I’m finally getting a chance to share a bit from my last visit to Rascals to Rebels in Rossmoor. I chose a handful to share on the blog, but there were SO MANY cuties that came out for pictures at the beginning of the month. I feel so lucky to be able to partner with the store. It’s always such a great time!!
Did you know a dollar can be exciting? So much of life is how you look at it and how you live it. I parent my kids under the rule that you can always let the reigns out a bit, but it’s a lot harder to take them in. For example, sometimes we will visit the candy store in the mall. You know with the big bins of sugar in every color of the rainbow? I let them pick three pieces each and it’s exciting. Each choice is thought out. If I started off letting them get a half pound of candy and then decided it was too much and they really needed just a few pieces, I’d be hearing some complaints. So, I guess my point is…start small. You can always add more.
Find out what we did this summer with a dollar by reading the rest of this post on Modern Parents Messy Kids. I’m guest blogging there today!
Packing lunches for kids can lead to boredom and possibly even wanting to pull your hair out. I always tell my kids, you don’t have to eat everything in your lunch, but you’re not allowed to throw it away. At the end of the day, I just want to see what things you like (and eat all of) and what things you don’t like or don’t have time to eat. These talks are serious. You’d think it was an ABC after school special. But, seriously, I want to be an effective lunch packer. I hate throwing food away, but I don’t want them to be hungry at school either! I’m sure some of you can relate.
I’ve learned that marketing is key. And packaging is everything. If I can ‘sell’ it, they’ll be excited about it and want to eat it. Let me give you an example. Vegetables in the lunches are not a big hit. I wanted them to be able to dip their vegetables, but the individual ranch packets you can buy are a) way too much ranch for a kid to eat at lunch and b) expensive. I went on the hunt for tiny containers to hold dips and found these Lock-Ups at The Container Store. I saw them in the office section, so I think they are meant to be for office supplies, but they are the perfect size and also dishwasher safe (on the top rack).
Carrots are now a lunch favorite and we have plans to use them for celery and peanut butter too. I’ve even been thinking pretzels in a yogurt dip would work. The Lock-Ups stack too, so you could pack more than one dip and have the containers connect.
I wonder who came up with the term comfort food? It perfectly describes the way food makes you feel. It warms your belly and makes you feel all cozy. This stew is comfort food in every sense. Maybe it has special meaning because a very sweet lady from church made it for us when we had our first baby. We came home from the hospital in an ice storm and she had a big pot waiting for us on the stove.
Later she gave me the recipe. It’s unlike any stew I’ve had before. The ingredients are simple and the flavors are bright. The beef doesn’t get bogged down with heavy bland flavor. As we transition to fall, make a big pot of this stew, get yourself a crusty loaf of bread and get cozy!
Beef Cider Stew
(serves 6-8)
from Linda Richardson
2 large onions, diced
3T. butter
2 lbs. beef, cut in small chunks (I used tri-tip)
3T. flour
2t. salt
1/4t. pepper
1t. thyme
2 cups apple cider
1T. ketchup
3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks
4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into small chunks
1 1/2c. green beans
Brown onions in butter (in a large stock pot). Set aside and brown meat in the same pan. Combine flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Stir gradually into the meat. Stir in cider and ketchup. Add potatoes, carrots and green beans. Simmer for an hour, or until meat is tender.
I love it when babies grab their toes for photos. It’s the cutest!
We live in anticipation. Pumpkin spice lattes start arriving at Starbucks, Halloween decorations sit on all the end caps and Anthropologie is showing us the coziest sweaters. When is it going to get cold? Or at least chilly? Okay, anything other than sweltering will do.
I’m trying to channel fall with my cooking. Yesterday I made a stew and last week this butternut ravioli hit our table. Butternut squash is one of my favorite seasonal foods. It can be dressed up or down. It goes sweet or savory. It’s just the best. I’ve cooked with the squash before, but I hadn’t incorporated it into pasta yet. Turns out sage is a good compliment for our humble squash. Also, sage cooked in lots of butter until crispy is pretty much heaven. I found this recipe online and I was ready to go!
I made the pasta for this recipe, but you can just as easily buy sheets of pasta. It was the first time I had made pasta from scratch. In the past, I had used the pasta mix from Williams-Sonoma. Cheater, cheater pumpkin butternut squash eater.
Here’s how it all goes down…2 cups of flour and 3 eggs go on to the cutting board. Make a well for your eggs. It’s less messy. Use a fork to slowly incorporate it together and then start kneading it until it looks like this. At this point, you need to let it rest for 20 minutes and then it will be ready to be rolled. I did it by hand and I would not recommend it. It was an arm work out to say the least. And I never got it very thin. I mean no one complained about my thicker pasta 🙂 but thinner would have been better. So, if you have a pasta roller, use it!
