Chocolate and Shrove Tuesday

Sometimes chocolate is just a good idea. It comes in a variety of sweetness levels, satisfying the severest sweet tooth to just one that needs a lit kick in the pants and everything in between! We're working on lifting spirits here this week. After another week of "fever baby" we could all use a little lift, and so what if we use chocolate as a motivator?!

 

 

Luckily for me (and really, do I need an excuse?) Valentine's Day is this week and today just happens to be Fat Tuesday, perfect time to indulge a little and bring out the bulk chocolate that's been sitting in the freezer since Christmas! 

 

A few weeks ago I bought a few packages of dried fruits: cranberries, blueberries, cherries, and plums. My original intention was to bake with them but then I realized.....who doesn't love chocolate covered dried fruit? Chocolate covered raisins has always been a hit, maybe we could take a walk on the wild side and try something new! Thank goodness we're a fearless bunch because these are just simply divine!

 

The littles we're thrilled to get their hands in a plate full of melted chocolate. I didn't have my eye on them the whole time so I wonder how much actually made it on the plate as opposed to in their bellies :)

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Then there is always the cliche of chocolate covered strawberries.

 

As this is the start of the Lenten season, I feel a very strong pull to just let the spirit flow and do whatever it is that I'm being led to. I haven't always allowed myself that luxury, and well.....having five children can make that a wee bit challenging at times. Our Lenten journey is described well here in this older post; how we hold on to the reverence of this time and nourish our spiritual bodies. As I form a clearer picture of our current state as a family, I'm realizing that nourishment for our collective and individual selves is paramount. We've all had to sacrifice quite a bit as of late, it's time now to figure out how to manage the difficulties in our lives without sacrificing our family body. I am really quite inspired that all of this seems to be culminating at the time of Lent.

 

"I believe Lent is the time to work with what gets in our way - the obstacles to our desire to fulfill our destiny." ~ Lynn Jericho on the spiritual practices of Inner Lent.

 

You can read her full post about Inner Lent here.

 

How will you work with what gets in your way this Lenten season?

 

In the spirit of St. Brigid

Today is St. Brigid's Day. It kinda snuck up on me as we were a bit preoccupied over the week so what I had planned in my mind will have to wait until later this week or next year. In the meantime, here is a recipe for a Celtic Tea Cake that I absolutely love. We will make this today in honor of the patroness of Ireland. It is so moist and tasty and sweet. I always wondered, though, how it was called a Celtic cake when it calls for coconut? Oh, well......it still tastes good!!

Ingredients::
Cake:
1/4 cup boiling water
1 cup very hot milk
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt

Oatmeal-Crisp Broiled Topping:

4 tbsps unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup milk, cream, or half/half
1/2 cup shredded coconut1/4 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

~ Preheat oven to 350. Generously grease a 9-inch round cake pan.

~ In a medium bowl, stir boiling water, hot milk, and oats together and let stand 20 minutes.

~ In another bowl, cream butter with brown sugar until smooth. Mix in eggs and vanilla and blend well. Fold in oat mixture and then flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend to make a smooth batter and spoon batter into prepared pan.

~ Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until cake springs back when gently pressed with fingertips. 

~ While cake bakes, in a medium bowl blend together all topping ingredients.

~ After you remove the cake set the oven on broil. Spread topping on cake and place cake under broiler on second shelf for 3 to 5 minutes until topping begins to bubble, watching carefully so it does no burn. Cool well.

 

Looking to tomorrow we've begun making some lanterns to light tomorrow evening in celebration of Candlemas. This is a do ahead project :)

 

Fill some regular balloons with water (not water balloons, too fragile). Freeze them in any manner you can (outside if it's cold enough or in a freezer.) Before they've frozen completely, break open the balloon and pour out the water. There will be a place to set on of those battery operated tea light candles. You could even dye the water different colors and have colored ice lanterns. If your balloons freeze all the way, you will need a paddle attachment drill bit for a power drill and then you could open up a space big enough to fit the tea light candle by drilling into your solid round ice block!

 

This is one of our lights ready to go! They are very pretty, especially at night when their light dances of  the snow. I will post again tomorrow with more pictures and a little look into how we celebrated St. Brigid's Day and Candlemas!

