Heirloom Tomato Tart

My daughter sampled a friend's homegrown heirloom cherry tomatoes recently and was excited to discover tomatoes come in a range of colors. She decided she's quite fond of the orange ones and proved helpful during our trip to the neighborhood farmer's market on Saturday where she picked out a variety of tomatoes to use in a tart. We chose a bulging orange one, a couple perfectly round yellows, and a few of the green zebra-striped variety. We were grateful to receive a few of your basic reds from another gardening friend (although we all know any homegrown tomato could not be considered basic when compared to a store-bought).
I must admit, because you may be able to tell upon closer examination of our picture, that I sliced the tomatoes a couple days before assembling the tart. Or maybe it was 3. You know, things happen. We still found the tomatoes very good (I had 3 slices of the tart for dinner tonight) albeit a bit weary-looking. I'm assuming a qualified cook would never advise going about it that way, but it worked for us.
My daughter helped in laying out the tomatoes on the tart shell and sprinkling the basil. Looks a little crowded with all that basil and you miss a little of the beautiful color, but, really, why skimp on the basil?
This is a great tomato tart from 101 Cookbooks and if you're still picking, you should give it a try.

Keeping the sippies clean

I'm going with the mommy theme again today. Sometimes I don't know whether to apologize for that or embrace it. It is our life here, after all, and winter is probably better for being crafty, anyway, right?

Once the kids graduate from nursing or bottles, I know most of us move them on to sippy cups of some sort. We have gone through several varieties in the last 5 years, but I have finally decided that I prefer Playtex.
Let it be known, first of all, that, to date, I have only purchased our sippies at Target. I choose from varieties that I feel like won't break the bank, but won't be replaced often. I have never researched all options found online or in specialty retail shops. I have found, however, some great comparison articles at Z Recommends which may introduce you to other sippy styles and brands (see links below).
For me, the Playtex cups stand out for 2 major reasons. They are easy to clean and don't tend to leak. Minor reasons for choosing Playtex would be that the lids and spouts are interchangeable and they are affordable.
It took me awhile to come up with a successful cleaning method for any sippy cup. It may be that I've struggled with it because I simply don't get around to washing our dishes as promptly as I should, but I don't think that's all of it. Some cups have clearly been more prone to grow moldy or have had very awkwardly designed parts making effective cleaning difficult.
I finally settled on pipe cleaners (chenille stems), toothpicks and the bottle brush for sippy cup maintenance. Pipe cleaners work wonders when washing dishes with crevices, spouts, and straws, and I was bowled over at my ignorance when my dad introduced that simple idea to me. Pipe cleaners are now a standard item found in the little vase that holds our dish washing brushes. Why had that never occurred to me?
I found these articles at Z Recommends interesting, but am also interested in other stories of success, or lack-of, in keeping sippy cups clean. Do you have one?

2009 BPA-Free Sippy Cup Showdown: Baby and Toddler Division, Top Picks

2009 BPA-Free Sippy and Straw Cup Showdown, Toddler to Pre-K Division, Top Picks

Social lactivist for a day

Last Friday I took my kids, met up with a friend and hung around Lincoln Square as part of a "nurse-in," held in reaction to an incident where a woman was publicly hassled for breastfeeding outdoors.
In my years of nursing in public, I was never hassled by a stranger, but I do know the difficulty in wanting to modestly feed your baby while carrying on with your life outside of home. It is not easy. So we donned the International Breastfeeding Symbol stickers and played and visited and watched as nursing moms were interviewed by television reporters.
You can find multiple versions of the story online. Here is the Chicago Sun-Times version.

Choc-o-late Chub-beez

I don't know why I wrote it like that. Yes, I do. I'm a goof when it comes to saying things in funny voices and then I try to write it the way I say it which doesn't work at all, does it? Probably one of those things that only your sister can get. (Can you back me up on that, Amy?)
For all normal-voiced cookie-holics out there, these are Chocolate Chubbies. My kids and I made these yesterday and yummmm.
Of course, now that I compare recipes, I realize why I like them so much. They're basically this cookie (one of my absolute favorites, but which I altered in that previous post to accommodate a filling) with a different name.
I used Nancy Baggett's recipe from The All-American Cookie Book but found similar examples around the web like this one. Play the recipe comparison game for a minute then make these cookies!

