What's Cookin around here...

I know... I know... another food post... but really... with work and what I now do for a living... teach cooking... THIS IS MY LIFE!... LOL

 Above, is the filling for some homemade ravioli I made today... Chevre cheese, mozzarella, romano, and spinach with salt and pepper...

 My awesome Pasta and Ravioli maker...

 My newest acquistion... a rolling pin that rolls over pasta and filling to make ravioli!!!

Isn't it lovely???

 Obsession of the week... Naan... I can't stop making it... my family can't stop eating it...

My lunch was roasted eggplant and roasted peppers...

This is what my family ate... homemade ravioli...

I can't WAIT to share my Naan making with my class next week.

Tomorrow, Mama and I are catering a Race Across America dinner at my school.. to raise funds to support a special education department at our private high school.

Such a worthy cause.

I'm so proud to be a part of it.

I made 14 batches of dough to bake up tomorrow... Tomato Rosemary, Olive Tapenade and Rosemary.

My Sons are going to help serve.

The cool thing is... I get to cook it all in my classroom kitchen!!!

***

I've begun my second semester last week.  I now teach three classes a day. I get paid to laugh and cook... what a job!!!

It's a lot of hard work, and I really, really, really need Teacher's Assistants... but I can handle it.

The kids are all really wonderful, especially my high schoolers, and their enthusiasm makes it all go so quickly.

I hear there is a waiting list to get into my class... that's really flattering... but I truly believe that it's the food they want... where there's food, there's people... ya know?

***

OH!!!! I almost forgot.. Alex's school baseball coach told me, my older son William and Alex, that Alex really needs to get a pitching coach... because HE ALREADY HAS COLLEGES LOOKING AT HIM!!!He's in 8th grade, and he's 5'10, and can pitch so accurately it's mind boggling... and a pitching coach would really help hone his craft...

I heard the word 'COLLEGE' and my ears perked up...

then I heard the words "Scholarship" and my ears burned!!!

So when I was stunned to silence and didn't know what to say to that, the next day, he cornered my older son and told him to tell me... and then he told Alex to tell me... LOL

Apparently Alex is a prodigy... and we didn't know it!!!

Of course, I need to get on my knee's, do some praying... and thanking... just kinda ask for guidance...

But it is sooo cool to even THINK of it!!!

Food experimentation...

Here's what I've been up to lately...

I've been experimenting with making the most common store bought items... from scratch...

AND LOVING IT!!!

I don't buy pasta at the store anymore... we make all our own now... AND IT' EASIER, QUICKER, and more nutritious to make if ourselves... this was my first attempt a few weeks ago...

My men said it was DELISH!!!

Yesterday, I made homemade crackers... YES... CRACKERS... needless to say.. they are GONE!!!

I'm gonna make a new flavor today.. they were THAT easy...

No more buying cannoli shells for my catering jobs... from now on... I will make them from scratch... WITHOUT bad fats... these were lighter, flakier and tastier than the LARD made ones from the Italian store...

Rosettes...

Because they are hard to find... AND SOOOOOOOO EASY to make... and fun too!

Writer's Workshop - Too much after school stuff???

 

3.) It has been said that kids these days are pushed into too many extra-curricular activities and are not given the freedom to play and be bored and to use their imaginations. Is this true?

Is it true?? Yes and No...

I, for one, have never pushed any of my kids into doing/playing any sport.  HOWEVER... that being said, I have presented the sport in a favorable way so the child will want to play.
I believe sports are so important in a child early years.  It teaches coordination, confidence, cadence, sportsmanship, among a host of other great qualities.
Not to mention the amount of memories, fun and exercise a child gets from physical activity.


We don't really do other extra curricular things but sports... and I suppose the people that complain about kids being in too many things after school have a problem with music, math competitions, and spelling bees too...

Nowadays, with parents letting the stupid, idiot producing video gaming industry, babysit and desenstize their kids every. single. day... without a break... that music, sports or spelling would be a welcome respite.
I don't believe there are a bunch of "imaginative" gamers in the world...
Constantly killing people on an idiot box, pushing buttons incessantly isn't inspiring much imagination.