 

Wishing you all a blessed return of the Light xo

Our favorite Birthday Cake

Birthday cake! It's a happy ending to a lovely day full of surprises, warm hugs, visits from friends and family. We seem to have a bit of a traditional cake in our home......quite by accident. It began in 2006 when my DH challenged me to make a peanut butter frosting. He loves peanut butter and would (and will) eat it with most things. I remember seeing a bunch of bananas hanging in our kitchen that had gone past their raw consumption stage and thought "Hmm, banana cake and peanut butter frosting! Perfect!!" And it is. It's divine on so many levels. The cake is so moist and not overly sweet. Walnuts (or pecans, your choice) add a wonderful texture and earthiness.

Now, for the frosting......I am typically not a fan of frosting. My sweet tooth has seemed to wane as I age so I tend to think about ways to decorate a cake that doesn't necessarily mean slathering it with a thick, sugar sludge! I've experimented with whipped cream "frosting" and cream cheese frosting. Both have a gentle sweetness, one that won't hurt your teeth. A light dusting of powdered sugar suffices sometimes or a dainty drizzle of melted chocolate or lemon glaze. Anyway, I however, couldn't manage to think of eating this cake without it's counterpart, it's partner in crime, it's soul mate! Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting....... since 2006 it's been a birthday staple in our home. You won't be sorry to try this for a celebration cake in your home!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to each other xo

Make a wish......

 

Banana Cake Recipe

 

2 cups of AP flour (I substitute a gluten free AP flour)

1 tsp of baking soda

1 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 stick of unsalted room temp. butter

(VEGAN:: sub. same amount, if you choose)

1 1/2 cups of sugar

2 eggs

(VEGAN:: sub. 2 tbsp of cornstarch w/ 1 tbsp of water per egg

OR the bananas should be enough as this recipe calls for extra)

4-5 ripe bananas

1 tbsp. vanilla

1/2 c. buttermilk

(VEGAN:: sub. same amount of soy/rice/almond milk with 1 tsp. of lemon juice

and let set for 5 minutes OR use equal amount of vegan sour cream)

1 cup chopped nuts

(I generally prefer pecans or walnuts)

 

~ Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

 

~ Grease the bottoms and sides of 2-8 inch round pans

 

~ Put all dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together (that's how I sift)

 

~ Cream together the butter and sugar. Add your eggs (vegan option, too), bananas and

vanilla and beat for a few minutes.

 

~ Alternately add your dry ingredients and your buttermilk, mixing after each addition.

 

~ Fold in nuts if your using them.

 

~ Pour batter equally into each pan and bake for about 30 minutes or when tooth pick inserted

(or tip of knife) comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes or so and then turn them out

on a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Peanut Butter Frosting

 

6 oz. of room temperature cream cheese

(Vegan: use vegan cream cheese)

1/2 stick butter

(Vegan:: use vegan butter)

1 lb. of confectioners' sugar

(I don't use all of it, sweeten to your taste)

3/4 c. of peanut butter

1 tbsp. of vanilla

1 tbsp. of milk

(as needed and sub. soy/rice/almond milk for Vegan option)

 

~ Cream together the cream cheese and butter

 

~ Gradually add your sugar and continue beating after each addition

 

~ Add your peanut butter and vanilla

 

~ If the frosting becomes too thick, add your milk (at any point)

 

 

 

Frost and decorate your cake and Enjoy!!!! I promise you won't be disappointed!

 

Does your family have any birthday traditions? I would love to hear them!!!

 

 

 

 



Back to Basics

The Waldorf inspired rhythm we had created prior to our babe's arrival has fallen to the wayside for the time being as any rhythm or "schedule" would. Being at the mercy of a newborn takes precedence over following any rhythm and really.....our rhythm is being redeveloped again anyway!

Sleeping in increments of 1 1/2 -2 hours at a time and then not falling asleep right away makes most days and nights a bit of a blur. Then add into the mix: trying to maintain the laundry of 7 people because God forbid that gets out of hand........it's a nightmare trying to catch up and having had no rain for a couple of weeks, we'd be out of water in no time PLUS keeping up on the dishes because we run out of cups, bowls and spoons frequently, AND cooking! Not to mention the fillers in a day, diapers, nursing, boo boos that need kisses, a tantrum or two or three, snuggles and hugs, random baths just to keep the littles occupied......I'm sure you get the picture. I've been spared some of these tasks for the last month or so as we traveled through our rough patch but this marks the second full week of being on my own with all of these tasks! Sometimes it's A LOT! Sometimes it's OK! Sometimes I handle things fine and other times I don't.........all part of being a new(ish) Mom, with three littles  and two big kids with each one going in a different direction!!!!