Two tips, though: Be sure you, or someone near you, can eat the majority of these the same day you make them. They get crumbly the next day, but are deliciously soft the day of. (That's IF, of course, you follow the common cookie-baking rule Do Not Overbake).
If you don't LOVE nuts, I advise reducing the amount and substituting with more chocolate chips. I always find these (the Nick Malgieri ones and now these) a little too nutty for me. I don't like swallowing all the yummy chocolatey parts then finding I still have a mouthful of little nuts. That's just me.

Chocolate Chubbies
2 cups (8 oz) coarsely chopped pecans
8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, broken up or coarsely chopped
3 T cold, unsalted butter, cut into chunks
1/3 c all-purpose white flour
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
2/3 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 t vanilla
1 1/3 c (8 oz) semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper (or silicone mat) or very heavily coat with nonstick spray.

Spread pecans in a medium baking pan and toast in the oven, stirring occasionally, for 7-9 minutes, or until nicely browned; be careful not to burn. Immediately turn out into a medium bowl and let cool.

Meanwhile, in a large, microwave-safe bowl, nuke the bittersweet or semisweet chocolate and butter on 100-percent power for 1 minute. Stir well. Continue microwaving on 50-percent power, stirring at 30-second intervals. Stop microwaving before the chocolate completely melts and let the residual heat finish the job. Alternatively, in a medium, heavy saucepan (or double-boiler), melt the choclate and butter over lowest heat, stirring frequently; be very careful not to burn. Immediately remove from heat. Let cool to warm.

In a small bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the sugar, eggs, and vanilla until well blended, thickened, and lightened. Beat the melted chocolate mixture, then the flour mixture, into the egg mixture until thoroughly blended. Stir in the pecans and chocolate morsels until evenly incorporated. Refrigerate the dough for at least 1 1/2 hours or up to 8 hours, or until it firms up slightly.

Drop the dough onto the baking sheets by heaping measuring tablespoonfuls, spacing about 2 1/2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, in the middle of the oven for 11-14 minutes, or until just firm at the edges but still slightly soft in the centers; be careful not to overbake. Reverse the sheet from front to back halfway through baking to ensure even browning. Transfer the sheet to a wire rack and let stand until the cookies are firmed up, about 5 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to wire racks. Let stand until completely cooled.

These cookies are best when fresh but may be stored in an airtight container for up to 4 days or frozen for up to 1 month.

Labor Day

Safe travels and a great holiday weekend to you!

Glasses fiasco and online eyewear

I have been wearing glasses for 11 years. Until last year, I had only worn 3 pairs total, a new set of frames every few years. Due to some annoying and coincidental circumstances, I now have 4 new pairs of glasses: one pair of sunglasses, one pair of ugly glasses (I'll be skipping that part of the story), one pair of attractive but apparently very damageable glasses, and the pair you see above.
I realized early last year that it was time I had my eyes checked and thought it would be nice to have a change of frames (my current ones being older than all my children). I scheduled a check-up to coincide with a visit from my mom who was planning to gift me with new frames. Thanks to the unexplainable complexity of insurance (and lack of information from store/office employees), however, it was months before I had a decent pair of glasses on my face.
(I just attempted writing out this story in more detail and realized it's way too convoluted. This will be the very abridged version).
After becoming adjusted to my long-in-coming new frames and prescription lenses, they began to break. I say began because they didn't break once, they broke 3 separate times. Now, during the previous 10 years, I had never had a lens break. And believe me, my glasses were dropped, pulled, yanked, stepped on, you name it. As far as I know, no one in my glasses-wearing family (and this totals lots of years) has ever had a lens break.
After a bizarre struggle in acquiring my prescription, choosing a lens that didn't cause headaches or visual distortion, and finding sunglasses frames that effectively did their job and also looked halfway decent, I wasn't really in the mood for having my glasses repaired every couple of months. My official opinion of Pearle Vision at this time is not very high. My glasses are, again, in their possession for a lens change.
The coincidence part of this long, bothersome story is that during my Pearle fiasco (going without my glasses periodically while they were undergoing lens surgery and I was undergoing withdrawal from a life before children when I could run errands by myself instead of waiting for the perfect timing when the store happens to be open, the manager and tech personnel happen to be working and my husband happens to be home), I was contacted by a representative from Glasses USA and asked to review their product. Free eyeglasses.
I don't really enjoy writing reviews and don't fancy myself too good at them, but they did catch me at the right time. Sure!
I don't do a lot of shopping online. I certainly don't buy things online that require a lot of personal attention to detail like glasses, fitted clothing, make-up, etc. But since I recently had an eye exam giving me a current prescription and a new pair of frames I could refer to for shape preference, this was perfect. I perused the Glasses USA inventory of frames, comparing the size of all interesting frames with my current and previous frames, and narrowed it down to one lucky pair. Now, looking at their prices, I have to wonder-what in the world is the difference in frame and lens material and labor used by this company versus Pearle, LensCrafters, EyeMasters or any other glasses company that I would describe as low-end but which costs significantly more?
As I've only been wearing these new prescription glasses for a couple weeks, I can't tell you firsthand how the quality outlasts others, but I can tell you, that so far my experience here has been much more positive than the one I've had with Pearle. My glasses arrived secure in a sturdy case with cleaning cloth in a timely manner, and company follow-up has been prompt and answers to questions thorough.
I am having to go through my usual trouble of multiple trips to the store (local LensCrafters) for adjustments (I have a case of one ear higher than the other, I think, and am easily annoyed by a slightly-off fit), but I would be doing that no matter where I purchased frames. I am pleased with the appearance of the frames, the accuracy of the prescription, the apparent quality, and the customer service (although I haven't had to use it, their eyeglass frames return and exchange policies sound very similar to that of other eyewear establishments).
Who would've thought? Prescription glasses online. I don't know what my route will be in the future when it comes time to purchase new frames (oh, please, let it not be soon), but it's nice to know there's an affordable and relatively easy option.
If you're in the market for inexpensive new specs, feel free to use this coupon code at Glasses USA for an additional discount: Mommy5.