So am I a fan of extra curricular activity? HECK YEAH...
Especially if it takes the place of video games...

Is it that obvious that I am not a fan of video games??? LOL

Finals Week...

Finals are this week...

My boys are furiously studying for them...

Why cram?  Just do all your work during the semester and then it's just review... ya know???

I never had to cram for tests in High School... while others were racing against the clock, I just re read my notes, went over some things that I didn't know well, and ate a good breakfast and got some good sleep...

I don't like putting things off for the last minute...

That's just who I am... sometimes it serves me well... sometimes it doesn't...

So I'm getting all the good breakfast items for the week ready for them, so they have a good start...

Steel Cut oatmeal, eggs, fresh bread for toast, fresh squeezed Orange Juice from our oranges out back... and lots of coffee...

My boys... waiting till the last minute to soak up knowledge...

They are my hubby's sons....:)

But I adore them all... I can't help it.

I'm back!

I feel refreshed... renewed... reopened... and ready to take 2011 on...

Nothing like a good cry, or a little "shake up" to put things into perspective... HUH?

The past three weeks have been a little weird... but it's okay... I've learned soooooo much from all of it.  I just know God had to speak a little louder than a whisper to me, to get my full attention.

I'm not going to go into full detail... but I am going to say that never have I believed more... the statement that...
"God wouldn't put you in it, if he didn't plan to pull you through it" or something like that...

I kinda felt like things were going along just a little to smoothly for a while there... and He felt like I needed to be pulled up by the shorts a little... LOL...

The beautiful thing about going through some turmoil... is you really see who you have on your side... who is REALLY there for you, in a big way.  I've always known my husband has been a big support in my life... but boy did he really show me the past three weeks... and I wasn't even looking for it... but he just really came to my rescue... didn't point fingers... didn't say stuff like... "Well... you know... blah blah blah..." He just held me close, told me to listen to his heart beat, that it beats for me, and that he's truly on my side. NO matter what."
I just don't give him enough credit.  He really knows what to say... at the right time... in the right way. 

And my Father in Law... if my Hubby is my biggest cheerleader... then my Father in Law is a very close second... even on the phone... I can feel how much he loves me... and respects me... and I have to tell you... the feeling is definitely mutual.

When the enemy comes knocking at your door... it's disconcerting if you aren't ready for it.  My kids really rallyed around me too... they were saying things that just really boggled my mind... they were so insightful, and grown up in their views... it was thrilling to hear them say things that most 45 years old don't grasp.

Maybe God let this mishap happen in my life... just so I can see how loved I am.  Maybe I've been taking advantage or for granted the love I have in my life.  Maybe I just needed to refocus on Him... and stop focusing so much on me, me, me.  Whatever it was... it worked... I'm a more focused woman now. Focused on my relationship with the Lord... more focused on my relationship with my husband.. and focused on the fact that all I really need... in my life... are the awesome people living in my home... and whoever else knows who I really am... I will no longer focus on people that only see what they want to see...and believe what they deem is truth in their own minds...

My blog is open again.  I won't allow anyone to censor me anymore...

Peace. Love... and tiny flowers...

A 6 foot what???

Did you know there are restaurant out there that make and SELL 6 foot Burritos?

Have I been living in a cave?

Why have I never seen this before?

One showed up in my classroom today for a meeting with students...

and I was ASTONISHED to see...

A 6 FOOT BURRITO!

Unbelievable!

Six foot sandwiches... I've seen those... 6 foot long arm of Octopus on a table? I 've seen that too...

but never a Burrito...

Wish I had thought of it...

I really wish I had my camera on hand...

Baby it's cold outside...

Holy Moly it's cold outside...

It's the end of the year, and I haven't done anything I planned on doing with my 2 weeks off.  I need to make a new syllabus, plan a new middle school cooking class, print out recipes, write recipes, continue my novel and cookbook, clean out under my bed, get rid of tons of unused things to donate...