Phew! It's been a marathon of weeks and days and today, although I knew it was a bit crazy to think I could actually BAKE something, I went ahead and tried anyway! Thankfully it was a success! It only took me about an hour to complete the batter as Seraphina was up and sleep and then up again and then asleep again; nursing, crying, snuggling, and nursing some more. The littles were preoccupied for the moment and then distracted and then preoccupied again. Somehow I managed to make a perfect batch of muffins which as we speak are just about gone! A dream come true!!!

So to celebrate our successful baking day, I'm sharing with you our beloved muffin recipe! It makes scrumptious, moist, delicate muffins that can be adapted to carry any fruit, flavor, and flour!

Blueberry Banana Almond Muffins

makes 18-24 muffins

1 cup of almond flour (meal)

2 cups of flour (we used King Arthur's AP flour)

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp. of baking soda

1 tbsp. of baking powder

1 tsp.  salt

1/3 cup of brown sugar

2 mashed up bananas

3 beaten eggs

1 1/3 cup of buttermilk

(I never have buttermilk when I want it so to supplement

I use the right amount of milk with a healthy splash of raw apple cider vinegar!)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup of melted butter

1 cup of blueberries

For the topping

1 1/2 cups of rolled oats

3/4 cup of brown sugar

1 tbsp. of cinnamon

2 tbsp. of oil or melted butter

Whisk together the flours

Whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, sugar (not the brown sugar, the other one!), and salt

NOW, whisk in the brown sugar!

This is where I got pulled away from my batter making, so I don't have photos for the wet mixture.
Mash your bananas and beat your eggs. Mix them together and add the buttermilk. When the wet mixture
comes together add that to your dry ingredients. The trick here is NOT TO OVER MIX! Stir together the batter ever so gently, just a handful of times, leaving a rainbow of dry ingredients throughout. Add about 1/2 of your
blueberries and stir again, gently, and only about 3 or 4 times, still leaving some dry ingredients visible.

Scoop your batter into your muffin tins, either lined with paper cups or generously greased. Split the rest of the blueberries and top each of your muffins. Mix together the oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and oil/butter. Split that among each muffin top and then bake for about 25-30 minutes in a 400 degree oven.

Here is our Charlotte. Her sister caught a shot of her enjoying her muffin after having given herself a "makeover" with markers her Dad had given her! Oh, and she also is showing off her first hair cut ever, in all of her 4 1/2 years. She's got bangs!!!! It's amazing how a little cut can change ones appearance so drastically! She looks totally different! And she loves them!

I hope where ever you are you have fresh picked blueberries and great bangs! Cheers xoxo

March Madness

You may be wondering about the title, but.......within this post lies pictures of our experience in baking madness! Thursday was our baking day and March 1st. It was also our first snow day from school (for the whole year!!!!) AND we had more than a dusting of snow on the ground! It was pure madness! Kids coming and going tracking wet, dripping snow all over, dogs running about also coming and going with their wet, drippy snow, warm fires, sledding, shoveling, attempting snowmen, all the glories of having an actual snow day! For me, it was wonderful watching everyone smiling and pitching in to shovel each others driveways and playing outside. We live in an intentional Quaker community and all the kids had a snow day from school (we have 11 kids on the land and each are schooled differently) so they were all home, shovels in hand, decked out to be in the snow........ahhhh. Life is good!
To celebrate all the good things about yesterday I tried my hand at homemade doughnuts! They aren't the most nutritious baked treat, in fact, there might not be anything good about them except of course how they taste and feel and smell and......well, you get the idea! The recipe I followed I probably won't follow again. While it produced a really tasty doughnut (as long as it was eaten almost immediately after being cooked) the taste and warmth slipped away as they cooled and they became a little lackluster. I'll have to work on the recipe before I'm comfortable giving it out but I will share a few pictures of our journey in the madness! Ironically enough, I don't have any photos of the children enjoying them as they came and went just as fast as the doughnuts came out of the dutch oven! At the very least, I look forward to making them again.......there really is nothing like homemade!

