Kindle Paperwhite

Reading is one of my favorite things to do. It's a great way to wind down at the end of the day; a quiet moment just for me. Last Christmas, I got a Kindle Paperwhite. After working 4 years in the electronic ink industry, I've seen a lot of e readers come and go and this is by far one of the best. It has this fantastic back-lit display so you can read virtually anywhere. I take it camping. Seirously.

I get most of my books from the local public library and Amazon couldn't have made it easier. I just go to the library website, pick out the books I want, and they are automatically delivered right to my Kindle. It can't get much more simple than that.

Reading on the Kindle is user friendly and the display is clear as day. These displays are non reflective so you won't get any glare, even in direct sunlight. In fact, the brighter the sunlight, the better the display looks. All you tablet people, I'm telling you (as I did those 4 years), if you're an avid reader you MUST invest in a dedicated e reader to save yourself some eyestrain...and battery life. I charge my Kindle maybe once every two weeks. That's when I read maybe an hour or two each night using a low backlight.

And how about all the money and shelf space you can save. I bet I've downloaded and read at least 100 books in the past year. Before that, I doubt I even read 10 paperbacks in a year. And all those books are stored in a cloud at my disposal. No more stuffing books into my carry on, no more debating at the bookstore what I'm going to leave behind.

Oh, and did I tell you about some of the other cool features? You can download a Kindle app for your phone, tablet, whatever and if you read on that (or a Kindle Fire which I've seen and it's soooo much lighter and thinner than an iPad) then it remembers what page you are on so you can pick up another device and carry on like you never put the book down. And if you're an Amazon Prime Member, you can borrow a book a month from Amazon; these are usually popular titles, and I think now they are even offering Prime members sneak previews to books before they are put in their bookstores. Plus the usual benefits of membership: 2 day free shipping on a lot of items, and Prime tv. We love that on our Kindle Fire to travel as well as on our tv.

Don't forget to accessorize your Kindle either!

Paleo Apple Pear Crunch

I love dessert. That's all.

Ok, it's not. Baked goods are my weakness and a warm crunch (crumble as some of you may call it) is always a hit on a chilly evening. This one was good, so good that my 4 year old cleaned his bowl and licked it clean before I could sit down with my own. I'll even admit to having the leftovers for breakfast.


Filling

• 2 pears, peeled and sliced
• 1 tart apple, peeled, cored, and sliced
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 ground cloves
• 1tsp tapioca
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• Generous squeeze honey (optional)
• Lemon juice
• Pinch of sea salt

Combine all that yummy stuff in a bowl and stir it up. The tapioca is to absorb some of the liquids that come from the pears and keep the crunch from becoming too soggy at the bottom. It also helps make it all ooey gooey. If your fruit is exceptionally sweet, you can skip the honey but be sure to add a squeeze of lemon juice to balance the sweetness. Put all this goodness into an oven safe dish. Preheat your oven to 350F.

Crunch Topping
For the topping, it was kinda hit and miss. I'll keep updating this recipe as I find ways to improve it. Here's where I ran into problems...I couldn't find my usual recipe and had to make it up on the spot. I needed a way to get it to combine and keep it chunky without creating more dishes to wash and steps to use up my time.

• 1C almond meal
• 1/4C shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/4C sliced almonds
• 1tsp cinnamon
• 3T coconut oil
• 1T honey

Put the almond meal, coconut, almonds, and cinnamon in a bowl and stir it to mix a little.  I grabbed coconut oil that was room temperature and some honey. I put this into the dry mixture and used a pastry cutter to get it clumpy. I tried just using coconut oil at first but when it didn't clump enough, I decided to use honey instead of adding more oil...personal choice, plus my measuring spoon wouldn't reach any further into the jar. Like I said, a work in progress. Dump this mixture over the top of your filling, making sure you cover the fruit the best you can.

Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or so. 

I'm thinking my next versions I'll add some cardamom and try playing with adding some dried cranberries if I can sneak that past the little guy. 

Paleo Sushi

I've always wanted to try making sushi and for the last few days, I've been experimenting...and eating a lot of failed attempts. If I make this again (and I'm sure I will), then I'll invest in a sushi mat, but there is no reason you can't make this at home with what you have on hand.

California Roll
To make about 3 rolls (18 pieces), you will need:

• 1 package of yaki nori sheets
• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• Carrot, cut into matchsticks
• Cucumber, cut into matchsticks
• Avocado, cut into thin slices
• Crab meat
• Mat for rolling (or use a clean tea towel or like me, your hands and call it good)

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets and put in your food processor. Chop fine but not so far it becomes paste. You want some texture in there. If you like the acidic taste that's in sushi rice, you can add a splash of vinegar to the mixture. Totally optional.
2. Lay a sheet of nori out on a clean surface (or your mat/towel/plastic wrap) and spread the cauliflower to cover the sheet. This becomes the 'rice' in the sushi roll. 
3. Lay out your carrots, cucumber, avocado, and crab meat across the middle.
4. Then roll it tightly. The 'rice' will be inside, because if it's on the outside like a traditional roll, it crumbles off. Trust me, I tried it. 
5. Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll into equal size pieces. You can probably get 6 out of it.