Oy Vay...

I actually miss work!  This is too much pressure!!! ;)

I have been baking a TON of pretzel bread recently... my new obsession... and much to my kids happiness... they have been devouring it.

My Mom and I have been baking fiends the past few weeks... and catering a bunch too.  It's so much fun to cook and just 'be' with my Mama in the kitchen.  We have yet to find out if we "got" a gig catering an impromptu wedding on New Year's Eve... fingers crossed!  It would be fun to cater and enjoy a wedding and all the music that comes with it on NYE.
We also have a huge Football Banquet for our Football team to cook for on Jan. 5.  Holy Moly... I sure wish we had that thing in December... LOL... but... we have a ton of awesome people willing to do whatever it takes and help... so it will be so much fun to cook, laugh and fellowship with everyone in my classroom...

There have been a lot of Basketball tournaments lately... so we've been trying to get to a couple here and there...
I just enjoy being home so much and not 'needing'  to be somewhere... that we just don't get out that much right now... LOL...

There have been a bunch of Amazon.com packages coming in... that's been fun...getting gifts after the fact... it's a great time... Like a mini Christmas every day.

Just found out my new Ipod doesn't fit ANY of my older Ipod (less than a year ago) stuff... so all my junk had to be passed down to the kids for their Ipod Touch's, and I had to buy all new junk for mine... sooooo sucks!  But.. the new one has video and camera... so I'm set for any event now...in a much more compact form.  Those companies just keep tweaking things jusssst enough to get every single penny out of us... huh?

***to my irked reader (you know who you are)... notice how this blog post doesn't resemble anything that may/maynot be something that irks you... Well... there are about 599 other ones just like this... why don't you focus on your own life... and leave me alone... Thank you so much for reading me... but really... you should find time to do things in your life that fulfill you and make your life better... mine is just fine at the moment... thanks... I don't need or want your opinion on what I write, post, or have experienced in my life... you do you... I'll do me.

Basketball, baseball, work oh my!!!

Holy frijole!!!

Time is just flying by!!! It feels like yesteday that I accepted my position as Teacher at ACA... and now it's ALREADY CHRISTMAS?? REALLY??? How did that happen?

William is now playing basketball.  He made Varsity, so games are now at 7:30 p.m.  So it makes for a long day... THANK GOD he's driving himself.  Did I just say that??? I did!!!

Alex just decided to play baseball at school, so now we have that too.  Now life feels like it's back to normal. Johnathon is in drumline at school, and is about to play soccer for his school.  

I really need three of me.  I sure wish someone would come up with that already.

I still really love my class and teaching my class.  I get to keep them all year, because the Ceramic Teachers kiln never showed up for next semester. Sad for the ceramics teacher... happy for me.

We are making desserts and sweets the next week, and the week we come back from break, then we get to make stuff I really know how to cook.  Desserts aren't my forte'.  I'm a savory girl.  My Mama is gonna help me out by teaching them to make her specialties when we return from break... thank God!!!

Ugh... I am soooo tired.  I need to sleep..,

My baby got his Driver's License today... Waaahhhhhh!

Today was one of those days my son will remember for the rest of his life.  The day he got his Driver's License.  I tried to make it a good day...

I smiled alot... although I wanted to bawl my eyes out.

I didn't yell at him as he drove me to school... even though he stops waaaaaay to late...

I made sure and said a prayer with/for him before his test.

Did I mention I tried really hard not to cry?

Yeah, that plan failed.

Right after the DMV lady came to sit in the passenger side of his truck... I excused myself to go to the ladies room, and let the tears fall in private.  He's almost a man now.  What the heck and I gonna do with an almost full grown man as a son?  He won't need me for anything soon... THEN what am I gonna do?

This Motherhood business is so tough.  You pour your entire life, heart and soul into raising these humans... and they go and get all independent on you... WHAT'S UP WITH THAT!