Recent happenings

I'm back! I know, I never said I was going anywhere. It was an unplanned hiatus.
I'm going to do a little catch up here before getting back into some kind of routine.

In the time I've been away from the computer, we've:
Camped near the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. (We managed to get a few hours of beautiful clear sky in between all the rain. The kids thoroughly enjoyed it.)
Celebrated my birthday. (Remember last year's?)
Celebrated my baby's birthday with homemade malted milk ice cream from The Perfect Scoop.
Visited the Shedd Aquarium downtown. (Look at that cloudy, cool summer day in Chicago. Good grief!)
Made butterfly contact and witnessed a sheep-shearing at the zoo. (We got lucky and caught one of the 2 yearly shearings.)
Toured Wagner Farm.
Filmed a craft demo for the Pioneer Press Mommy on a Shoestring column. (Should appear in about 3 weeks.)
Enjoyed a week long visit from my mom and started our homeschool History co-op classes.
Whew! And those are just the highlights.

I'll try to be back here soon.

Back-to-School Scavenger Hunt and Eco-friendly school supplies

My daughter starts kindergarten this year. We have decided to homeschool. This year. Just meaning I have no earthly idea if either one of us will take to it so I have no expectations whatsoever of what we'll do next year. But since we are doing it this year, I'm needing to get things in order around here.
I've been caught up in researching our teaching/learning materials and haven't thought much about preparing my daughter for the event. She's never been to preschool so the whole concept of school (except, of course, for her experience in our one-morning-a-week co-op last year) is still foreign to her. And homeschool is foreign to me. I think we both need something special to kick off the new year.
I prepared the idea for this back-to-school scavenger hunt for the Celebrations radio show, but didn't have a chance to share it. I've decided to use it with my daughter, whom I expect will be thrilled. Ours will, of course, be the start-of-school version.
Here you go....

Collect some of the items your child will need for school: pencils, crayons, glue, scissors, maps, book (on a topic they've chosen to study or one you know they'd enjoy reading), homemade reusable sandwich/snack bags, lunch bag, thermos or water bottle, interesting ribbon or key chain for house key, favorite snack, bracelet, socks, tiny tissue pack, markers, clay, paint, etc .
Find a school-related image (books, bus, globe, crayons, map, school building, etc.) online or scan one into your computer then print out several small copies onto cardstock. Cut them out and fold like cards or leave them flat like postcards. Use these for your scavenger hunt clues.
Hide the supplies/gifts around your house or outdoors and create clues to lead your child on a hunt for each item. Provide your child with something for collecting her goodies or lead her 1st to a new school bag or box.
Print or write your clues inside or on the back of your clue cards. Be cute and simple.
Example: I'll carry water or milk for you to drink. Look for me under your kitchen sink. (New drinking bottle in the play kitchen).
Monster, bug or bike. Sculpt me how you'd like. Stretch me, roll me, push me, pull me. Find me next to your blanket that's woolly. (New clay hiding on the bed).
After your child has collected all her new items, help her open them and prepare them for school, putting in her bag or arranging in her home study space.

