new recipes, sticking more with the simple, tried and true, in season, local. But, in my opinion, that is the best eating!
One simple recipe that I love is fresh bing cherries, cooked down in a balsamic-brown sugar reduction, over vanilla bean ice cream. Oh. My. Goodness. I don't really know amounts, and they aren't important anyway. Just pit a bunch of cherries and throw them in a skillet with a generous amount of melted butter. Really, do be generous. This isn't the recipe to try and cut calories. And please, whatever you do, don't use some fake nasty stuff. No margarine or Can't Believe It's Not Butter or whatever. If you are tempted to use something fake, don't even bother with this recipe.
Anyway, to the melted butter and cherries, add some brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. If I had to give amounts, I would say somewhere in the ballpark of 1/2-1 stick of butter, maybe 1/2 cup of brown sugar, and 1/8 a cup of balsamic vinegar. But really, change it as much as you like. Cook it all down for awhile, maybe 10 minutes or so, and spoon it warm over vanilla ice cream. A gingersnap or biscotti would be a wonderful addition too.
Another summer staple around here has been the personal pizzas. I know, nothing earth shattering but it has consistently been making our family happy 1-2 nights a week. Making personal pizza crusts takes almost no more time than making one large crust but the fun factor is increased exponentially. I don't have a pizza crust recipe that I love yet, I am still experimenting. If you have a tried and true one you use, please share it! For now, I have been using different recipes, and often resorting to the cheap, prepackaged crusts that you just add water to and roll out. I bake them for about 5 minutes, put them on plates, and set out different toppings on the counter and the boys have a blast topping their own pizzas. We do this a lot on Mondays, when the hubby and I go on date night. Letting the boys make personal pizzas and watch a movie makes the night special for them too.
The boys typically keep it simple with sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. I love fresh spinach, feta, thin slices of tomato, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, caramelized onions, etc. I will often top mine with whatever fresh produce needs to be used up such as squash (lots of squash this time of year!). The personal pizzas are great for quick lunches after a morning in the pool and the kids really love the chance to make their pizza just the way they want it.
We have also been enjoying lots of other quintessentially summer foods...
corn on the cob
low country boil
fresh berries
fruit and yogurt parfaits with homemade granola

What foods are you loving this summer?

FAMILY CONNECTIONS
I have been thinking a lot lately about family and siblings and brothers, as we are only seven short weeks from bringing another family member home. I have been enjoying the laid back pace of summer with my boys, spending hours every day with my tired feet propped up, watching them play in the pool, wrestle, build legos, and just do fun little brother things together.

I have been thinking about how fast their childhoods are going by. My oldest just lost his first tooth. He is starting first grade this fall, which just seems so much more serious than kindergarten. I am seeing him really change and mature and while I am proud and happy, I am also sad. I just want to freeze this time, hold on to them a little longer. I don't know why I seem to enjoy my children so much more during the summer. I just love to watch them at the beach or pool, their sweet little tan bodies running around. Gosh, they are just so cute!! And they get along so much better. I love to see them relating with each other. I love to see them comfort each other and help each other and to feel safe with each other.

I was encouraged as I thought about my own brothers (pictured above, with my Dad). We were also homeschooled and spent a lot of time together building forts, playing in the woods, dressing up, getting in trouble. I realized a few weeks ago that I have not lived in the same house as my siblings in ten years. We all are doing our own thing, living our own lives, having different experiences. It is weird to think about how different our lives are now, these people that I knew better than anyone else for most of my life. One brother is about to be deployed to Iraq (bottom in picture). One just graduated college and is trying to decide what direction to go next (far right). And the other brother is in school and married (top). In spite of the years it has been since we lived in the same home, we are still close. One brother was here at my house tonight, playing with the boys and talking to Matt about life. Within the last hour, I have spoken to my other two brothers on the phone. I am very thankful for those family connections that have changed and matured over the years. I am thankful for all the history that we share, the inside jokes, the memories, the traditions.

And even though sometimes I am sad to see my children growing up so fast, I am encouraged when I think about the relationships that I have with my siblings and the hope that I have that these years my boys have in the same house will also result in strong ties as adults. I hope that they will feel a companionship and safety and confidence in their brothers because of their time together as children.

(I also have a little sister, Darcie, who is ten. I was almost eighteen when she was born. I could say a lot about her and how she uniquely changed and added to our family but this particular stream of consciousness was more about my childhood interactions with my brothers. Not trying to leave Darcie out though!).

TODAY FROM THE FARMER'S MARKETI didn't get much today and only spent $12. Plus, the prices had fallen on a lot of the produce, as it is becoming more abundant. People who think that fresh produce is too expensive have obviously never eaten in-season foods in an agricultural area. It is dirt cheap this time of year in south GA.

10 pounds of peaches $9 (they are only $0.50 a pound if you go to the farm and pick yourself. I will probably go in July).
8 ears of corn $1.50
1 onion $0.50
4 squash $1

I admit, I was a little disappointed in the corn this week. It was small to begin with, and once I shucked them, half of the cobs were eaten up with worms. I saw another vendor whose corn looked much bigger and better but I had already purchased this corn. Next week I will probably purchase from the other vendor. For $1.50, I am not going to get too upset about it. The corn that was left was still very good!

Caedmon was interviewed for the local news and his thoughts on the farmer's market were very cute (he said that the sweet corn is what keeps him coming back every week. That, and seeing the chickens and dogs.).

After we left the farmer's market, we made a spontaneous trip to my parent's house where everyone pitched in to pick me at least two days worth of blueberries (1 1/2 gallons) while I stood at the bushes and ate them as fast as I could pick them. :)

I love Saturday mornings.