Peanut Blossom

So you got an iPad for Christmas, Now What?!

  

Let's get one thing very straight: You are never too old for toys.

When my mom and dad would confer over what to get my sister and I every year for Christmas, my dad would always stop to ask, "But what toy will we be giving them?" That question is posed each and every year and has instilled my love of all manner of gadgets and techno gizmos. I still love to find clothing, perfume, kitchen items under our Christmas tree, but Handyman Tim knows the fastest way to my  heart is to give me a toy.

It was with great glee that I accepted an iPad a few weeks ago. Tim had been the owner of it for over a year but just didn't enjoy using it. Often it sat quietly in his hotel room untouched. He finally decided to put it in more eager hands. While I stared in disbelief as he passed it over, he said, "I thought it would be a great replacement for my laptop and I just haven't enjoyed using it like I thought I would." 

And then the angels wept.

I hope Handyman Tim never reads this post. He may regret handing me this awesome toy. But for your sake, I knew I had to share this. Did you get an iPad for Christmas? It seems most ladies in my Facebook feed seem to have unwrapped one of their very own in the last few weeks. Some were greeted with glee like me, but I did see a few, "What do I do with this thing now?!" exclamations. 

I'll be sharing different iPad tips over the coming weeks but today I wanted to start you off with the number one thing you absolutely need to put on your iPad right this very second:

Stop what you're doing and download Flipboard to your iPad right now. They have a version for iPhone too but the display size of the iPad is what makes this truly magnificent.

If you're an avid blog reader like I am, you're probably used to the list-style display of most feed readers. Hook up your Google Reader account to Flipboard and it turns your blog reader into a print-style magazine:

You can display your blogs by folder, by feed, or all of them mixed together:

My blog feed is extremely photo based. I buy my cookbooks based on the photography included, I make my decisions on what to cook based on the photo. Why wouldn't I want to see my blog feeds by photo?! I LOVE this easily scannable format. You swipe the screen and it turns like pages of a magazine. 

No internet browser works this way. This kind of interaction with your blog feed can only  happen in a unique app such as Flipboard. Why would you want to go to the Safari browser window to read via a traditional web site when you can have them fed to you in this gorgeous display?? 

And Flipboard doesn't just hook up with Google Reader. I set my account to grab my Facebook, Twitter feed, LinkedIn account, Instagram feed and Flickr photostream. Instead of seeing all the text based links and hashtag mess of a normal Twitter feed, look at how it pulls the images right out of the links themselves:

When I discovered how much more fun it was to read my social media outlets via Flipboard, I sat quietly squealing in our living room. Handyman Tim noticed and just shook his head and groaned. 

Stay tuned for more iPad tips and suggestions in the weeks to come. For now, Flipboard should keep you plenty busy. But are you interested in having that super cute Valentine's wallpaper for your very own iPad or iPhone? Check out Zina's post over at Let's Lasso the Moon and download yours there!

Stock your pantry: Gnocchi soup with lemon and dill

Our kitchen is running on fumes today. I am due a very large and very extensive trip to the grocery store but I am still in the middle of making the list. Lunchtime waits for no one and I had to come up with something out of what felt like nothing. How I love my pantry stash! Out of a few random ingredients, I was able to make homemade soup and fresh bread from the oven for a quick and relatively healthy (albeit starchy) lunch for the girls and myself.

Want to know the best part? All the ingredients came from Costco! You could honestly stock up on all these ingredients in bulk and have a great little emergency meal on hand at all times. I've had this trio of gnocchi from Costco sitting in my cupboard for months but haven't been sure what to do with them. They made an amazing soup filler: light, fluffy, and very satisfying in place of noodles or rice.

And a side note, if you haven't already tried the french bread loaves from the freezer section at Costco, I HIGHLY recommend them. $10 for 10 loaves. They are flash frozen in France and shipped here. You just thaw for 10 minutes on the counter and bake them for 10 minutes in your oven. I am a total bread snob and they have my absolute seal of approval.

________________________________

Gnocchi soup with lemon and dill
recipe adapted from Enlightened Soups by Camilla Saulsbury

Ingredients:

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I had to use the organic chicken stock I had on hand despite the higher sodium)
1 16 oz package of dried gnocchi
5 carrots, peeled and diced
Garlic: use one whole clove or just a very few pieces of Penzey's freeze dried minced garlic
1/2 lemon juiced
1/2 tsp dried dill
salt and pepper to taste

Frozen french bread loaves

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the chicken broth (or stock), diced carrots, and the garlic in a large saucepot and bring to a boil. Gently simmer for 10-15 min until the carrots are tender. Remove the garlic clove if you used a whole one.