Paleo(?) Green Beans with Bacon

I'm not going to say that I eat a strict paleo diet because that would be a big fat lie. I don't even know if green beans are paleo, but the way I see it, if I can grow it in my garden then it must be pretty close. I try where I can, but it's hard when you don't like meat that much and you have two other people to cook for who aren't interested in it. It usually means extra cooking, work, and dishes to do afterwards. I love it when I have a dish that everyone in our house likes so I don't have to cook two different sides to keep smiles on faces. And let's face it, who wouldn't smile for bacon? I only smile for the crispy, meaty bits.

I tend to use small amounts of onion and spices in my cooking for our 4 year old. He's not a big fan yet, but we're getting there. So feel free to add as much or as little to suit your taste buds. And I know a lot of people use coconut oil, but I personally don't like the taste in savory dishes so opt for an extra virgin olive oil instead.

Did I mention this is my first time writing a recipe? I usually just sprinkle some of dis and a little of dat and go from there. Nothing's stopping you from doing the same. One pound of green beans you say? Is that a tad too much? That just happens to be how much I grabbed and put in a bag this morning. Use less if you're not big bean eaters. Add more bacon if you love it. I had 6 strips left over from another recipe, that's how I came to that number. It's a starting point.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

• 1/2 walla walla sweet onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lb. fresh green beans
• 6 cooked bacon strips, crumbled
• Olive oil (or use bacon fat from the bacon)
• Sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Over medium heat, saute the garlic and onions in some olive oil until the onions become transparent.
2. Add the green beans and gently toss to get them cooking. 
3. Then throw in the bacon. 
4. The bacon will probably render out a little more fat as it warms up, giving the beans a nice smokey touch.
5. Season with sea salt and some pepper. Remember that bacon has salt in it already so be sure to taste before you add more!

Experiment with different herbs on this too. The next time I make this, I'm thinking of using some lemon pepper, fresh tarragon or thyme, or even toasted almond slivers to finish it off.

Guest Room Remodel

We all have one of those rooms right? One that is so gross you don't want to even look at it so you fill it with the junk you don't want to look at and then close the door. That was our downstairs spare room until our family decided that everyone was going to come visit throughout the summer and we needed a place for them to stay. Advert your eyes for the next picture...it's as ugly as it gets.

It Gets Worse
The walls were stripped back to the studs and I spent an afternoon putting in new insulation. Halogen lights were put in the ceiling, a few switches moved, and outlets replaced. Since the walls were exposed, we thought we would take advantage of that fact. Usually things look worse before they get better, but I have to admit that even the drywall looks better than that icky paneling that was there before.

Done Done Done
You can see how pleasant the room is now and we are excited to show it to our guests! I'm about ready to move in myself :)

Digger Birthday Party

A digger birthday party is both fun and easy to throw together in a pinch! We had cake, digger juice, a big pile of sand for the kids to play in with construction vehicles, and goody bags to take home. The kids each got a construction hat to wear.

Digger Cake
The cake was by far the easiest to do. If you don't have time to bake and frost a cake, just go to to bakery section of your grocery store and pick up a basic chocolate frosted cake and scrape off any decoration you don't want on there.  I turned a store bought valentines cake into a digger cake for the second cake. Can't find any cake toppers? Look in the toy box! We have a collection of construction trucks and things so I just washed them thoroughly and ta-da...cake topper.

• Chocolate frosted cake of your choice
• Chocolate sandwich cookies or grahams, crushed
• Gummy worms or bugs
• Small construction vehicles (ours were ones I purchased and some from our toy box)

Make piles of the crushed up cookies on the cake and around the edges. Stick on the vehicles and make them look like they are scooping up the crumbs. You can use a spoon to excavate some cake from the side, leaving some cookie crumbs behind. If your guests are into bugs and worms, you can even cut a gummy worm and poke it in so it looks like it is crawling through. 

 

Decoration

I didn't put a lot of effort into the decorations since they're kids and all they care about is the cake and playing :) I found some hanging construction decorations on Amazon and hung them up from the supports from our parasol over the table. I used basic yellow, brown, and orange crepe paper to do the railings around the deck. I made a few signs for the fruit trays that said things like 'Dig In' and wrapped juice boxes with strips of paper I printed out with construction tape and labeled them 'Digger Juice'. 

 

 

Buy Everything You Need, All in One Place
I like to save time and a lot of the time, money, by ordering as much as I can online from Amazon. With a Prime Membership (click here to learn more or sign up for a FREE trial), you get free 2 day shipping on tons of items...plus lots of other perks. But anyway, here are some links for where you can order them.

• Road Cone Candles
• Construction Vehicle Hanging Decorations
• Construction Helmets
• Construction Cupcake Kit (it's super cute but I didn't use it for this party)
• Cake Toppers (that are really toys so they can be played with after the party)

Lacy Cupcakes

A friend of was married last fall and I wanted to think of a shower gift that was sassy but still classy...you know, because her mom was there and all. I found a cute Martha Stewart cupcake stand and knew exactly what I was going to do. Three pairs of lacy underwear later, I had underwear cupcakes under the dome and one fancy gift for the bride.