If you're thinking of going green this school year, here's a short list of resources.

Stylish and eco-friendly snack bags, boxes, and bottles
Betz White's sandwich wrap
LunchSkins Reusable Sandwich Bag
Fresh Snack Pack
Stainless steel lunch box
Stainless steel lunch bowl and boxes
Not your plastic Strawberry Shortcake thermos

Eco-art and school supplies
Smencils and more at Stubby Pencil Studio
Recycled newspaper colored pencils and cute stuff
Adhesive paste
Binders, notebooks, and paper

Green Clean Sample Kit

Green cleaning (using cleaning products and methods that are non-toxic to people, Earth and its environment) has not become habitual in our home yet, but I am taking some steps toward becoming more eco-minded when it comes to what we do and how we clean in our home.
To stock our pantry, and share the fun of playing chemist, I compiled some recipes for simple cleaners, gathered the supplies and led a group in making their own Green Clean Sample Kits at the Craft Social last night. I chose these because they are the most-used cleaners in our home (kitchen, bath, laundry) and because these particular recipes could be quickly and safely made in our venue.
I purchased some small spray and squeeze bottles and raided our recyclables for screw-top glass and plastic jars to share with the group. (Some guests planned ahead and brought their own recyclable containers to fill). Most of us made one spray, one scrub and one batch of detergent.
The ingredient list for these solutions is short: white vinegar, baking soda, washing soda, castile soap, glycerin, essential oil, a few aspirin, and tap water. I found the washing soda at a local Jewel/Albertson's grocery store, the castile, oils and glycerin at Whole Foods.

I considered sewing very simple bags for guests to use in carrying their cleaners, but you know how things go (well, you do if you're a procrastinator like I am), but I did happen to come across directions for this great newspaper cleaner caddy in a book at the library. I couldn't resist trying it out. I love it! It's from The Newspaper Everything Book: How to Make 150 Useful Objects From Old Newspapers by Vivienne Eisner and Adelle Weiss, 1975. I'll have to make some time to practice modifications for other uses and then write up a tutorial for it.
For now, here are the recipes I made available for use in our sample kits. For more green cleaning tips, follow the links below.

Green Clean Sample Kit

Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup baking soda
1 cup washing soda
¼ cup liquid castile soap

Mix well and store in sealed container (glass or plastic jar).
Note from article author: I find it easiest to pour the liquid soap into the bowl first, stir in the washing soda, baking soda, and add vinegar in small batches. The mixture will foam at first, become a thick paste then break down into a heavy powdered detergent as you stir. Break down any hard clumps while stirring. (It helps to make sure the baking soda isn't clumpy to begin with). I used ½ cup per full with great results.
From Tipnut

Soft Scrub for toilets and tubs (and more)
1 cup baking soda
3-5 drops tea tree oil
¼ cup liquid castile soap
2 aspirins, powdered

Mix all ingredients and add enough water to make a paste. Store in a squeeze bottle. To use, apply with a sponge, scrub and rinse thoroughly.
From Make Your Place by Raleigh Briggs, 2009.

Creamy Soft Scrub
baking soda
liquid castile soap
vegetable glycerin

Pour about ½ cup baking soda into a bowl. Add enough liquid detergent (castile soap) to make a texture like frosting. Add 1 teaspoon of glycerin to the mixture to keep the product moist and store in a sealed glass jar. To use, scoop the mixture onto a sponge and wash surface. Perfect for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn't leave grit.
5-10 drops essential oil can be used to scent the scrub. For a citrus scrub, add 5-10 drops orange or lemon essential oil.
From Care 2 Make a Difference and Best Green Home Tips

All Purpose Spray
½ teaspoon washing soda
A dab of liquid castile soap
2 cups hot tap water
Combine ingredients in a jar and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Pour into spray bottle. Spray and wipe with a sponge or rag.
From Care 2 Make a Difference

