Raisin and Peanut Clusters

I have a super easy recipe for you all.  I made these for a party the other day and they turned out great.  They are sure to be a hit in your households or at a Christmas gathering.  (shh . . . it is vegan)

Raisin and Peanut Clusters

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c vegan chocolate chips

1 c whole roasted peanuts, salted

1 c organic raisins

* Melt chocolate in saucepan.  Stir until melted.  Mix in peanuts and raisins.  Drop by teaspoonfuls onto wax or parchment lined trays.

* Refrigerate until hard.  Store in the refrigerator in airtight container.  

Enjoy!

recipe from my cookbook Sinfully Vegan by Lois Dieterly

Act of Emptiness/Love of Stuff

. . . seeking wholeness in consumer goods is an act of emptiness, not joy.

to read more on this follow this link to Scott's blog and read a thoughtful article.

African Children's Choir

This morning we went to a concert that the African Children's Choir presented.  It was amazing.  This is the same choir that sang for American Idol's Idol gives back (or whatever).  Remember?  Powerful little people, I tell you.  Our kids loved it.  I was tickled Scott's schedule allowed him to go with us.  It was a sweet time.  There is a clip at the bottom and a link.  Enjoy!

If you want to learn more about the African Children's Choir follow this link to Friends of Mirembe.

12 Days of Christmas

Saturday's Decorating

We had a wonderful time Saturday putting up our Christmas tree and a few decorations.  I have never seen the kids so excited about it.  Here's a few pictures from the sweet moments we shared.  

Special Delivery

Jan and Jerry ordered these stockings for us and they just arrived.  I have been wanting these for years.  Thank you so much Jan and Jerry!  We love them!  This is such a special gift to us.

Squash and White Bean Soup

I tried a new soup from my Real Simple magazine. I absolutely love it. It is a beautiful soup. I enjoy using butternut squash. If you are up for trying something new and into veggies, you'll really enjoy this fall soup.

I have copied this recipe from Real Simple's website as is. I didn't make the Parmesan biscuits to go with it, but some of you may like that. Enjoy!

Squash and White Bean Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (4 cups)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, rinsed
1 bunch spinach, thick stems removed (4 cups)
Biscuit mix and ingredients to make 8 biscuits
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan (1 ounce)

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juices and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

Stir in the squash, thyme, 5 cups water, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the beans and spinach and cook until the spinach is wilted and the beans are heated through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the biscuits according to the package directions, sprinkling with the Parmesan before baking. Serve with the soup.

Tip: To make this satisfying soup even heartier, add 1/2 cup orzo or other small pasta at the same time you add the water.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 730; FAT 26g (sat 7g); CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 106g; CALORIES FROM FAT 32%; SODIUM 1890mg; PROTEIN 22g; FIBER 14g; SUGAR 12g

Beatboxing Kalen

This is a cute clip of our beatboxing boy Kalen. He has been doing this for sometime now. I love it. He is so unique in his ability to do it. Scott will do it from time to time and I have always loved it. If you don't know what beatboxing is just click on this link.

Portraits

Julian, Madelyn and I talked about a Spanish painter from the 18 and 19th centuries.  His name was Francisco de Goya.  In the Usborne book that I teach out of there is a picture of a couple paintings that he made and some information that goes with it.  The above painting is Francisco de Goya's 'Dona Isabel de Porcel'.  She was a well off woman of Madrid showing off some of the latest fashion.  I asked the kids to do some portraits of their own.  They chose each other to paint.

Here's Julian painting his portrait of Madelyn.

Madelyn is pictured here painting Julian.

We used acrylic paints from Micheal's and leftover matting scraps from a local framing shop for our canvas.  

A Big Event In My Daughter's Life

In downtown King (my hometown), there is a new little place for little girls called Simply Sassy.  We thought it would be neat to take Maddie to get her ears pierced there over Thanksgiving. She had been talking about getting earrings for about a year now.  

Since Anna Kristin was in town as well, Madelyn wanted her to go with her.  Anna Kristin was able to get a little makeover while Maddie got her ears pierced.  This place offers manicures, pedicures, ear piercing, and a couple other treatments.  

Madelyn was so serious and extremely brave.  The place was such a cute environment for her to get it done.  We are so proud of her!