Our cut out doughnuts rising. I didn't have an actual doughnut cutter so I used a glass and a
small heart shaped cookie cutter for the center!

Our heart centers resting and rising.

Frying up our doughnuts!

Our finished doughnuts, rolled in cinnamon sugar! YUM

Here are our heart shaped centers just hanging out in a plate of cinnamon sugar!
This is definitely a once in a great while treat!

New Post on TASTE

Continuing our talk on rhythm.......in this post you will find some suggestions on helping ease your morning routine; including our homemade granola recipe!!!

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Also!!!! A totally big surprise to find out the It's a Simple Life has been nominated for a Homie award for best family blog! We're so humbled and honored that someone thought of us enough to include us in the nominations! Please head over to Apartment Therapy and give us a vote! Thank you with smiles from ear to ear!!!

Shrove Tuesday

Here we are.......nearing the end of another month! It's amazing how fast these days and weeks pass us by. I am grateful we have chosen to live in harmony with the rhythms that surround us......the seasons, festivals and holidays, birthdays, and our quiet days. They are all pregnant with meaning and experiences that create memories for our children that will carry them through to a time when they might have their own families. It is there that they will choose what rhythms they will follow, they will recall on their moments in childhood and reflect on a time when they, too, celebrated a day, for whatever reason. I am excited to think that by simply choosing to live and celebrate the seasonal rhythms with our children we are creating another generation that will live a little more closely to the world around them. What a lovely thought!

Today is Mardi Gras and Shrove Tuesday. All over the world folks are celebrating with masks and costumes to end almost 40 days (or more depending on the region but usually begins on or after Epiphany) worth of carnival celebrations. The biggest celebration is today, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of the Lenten season.

Mardi Gras in French literally means 'Fat Tuesday' referring to the last night before the annual fasting of rich and fatty foods before Lent. In English tradition the week leading up to Ash Wednesday is called 'shrovetide' and has it's own celebratory activities like football games and pancake races!

Today, It's a Simple Life is celebrating by making masks and using our felted beads from the other day to make a necklace. We will make pancakes for dinner and an applesauce cookie that I have been dreaming of for days now! Choosing these simple activities to share with our children will allow us to feel apart of our greater world, celebrating a moment rich with history as well as giving a beginning to the next phase of 'quiet' celebration for Lent, leading up to Palm Sunday, Holy Week and then Easter! Spring abounds with so many reasons to celebrate the newness in our lives; how will you celebrate Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday and then the beginning of the Lenten season with your family?

We wish you a beautiful start to your season of Lent!

New Post on TASTE

Join us on our TASTE page and see how my Bella will be spreading the love with her classmates at school! Give our Valentine Keepsake Brownies a try.......I'm sure you'll love them! xoxo

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Come see our latest recipes to help bring some yummy flavors to your Candlemas celebration. You will also find links to other folks who will inspire you to be creative and celebrate! Enjoy and thank you for stopping by!

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New Post on HEAR

Come take a gander at our newest post on HEAR! You'll get a glimpse of how we're accepting more of the Dragon into our lives as well as a super, special surprise that has come to life within our creative world!

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New Post on FEEL

Head on over to FEEL to see how we've begun our celebration of the Chinese New Year and the welcoming of the Dragon. How are you welcoming and honoring the Dragon in your life? Share your thoughts with us and how you're celebrations will unfold. Happy New Year!!!

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"Reach high, for stars lie hidden within your soul. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal." ~ Ralph Vaull Starr

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Here it is!

Make it! Enjoy it! Let the children help!

Make toast, make french toast, or eat it warm out of the oven. Whatever you do let us know what you think!

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New recipe added to our Recipe page!

Check out our new Recipe page! Tonight, on this cold, wintry Northeast night we're cooking up Three Sisters Stew (It's a Simple Life's way!!! Simple and with what we've got on hand!!!) Give a try and let me know what you think!

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So, here they are. The recipes du jour! It's always so nice to provide a sweet and satisfying treat for my family, especially on these now cold and wet winter days! Included in this new post is also a little dabbling of what inspires me to provide for my family the way that I do. I am extremely inspired by Rudolf Steiner and the Waldorf tradition and rhythms. I'm not an expert, I am always learning and seeking new ways to enrich our home life. At the very least, I can learn along with some of you who may also be called to delve deeper into this type of life path, and for those of you who aren't called, great! We'll still have so much to chat about! I hope you enjoy today's post. Please feel free to share this with others who might also enjoy what we have going on at It's a Simple Life.