Disinfectant All Purpose Spray
liquid castile soap
2 cups water
tea tree essential oil
lavender essential oil

Mix a few drops of natural soap (castile), 2 cups water, and 15 drops each of tea tree and lavender oils. Spray on all surfaces like cutting boards, counters, toilets, and walls, but not glass.
Note from article author: You can use 30 drops of one oil, I just like the mix. You need to keep either the tea tree or lavender essential oil in the mix to make it a disinfectant. Castile (like Bronner's) is great for general cleaning, but real essential oils of tea tree or lavender have antiseptic/antibacterial aspects. I like to mix them, because too much tea tree scent alone makes me loopy.
From Tree Hugging Family

Twitter-dee-dee, blog radio and other random bits

Well, after much ado around here yesterday (arranging childcare and other household hoopla), I participated in Celebrations.com's premiere radio show with lifestyle party expert Jeanne Benedict and three other crafty bloggers. More info here. Or, listen to the show right here on my blog.

I am busy, busy getting ready for our 2nd Chicago Craft Social. It's going to be fun! This time, Jess and I are arranging a publicity table for local bloggers, artists, business owners and the like to display promotional materials like cards, flyers, free samples, etc. I'm looking forward to getting to know more about our guests and seeing what they're up to when they're not crafting, snacking and socializing with us.
I'll be making some more alphabet block card holders (any thoughts on items to use in place of the blocks?) and here's a peek at Jess's homemade business card stands. We plan to use colorful mixing bowls, canisters, and other kitchen-y things for sample collections.
I will be leading guests in making paper airplanes that actually fly (Hopefully. Do you have any tried and true airplane patterns I could add to our selection?) and a "green clean" sample kit which will include an all-purpose disinfectant spray, a soft scrub, and a powdered laundry detergent. Let me tell you, it can be a chore locating washing soda. Until you find it at the market right next to the Craft Social venue. Argh.

Last week I tried out this recipe for Pasta Primavera and really liked it. Great for those of you who need to use up that fresh summer squash and homegrown herbs. But good for those of us who don't, too. And you don't have to turn on the oven.

Yes, I have set up a Twitter account. No, I don't really know how to use it and am not sure if I want to. My generous and extremely experienced friend Becky is becoming my Twitter mentor, however, so under her guidance perhaps I'll learn to enjoy it. (This is where I would smile at her, but I don't want to make one of those punctuational happy faces). I'll try to put a link on my sidebar soon so you can easily find me.
I'm working on creating a Facebook page for this blog, as well. Not sure when I'll have that ready.

To come: Green Clean sample kits, alphabet block frames, back-to-school fun, product review and give away. But not before the Social!

Blog Talk Radio and me

I will be a guest on Celebrations.com's internet radio premiere this Tuesday. Their lifestyle party expert will be facilitating a conversation on parties celebrating the end of summer and beginning of the school year. I am one of a few bloggers who will be joining her.
Check out Celebrations for more party ideas and Blog Talk Radio for the show, which will air at 3pm ET and run about 20-30 minutes. If you miss it on Tuesday, though, never fear, they archive the shows and you can listen to the podcasts whenever you have the time.

"Kids are funny, " I said.

It is so very true that kids say the funniest things. From the time they start putting words together, they're comedians. Unintentionally, usually. Of course, I have not been very good about recording all the funny things that have been said in this house in the last 4 years, which I do regret, but thank goodness, they're still putting on a show.
I have been entertained most recently by my children narrating the lives and comments of their toys and of themselves. First I started hearing comments followed by a slight pause and a "said So and so" tacked onto the end. Like, "I want to use that coloring book,' said Thomas." I found that hysterical enough. And seemed to be proof they're listening when we read books, which is nice.
Then they made it a little more complex by accompanying each comment with an action, (again, speaking for a toy, as a toy, or as themselves). For example, my son as they were playing with trains yesterday, "'Where's that train turner?' I said, going back in my door." Or as we were on the way to the playground this morning, "Maybe it is,' I said, picking up a stick." Or when served taco salad for dinner, "'I really don't like tomatoes,' I said, taking them out."
These are just samples of the funny and almost constant narration we have going on around here. I'm really enjoying it.

By the way, the picture obviously has nothing to do with this, but I thought it was funny. I said.