He is soooo very excited.  I drove him home so I could get MY car, and he took HIS truck back to school.
No more "ours".  {{sigh}}

So I told him I loved him, and watched him drive away...
and called the school to make sure he got there okay...
What!!! I'm his Mama!  It's my right!  He might be a man (almost)... but he'll ALWAYS be my little boy...

Thankful... oh... so Thankful!

I really love Thanksgiving.  It's one of my favorite Holidays.  Much more so than Christmas or Chanukah.
Thanksgiving is a holiday without airs.  It's simple.  Eat a lovely meal with those you love, be thankful, clean up, and bask in the Thankfulness for a few days.  There's no other Holiday like it.

I love how generous this Holiday makes everyone seem to feel.  Homeless food pantries become full, shut in's get invited for a meal, warm clothing gets donated to those on the streets.  What I truly wish, is that all of us would do this kind of stuff ALL THE TIME... all year long... but Thanksgiving is a great place to start.

I know some of my friends don't believe in God, and I respect their beliefs.  But I will encourage them to just for one second, just for a moment in time, for a nanosecond... to just fathom that someone GREATER than ourselves is watching over us, protecting us, giving and blessing us with the lives we have, the children we have, the roofs over our heads, the smiles on our faces.  JUST FOR A SECOND... and then to just say a little 'Thank You'.  I know those friends of mine believe they are the reason for the blessings, that it comes from them, and their choices alone, that nothing divine is helping them. 

I also know they believe this way because they look around and see so many homeless, hurting, starving, broken people not being helped, or cured, or given shelter.  They see a world where there CAN'T be a God, because if there were... then why doesn't He HELP them?

The only answer I have to that question is... THAT'S WHAT WE ARE HERE FOR.  I believe will all my heart and soul that my Saviour is EVERYWHERE, all the time.  The He is omniscient, omnipresent, omniAWESOME... and he CAN and DOES help everyone, ALL THE TIME...  All. The. Time.

I do not come from the belief system that "God helps those who help themselves"... no... NO... He helps EVERYONE... whether they believe in Him or not!!!  He created EVERYONE in His image, and he loves me as much as He loves the person saying He doesn't exist!  I am no better than anyone else because I love Him, but BECAUSE I love Him, it is my (our) responsibility to help our fellow brothers and sisters that are broken, homeless, and abandoned.  THAT'S what we are here for.  God put US here to do His work.  We can't see Him right now... but we can be seen.  WE CAN DO HIS WORK, to clothe, and feed and be a light to those who don't have as much as we do. 

I love Thanksgiving because it doesn't exist as a holiday of giving things to other people because we can afford to do so.  It exists to feed, and to concentrate on being thankful and giving, and in that spirit, it jolts our minds to be sensitive to the fact that we have SOOOOOOOO much, when others have SOOOOOOO little.

If I may, allow me to make a suggestion this weekend?

Take a little time to go through your closets and drawers this weekend.  Grab a huge bag and start filling it with blankets and clothes and things you haven't used in a long time (a year or two) and keep it in your car.  When you are driving around this weekend, shopping, lunching, laughing and spending... be mindful of the people on the street with the shopping carts as cars, or the family walking down the streets in shorts in cold weather, and hand them your unused items.  Just hand it to them and say... "This is from God, not me... He wants you to know He loves you and will meet your needs... "  If you have some money, buy them some food.  It's such a small, simple gesture... but it's what He wants us to do.

I am so thankful for the roof over my head... I need to stop complaining about how "small" it is.

I am so thankful for my car... I need to stop complaining about how old it is.

I am so thankful for my new job...I need to stop complaining... oh wait... no complaints there yet... LOL

I am so thankful for my kids... I need to stop complaining they don't listen to me... they are teens, they aren't supposed to...

I am to thankful for my Husband... I need to stop complaining that he works too much... he is supporting all of us beautifully...

I am so thankful for my parents...I need to stop complaining they are divorced, and just enjoy them individually.

I am even thankful for my extra layers... I need to stop complaining I'm not losing them fast enough, and continue to love myself where I am.

Be thankful and mindful this Holiday Season...

Much love, health, happiness and prosperity to all...

Sandra