Gingersnaps

I've been making these gingersnaps for years. I think they're just beautiful and addictive, too! I use the recipe from Fannie Farmer's Baking Book, but I substitute butter for the shortening (no transfats in this house!). You will need to refrigerate your dough for at least 10 minutes before rolling though to ensure picture perfect cookies. I didn't refrigerate before the last batch and they weren't as uniform. The warmer bits of dough oozed out of formation.

Lentil ("dal") recipe

Many have been asking for the recipe to my lentil dish. I don't follow any specific recipe, so it's a little different every time (but it is inspired by a Deborah Madison recipe for dal). This is what I did the last time I made it:

Ingredients:
2 cups red lentils (which actually look orange), rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, diced
about 4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp. turmeric
1 15-oz. can of coconut milk
2 cans of water (plus a little extra just in case)
few tablespoons butter
salt to taste
cilantro (optional, for garnish)

Add butter to a pot or Dutch oven. Heat to medium high. Add onion and garlic. Stir. When softened, add lentils, coconut milk, turmeric, and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 10-15 minutes, checking and stirring occasionally until lentils are tender. If it looks like it's getting pasty, add more water. Add salt to taste. If you wish, garnish with cilantro for a contrast in color.

Enjoy!

Cheerios multiplication

Well, we actually started off using chocolate chips, and then I realized, by the time we got to multiples of 4, that that would be way too many chocolate chips (I was letting Maylin eat them after the activity).

Math manipulatives are great. You can use legos, wooden blocks, beans,...just about anything. Kids love to do physical activities, and I think, probably learn more when their bodies are actively engaged in their lessons as well as their minds. For math, being able to see the math problem in front of them in concrete form is so much more meaningful than memorizing a whole bunch of facts (which is how I was taught growing up).

If you'd like to replicate our lesson, follow these simple instructions.
1. If you want to introduce multiples of two, then get two identical containers (I used Pyrex custard cups), and 24 Cheerios.
2. On a piece of paper, write out the number problems for 2x0 up to 2x12, leaving a blank for the answer to be written in.
3. Go over 2x0 and 2x1 with the child, showing that two times nothing is nothing, and that two times one Cheerio is two Cheerios (child writes in answers after counting the Cheerios you've placed in the containers).
4. Let child do the rest of the problems independently (adding one Cheerio to each container for each additional problem), but do check in once in awhile to make sure s/he understands the concept.
5. If the child shows enthusiasm for doing more, pursue multiples of 3s and 4s. Compare answers for 2x10, 3x10, and 4x10, as well as 2x11, 3x11, and 4x11, and have child look for patterns and determine answers for larger numbers.

Great U.S. geography game

Maylin loves playing the game, The Scrambled States of America. She has so much fun that she doesn't realize that she's getting a great lesson in U.S. geography every time. It's basically a card game, but somehow feels like more than a card game because each player gets to use a cute map for reference. Maylin and I both love the illustrations. The game is based on the book of the same name by Laurie Keller. On amazon.com, it's $17, but I think I paid $12.99 at Games of Berkeley on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley.

Lessons on simple machines for elementary school-aged children

Can you believe the whole family is sick with the flu? Stefan had it first, so he's much better now. The worst hit me earlier today. I have just enough energy to do some homeschooling research. Maylin was interested in learning about simple machines, but I never looked hard enough for really fun, engaging experiments/demonstrations. I found these online that look great and are not too difficult to put together. Mostly household items. I bought the game, The Way Things Work, but most of it is too advanced (or worded in a way that sounds too advanced) for Maylin. Other science projects in the works include growing bacteria in petri dishes, making our own secret formula for cola (even though Maylin hates soda), and growing crystals. When the rain ceases for awhile, we will start a little veggie garden. Do I have time for all this???

The Montessori Method

I don't know much about the Montessori method, but it's so incredibly popular and effective, that it seems worthwhile to spend time learning more about it. I'm hoping I can use some ideas or processes in our daily homeschooling experience. I found a scanned version of Dorothy Canfield Fisher's "The Montessori Method" which is used (in probably a newer, updated version) in the training of Montessori teachers. You can read it online or download it here, for free.

Here's also a website with videos and activities that can give you a better idea of the method.

If you've heard of Waldorf, another method, here's a good comparison of the two (it speaks of Montessori and Waldorf preschools in particular, but I think it gives a good overall summary of the methods).

Maylin learns about wheels, axels, and gears

One of Maylin's presents for Christmas was Oogly Googly, a building set with motorized gears and not-so-remote control (attached with a wire). As she built this "tractor," she got a hands-on lesson in simple (and more complicated) mechanics. She had a lot of fun, although there were some pieces that were really hard to attach without a parent's strength. So much for the toy's advertisement as "easy-to-assemble." She would have been really frustrated if I weren't sitting right next to her. Pretty good toy, overall, and fun for Stefan as well!

Sticky caramel rolls

Before going into the oven

Right out of the oven

Stefan had a fever all night long, despite the use of Tylenol. And despite of my exhaustion, I was able to crank out some sticky caramel rolls for the first time ever, with the help of my stored bread dough. Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I left out the pecans per Maylin's request.

Carrot ginger soup

My best friend Peggy gave me this marvelous recipe for a beautiful, uncomplicated, elegant soup. It's a little bit on the spicy side, so if you have kids who prefer blander foods, you can leave out the garlic and ginger for them. Also, for the half-and-half, you could substitute heavy whipping cream (I did it only because that's what I had in the fridge) or coconut milk (for you non-dairy peeps out there) or even chicken broth (the texture of the soup is already pretty creamy without the cream!). I cannot locate the primary source of this recipe, but most likely, Gourmet magazine.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 T finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 t finely chopped garlic
2 lbs. carrots, peeled and chopped
4 1/2 cups chicken stock or broth
3/4-1 cup half-and-half

1. Cook onion and celery in oil in a 4-5 quart heavy pot over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 6-8 minutes. Add ginger and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes. Add carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes.
2. Add stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are very tender, 15-20 minutes.
3. Puree soup in batches in a blender (I used a food processor -- better! I have also used an immersion blender which does a quick job, but it's hard to tell if you've purreed every last drop) until very smooth, about 1 minute per batch (watch out with hot liquids), transferring to a large fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl. Force soup through sieve (discard any solids), then thin with cream to desired consistency. Season with salt (if you don't add the garlic and ginger, I would season additionally with a dash or two of ground white pepper). (I did not use the sieve, or actually, I tried, but was unable to get the soup through -- my sieve was, I guess, TOO fine. I still think the texture for marvelously smooth and creamy.)
NOTE: Soup can be made 2 days ahead and cooled completely, then chilled, covered. Reheat.

The photo is a different version of this soup -- I added 6 cups of stock instead of 4.5 and omitted garlic, ginger, and cream. I did add the white pepper. Still pretty tasty, and a little simpler. Very kid-friendly.

Chocolate crinkle cookies

After caring for sick kids and a vomiting dog, it was time to do what is therapy for me -- cooking and baking. I'm now pureeing a carrot soup, waiting for my baguettes to rise, and eating my chocolate crinkle cookies. Pretty cookies...they taste just like brownies -- but why do these seem sour to me? I took the recipe from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. Any ideas?