By now the oven should be preheated. Put the french bread into the oven and set the timer for 10 min. Add the potato gnocchi to the saucepot and simmer while the bread bakes. With 2 minutes left on the timer, squeeze half a lemon into the pot, add the dill, salt, and pepper, and stir.

When the bread comes out, the soup is done.

H * E * L * P!

It sure has been quiet around here lately, hasn't it? I'm so sorry, I promise it has been very unintentional. Handyman Tim is knee deep in an awful project that is keeping him away from home for 4 months. He left at the beginning of December and other than a short break at Christmas, he's been busy working 12 hour shifts, 7 days a week out of town with no end in sight until sometime in March at the earliest.

I'm no stranger to being home alone with the kids but this is something completely different than even I am used to. The girls and I have buckled down into hardcore survival mode which basically means: No fancy meals or baking, very few crafting opportunities, and an all around lack of things to write about like I normally share here! Not to mention how crazy things got over on Develop with the start of our 2012 photography projects.

I'm happy to let you know though, I have a series of posts I'm busy trying to pull together for you. I was finally inspired over the weekend. I want to get things rolling more predictably around here. Thank you for being patient with me as I sort out life in general.

That being said, I am definitely looking for some guest writers who would like to contribute some tried and true recipes. I will make and photograph your dish, you simply need to share a short intro and the recipe. Bloggers and non-bloggers are welcome! If you were in my shoes and feeding two small children, what would be on your menu? I'd love to share your ideas!

If you're interested, just send me a message at: peanutblossomcreations (AT) gmail (DOT) com and we'll chat! 

Growing Veggie Lovers

Today my good friend Zina from Let's Lasso the Moon joins us for a few tips for getting your little ones to eat veggies. It's been a busy week at the house and over at Develop. I look forward to checking in with you again soon.

Have a wonderful weekend,
Tiffany

......................................................................................................

Want to grow veggie lovers? Last month Tiffany and I were chatting on the phone when I heard her Peanut scoff at the idea of eating carrots. I mentioned, “Tell her Santa’s reindeer love carrots; that they are one of their dietary staples.” We continued on with our conversation and I hadn’t thought much of the comment until today when Tiffany said her lady is obsessed with carrots now. Ah, it is all about parental marketing!

Today I am going to share five basic (sometimes overlooked) tips for getting your kids to, not just eat veggies, but actually like them.

1. Let them play—I walked away for a moment, when I returned to chop up my stalk of broccoli I found this. {smiles} Of course, I made a big deal out of it, laughed and yelled, “Hey, who’s eating my broccoli tree?” Generally we insist on good manners at dinner, except when it comes to veggies. We let the girls eat green beans with their hands if they wish. If they are putting vegetables in their mouth, I let it go. *Check out the “play” scenario showcased in the video below!
   
   
2. Buy it fresh—I have purchase about a million & one bags of mini, pre-cut, pre-washed carrots in my life. Last year I noticed regular sized organic carrots were only 98 cents; they were sitting next to my $3 bag of minis. The first time I bought whole carrots, peeled, and then cut them I was so enchanted by the fresh smell that I posted on Facebook. I asked, “What have I been missing all these years?”
   
   Let’s Lasso the Moon Tip: Cut your carrot into very small, thin sticks. We usually cut the carrot down to about 2 inches long by ¼ inch thick.
   
   
3. Never utter these infamous words, “You may have dessert after you eat your vegetables.” It is the equivalent of telling your child veggies are yucky & something they inherently should not enjoy. When’s the last time you said, “You’re welcome to play outside after you finished your sucker?” Take away that ‘you have to eat them or else’ stigma. At our house we actually serve dessert with dinner (mind you, a small portion). You’d be surprised how much this has simplified our lives.
   
   
4. Participate—Gandhi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I follow in his footsteps by telling you, be the change you want to see in your family. If you want your kids to like eating veggies grab a carrot once and a while. Make vegetable recipes you enjoy.  Stumped? Check out the Peanut Blossom Bring Back the Family Meal board on Pinterest for ideas.
   
   
5. And my favorite, sure fire approach for getting kids to eat veggies? Pop on over to my kitchen table over at Let’s Lasso the Moon & I’ll whisper the secret in your ear.

I’d love to hear any additional suggestions you have… let’s chat in the comments below.

How to spell "Mom": S-U-C-K-E-R

I have been at my wit's end with both my girls and their sudden and forcible pickiness. During the last couple months they seem to have clamped down on the selection of healthy fruits and vegetables they allow to pass those sweet little lips. 

