Valentine Favors

Delaney and I spent time today making our first of many Valentine treats. First we made arrow snacks that we saw the idea for in Family Fun Magazine. We used Pretzel Sticks and Brachs candy gummy hearts. One bag of gummy hearts made about 36 arrows.



For each one, you need a whole heart and one heart that you cut a triangle out of to make a tale shape for your arrow .

And this is how we bagged them up. I got these stickers printed from Pear Tree Greetings. We put them on solid card stock and stapled them onto the clear bags. These will be for Delaney's four year old class at school.



Next we made some favors for Ford's class. We have bags of crayons and pieces of crayons laying around. I found this great idea for what to do with them on Pinterest.

I found the heart ice cube trays at Ikea. We filled them up and put them in the oven for 15 minutes at 250 degrees. Let them cool and then pop them out of the silicone mold. They turned out great. We bagged them the same way we did for the arrow treats. But we did add a note to the back of each that they are not edible just in case the three year olds in Ford's class think they look good enough to eat.

Eating Well

We've been eating all healthy around here lately. I've cut out most fun things like glutton and sugar and dairy and meat, etc. etc. etc. Basically I'm eating vegetables and fruits, nuts and some legumes. This has forced me to get very creative in the kitchen. I've been recipe searching all over the place and have written a few myself. It has been a month of much experimentation as to achieve every new texture and taste I can with very limited ingredients. I do not do well with repetition!

I have been wanting to try cooking Celeriac for a while having eaten it out at restaurants but never made it for myself. All the recipes I found either used butter or cream or something I can't eat right now so I made one up. This soup was the biggest hit of anything I've made this month. Even my 4 year old loved it!


1 celery root (celeriac) peeled and cubed
2 small apples peeled and cubed
1 turnip peeled and cubed
1 box organic vegetable broth
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
walnuts
truffle oil

Put all the above ingredients, minus the walnuts and the truffle oil) in a stock pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 30-45 minutes or until all the ingredients are very tender. Strain out the veggies and apples but reserve the liquid. Blend the solid ingredients til very smooth adding the liquid back one ladle at a time until the consistency you want is achieved. This will use most of your liquid. Ladle into soup bowls and drizzle with truffle oil. Top with the walnuts and serve immediately.

I'll share more recipes later. Back to the kitchen for me!