homemade Sangria (non-alcoholic!)

This recipe is from one of my FB friends from Venezuala.. it sounds divine!

You need grape juice from red or blue grapes, marinate fresh peaches, chop in slices one orange unpeeled, one stick of cinnamon bark and if you have a few strawberries to boot, well that's only better. Let marinate in the fridge at least 24 hours. You can mix it with club soda to give some bubbles to it. use organic fruits,

wine bottle tiki torch!

here is very simple instructions for a wine bottle tiki torch.. you can make it for about 5 bucks! Gotta love that!

http://www.gerardotandco.com/blog/recycled-bottle-torch/

natural remedy for gas in babies

as always I try to post good recipes that bear preserving for one reason or another. I know not everyone needs this, but we all pretty much know someone who is pregnant or who has an infant.. and its good stuff to know so you don't have to give them mycelon drops all teh time!

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds boiled in 3/4 cups water...warm a teapot by rinsing with hot tap water. Place all seeds into the warmed pot and cover with boiling water. Steep for 5 minutes and allow brew to cool

update to things...

I was putting comments under the original post after trying them... but I was worried no one would see them.. soo.. heres an update.

The garden goddess cake is divinely wonderful. ...when they tell you to put the wax paper in the bottom.. its a good idea.. listen to them. This was a trial run, so I didn't feel teh need lol. For Sierra;s birthday cake I will be sure to! I have a pic to add at a future date.

Sierra liked the baby pancakes.. I think she'd have liked them better with a bit of fruit or spice to them, but thats ok.. I wanted to make sure she'd eat them first. It's a great way to use up baby cereal!

Plum salad... yummmmmmmmm. I didn't use enough plums... I only used 3 cuz I didn't realize it took 6 in the recipe. It was still really good. My only regret was not letting it sit for teh full 5 minutes.. its one of those recipes where the longer it sits in the dressing, the better it tastes!

baby pancakes

I got a recipe from a friend for these and I definetely want to try them for Sierra!!

Baby pancakes, not just small but made with baby cereal.

Baby Cereal Pancakes Recipe -

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup baby barley cereal (or other baby cereal)
1 cup formula (or another liquid such as milk)
1/2 cup mashed banana (or fruit of your choice)optional
1 tbsp melted margarine or butter (unsalted type)or1 tbs flax seed
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup baby oatmeal
apple juice (about 1/2 cup) or water

Add cinnamon, nutmeg, dash of vanilla or other flavorings if you wish.

Mix all ingredients together and add enough juice to make pancake consistency. Cook on cook top in frying pan as with "regular" pancakes.

**Freezes Well**

makes 40 minis,

plum salad

I got this recipe from my friend Erin and it just sounds really good, I will be trying it tomorrow probably for lunch, or as a side salad with dinner since I know it will never fill Randal up as a main course. (she got it from a recipe group she subscribes too.. but now for the life of my I don't remember the name of it.

Whisk 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice with 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Slice 6 plums into thin wedges and mix with the lemon juice and olive oil. Let stand for 5 min. Then add 5 ounces of mixed greens (she used a "spring mix") and 1/2 cup Parm. cheese and toss.

I will let you know what we think of it later :)

not *quite* right.. but a finished project

I tried to make the crinkle square, but quickly realized I didn't have much of anything that I needed for the real pattern. So.. I improvised.. its more of a ....crinkle...pillow lol.
Things were moving along fairly well in the beginning.. I was starting to get the feel for the sewing machine.. it was the first time I'd pulled it out of the box since my mom bought it for me...many moons ago. Then on the third one, I forgot to hold the strings, and the machine came unthreaded.. I thought I knew what I was doing, and tried again.. nope.. tangled mess. I tried many more times to get the machine to work, but nothing was working that night. I conceded and started hand sewing. You could really tell when I was paying attention to what I was doing and when I was distracted with the UFC fights lol.
I ended up using flannel scraps from 2 different pair of boxers that had saw better days, and "made" ribbons out of miscellaneous scrap material. I stuffed the inside with abotu 10 plastic bags, and since I didn't measure out a 6 inch square, it was more like a rectangle.. hence... my crinkle pillow lol. Sierra likes stomping on it to make noise.. most of the time when I try to offer it to her she's too tired to want to mess with it. I will have to try again when she is more awake.

On a bright note, I figured out I didn't rethread the top part of the machine correctly, and it now works again :) ahhhhh the satisfaction of doing something you didn't think you could. I think I will try the real pattern when mom is visiting. :)