So what's a mom to do? Pull out all the stops. I cracked open an Annabel Karmel cookbook I've had waiting. The thing I love the most about her books is the variety of produce she manages to work into each dish. The photography is gorgeous and super appealing as well. Knowing full well that the recipes take quite a bit more time to prepare, I sat the Peanut down with "Finger Foods" and allowed her to pick ANY recipe she wanted. Her dish of choice was the Welsh Rarebit Rabbit.

We talked about how if I went through the effort to buy the ingredients and put it together, she absolutely HAD to eat every last item on the plate whether she liked it or not. I got a slightly scared, slightly skeptical look but she agreed. Off to the store we went. 

Have you ever had Welsh Rarebit? I have not. Even I was a bit skeptical about this one: It involves shredded cheddar, an egg yolk, a bit of milk, and worcheshire sauce mixed together then spread over an english muffin and broiled. I put my doubts aside and started prepping the veggies.

The plate in the picture above is exactly what I served each of my girls for lunch this afternoon. And shocker of all shocks, both plates were CLEAN when the meal was over! My fussier than fussy girls each ate: snow pea pods, cherry tomato, raw carrot, green onions, and two servings each of blueberries. Are the quantities tiny? Yes. Does it even count as a single serving of vegetables? Probably not. But they tried it. 

I asked the Peanut what she thought of her meal when she was done. "Mommy, I didn't like it." I laughed out loud at her response. But then she surprised me with, "But some of the parts were ok." I asked her which ones: "The tomato, bunny ears, bunny eyes, and the carrot." So apparently the Welsh Rarebit part was the part she didn't like. Even funnier if you ask me.

I told her how proud I am that she cleared her plate of all the things she had been nervous about and promised that since she was so adventurous we could experiment with another recipe from the book sometime.

Do I cook like this every day? HA! No. Was I willing to try this crazy experiment to get some new veggies in? Definitely. I count it a success.

So I may be a sucker for those gorgeously unattainable serving suggestions, but there is definitely something in the magic of presentation.

An unconventional reading list for a new year

With all the new year's resolution lists popping up all over the web, I took a look back at what I wrote about at the beginning of last year. I had completely forgotten about that post and rereading it made me laugh a bit at myself. It was so refreshing to see that I set out into 2011 with a fairly relaxed attitude towards life. I'm amazed at what I was able to accomplish last year all without having actually set out a specific list of goals and deadlines. 

It is completely possible to make very large changes outside of formal resolutions. If you're feeling pressure right now because you want to try something new in 2012 but you don't even know where to start, please don't stress. Give yourself permission to experiment this year instead. It was truly the best thing I ever did. 

I'd love to share with you my recommended reading list for soul searching in this new year. I read all of these in 2011 and what an amazing difference they made for me:

1. The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau: This book truly gets you thinking about how you want to spend your life and how to prioritize what is most important to you.

2. Linchpin by Seth Godin. Please read my review of it here before starting it, there is a small disclaimer. An eye-opening book for sure.

3. Trust Agents by Chris Brogan and Julien Smith: Yes, this is a business book. Yes, it focuses on developing relationships online. But, the lessons apply towards being a decent person as well. How I represent myself online is just as important as how I live my life offline. They are one in the same. If you are interested in absolutely any kind of writing online, I highly recommend reading this book.

Is there something you'd add to this list? If you read any of theses, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

I'm excited about the adventures I have planned for this new year. I hope you have something thrilling on your list too. Resolutions and change do not have to always be about improving on a negative, it's a great idea to focus on the positive too.

Kicking off Project 2012

As promised, more details are now available over on Develop about our Project 2012. You can check it out here. There's lots of info over there I won't completely rehash but I did want to share the big highlights!

I have three goals for next year's project:

1. Project 52:  I'll be taking 1-3 photos per week, likely to be lifestyle portraits of my girls. This is a continuation of this year's project because I've enjoyed the results so much. More manageable than a 365 but still a wonderful way to capture your world in a year.

2. "10 on 10": This is an absolutely new challenge for me. On the 10th of each month I plan to take one photo an hour for 10 consecutive hours. It is a condensed version of my annual Day in the Life project but spread out throughout the year. I love the simplicity of focusing one day a month on photography and sharing just 10 photos from the effort. I love this way of representing a year in my family's life.

3. Monthly Inspiration Challenge: Finally, I am going to be hosting a monthly creative challenge that will center around one word per month. I'll announce the new word and we'll all have 30 days to capture an image that represents the word. I can't wait to share comparisons of different visions of one concept.

As you can see, whether you're interested in shooting all the time, focusing in on just one day a month, or if you just want to share one single image a month, there's a little something for everyone in 2012. 

And just to share what a difference one year can make, check out this photo from Week 2 of my 2011 project:

And this one from Week 45:

How can you resist?? Come on over and check it out.