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Burrrr!

Well, we asked for winter weather and boy we sure got it! However, it's not quite the weather I think most of us were dreaming of (i.e. actual snow!!!!) but, it adds that certain element that had been missing. Nonetheless, this cold and wet day is the perfect day to stay cozied up inside and bake, bake, bake!

After years of fiddling with our oatmeal cookie recipe, I think I've managed to come up with something that is crunchy on the outside, gooey on the inside, and chock full of spices that will warm up even this cold, wintry day! Also....... on days like today we tend to always make hot chocolate, which, in my opinion, isn't all that bad, but.......we're out of regular milk sOoOoOoOo we'll make homemade chai tea instead! It's sweet, warm, spicy and really good for you, plus, it tastes better when you use an alternative milk like soy or almond, which I happen to have on hand. Gotta keep it simple!

Thank you for spending your moments reading what's happening over here on It's a Simple Life. We enjoy your comments and feedback so keep it coming! Stay tuned for tomorrow's post which will have both recipes from today's baking frenzy!

New Post on DO

Share with us in the celebration of our 4 year old's birthday. Her crown, her cake, her smile.

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*A tutorial for the crown and recipe for the cake will be posted as soon as possible.

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If you're looking for another way to cherish those amazing strawberries that are in season right now head over to the Taste page and indulge your senses on a Strawberry Shortcake PIE!!!! http://rhythmicsilence5.blogspot.com/

The simplest of things.......

We made pretzels. They are wonderful and smell just like the ones you can get in New York City except BETTER!!!! There is nothing more wonderful than discovering you can make those coveted treats at home and they truly do taste just as wonderful. *sigh* The simple pleasures......

*********The following is my article that was published in Little Acorn Learning's March Afterschool Enrichment E-book. If you haven't already checked out all the amazing work Eileen is doing.......GO! Check out her amazing website and all the amazing gifts she has to offer!

The photos are from our pretzel making today! It truly is such a simple pleasure and a ton of fun!!! ***********

Pretzels have a surprising history within the celebrations of Lent, dating as far back as the fourth century. During the time of the Roman Empire, those who were devout Christians followed a strict fast during Lent. Their diets for that 40 day period would consist of no more than breads, fruit, vegetables, and grains. Simple breads, made of only flour and water, were made and folded in the way that honored their traditional way of sitting in prayer, not with folded hands, but with folded arms across their chests. These breads were called "little arms" or bracellae. It is from this Latin word where the word 'pretzel' came from.

A simple way to make these pretzels part of your Lenten celebrations is to begin making them on Ash Wednesday as a family. Talk about the rich history these little breads have and how they can represent something so meaningful. Like a candy cane is to Christmas, let pretzels be to Lent. Serve these breads with each evening meal though out the Lenten season until Easter. Reserving this tradition solely for Lent will make these a time honored tradition in your home.

Recipe for Lenten Pretzels::

Combine 1 1/2 cups of warm water, 1 tablespoon of sweetener, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Add to this one packet of dry active yeast. Let this mixture sit for a few minutes until it has proofed (becomes foamy). Add 4 1/2 cups of flour, one cup at a time, along with 4 tablespoons of melted butter. Once the dough has come together, pour it out on to a clean surface and knead until springy (about 5 minutes). Return the kneaded dough into a large, oiled bowl and let rise for one hour.



Once the dough has doubled, pour out onto a cutting board and cut into 8 equal portions. *At this time, prepare a large pot with 10 cups of water and 2/3 cup of baking soda and have it heating to a rolling boil.* Roll each portion into a long rope (about 18-24 inches).



Hold each end of the rope and form it into a "U" shape. Still holding the ends, twist the ends around each other 2-3 times and then meet them together at the bottom of the "U". Pinch the dough together. Complete the rest of the ropes. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees.





Now that the ropes are 'tied' and your water is boiling, place one pretzel at a time in the water bath. Let it sit in the boiling water for about 30-45 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted spatula and return to cookie sheet. Once they have all been boiled, brush them with a solution of 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water. Sprinkle them with kosher salt and bake until they are golden brown (about 10-12 minutes).