After making my pasta, I started the filling. It was so easy! Chopped butternut squash can be purchased at Trader Joe’s, so make your life easier and buy it pre-cut. I also made my life easier by mixing in the other ingredients right on the baking sheet. One less dish to wash!
If you want to be fancy, use a ravioli pan (pictured above). If you don’t need fancy, just use a rotary cutter to make squares.
Here’s the full recipe as copied from Jenny Steffens Hobick’s website. See the link at the top of the page to her site.
Butternut Squash Ravioli
1 pound of Butternut Squash
Olive Oil
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
salt & pepper
1 recipe of Homemade Pasta, rolled into sheets
1 stick of butter
10-12 sage leaves
Begin by cutting the squash into cubes and placing them on a baking sheet. Coat them with olive oil, salt & pepper. Roast the squash at 425 degrees for 25 minutes until it is tender. Put it in a bowl and mash it with a fork. Add parmesan cheese, nutmeg and salt & pepper, if needed.
Place tablespoons of the filling down the center of the pasta dough that has been rolled into long sheets. Brush the dough around the filling with water, then fold the dough over lengthwise (making the filling of each ravioli be on one side, surrounded by dough on three sides. Cut the ravioli apart.
Heat a large pot of water for the ravioli.
For the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add sage leaves. Cook on medium-low for 2-3 minutes, just until the butter starts to brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Cook the ravioli in the boiling water for 2 minutes, until it is floating. Remove from water and add directly to butter sauce.
Thanks to all of you who signed up for the first round of holiday mini-sessions! I’m excited to do photo sessions at this new location!
I’ve opened up a 2 more dates and locations. These are favorites from the past. I love going back year after year!
Here are the details…it’s $100 for a 20 minute session. You can click here to check out the pricing for prints and digital images. Also, this year is the first that I’ll be offering digital packages! Think Christmas cards and gifts!!
October 8 (it’s Columbus Day, so you may have it off work and school) I’ll be in San Pedro doing urban sessions from 4:00-5:40. Email me at info@kristineldridge.com to book a session or call 562-980-6480. These fill up fast!
Scroll down to see the other date and location…
On October 20, I’ll be in Long Beach at the bay doing sessions from 8:00-9:40. This is another long-time favorite place to do photo sessions. I love the calm water and the sailboats in the background! There’s also a mini boardwalk across the street.
Sometimes home is best. Let’s face it. When you’re a mom, everything takes at least twice as long as it used to. Just getting everything out the door can result in sweating, crying and possibly a melt-down. So, when you’re thinking about booking a photo session, consider your home.
Your home doesn’t have to magazine quality to be a good candidate for a photo shoot location. What I look for is good light (most important!) and a neutral background. Do you have windows? Then you have good light. The time of day might be a key factor as to getting the best light. You don’t want bright sunlight streaming directly into your home and you don’t want it all dark either. The nice indirect light happens when it’s light inside your home, but you don’t see harsh shadows on the floor. Just pay attention to what your home looks like at different times of day and you’ll know what time the photo session should take place.
Less is more. When it comes to photos, I like less. All white bedding is great. Solid color bedding is second best. I also love floors. Hardwood floors are my favorite, but tile is another second best. I might even ask you to clear clutter around the corner, so the focus is on the kids. Hey, I know how many toys kids have, so no judgement here!
If you’re like me, life is lived on the fly. Sometimes you don’t have wrapping paper at home. And sometimes the party is in an hour. Other times you have plenty of time and you just want to make something pretty. Either way, these ideas for gift-wrapping will save you when you’re rushing out the door. Or looking for a way to spend your Saturday afternoon!
I’m guest posting today over on Little Skye Children’s Boutique’s blog. Check out the link to see the details…
The kids are back to school, which means that September is in full swing, which also means that the holidays are around the corner. Agh! Like how I turned that corner on you? I love to be prepared. I’m a planner. It just makes life a little less stressful. So, give yourself a head start this year and book your photo session now, instead of waiting until November. Stress-free Christmas cards!
I’ll be offering several different mini-sessions throughout the fall. This year, the location is at a park in Lakewood. Think winding paths, low trees for the light to filter through and patches of long grass. Perfection.
Here are the details:
$100 (+tax) for the 20 minute mini-session
-includes a pre-consultation (via phone or email), shooting time, 15-25 edited and retouched images presented in an online gallery
-all prints and digital images are ordered separately
Over the summer, I added new digital packages. These have been a popular item and will be great for this Christmas season! 5 images for $300, 10 images for $500 and all your images for $1200. They are high-resolution and ready to print as many and as large as you like! Think gifts and cards!!
September 25: 5:00, 5:20, 5:40, 6:00
September 30: 9:00, 9:20, 9:40, 10:00
Email info@kristineldridge.com to book your session or call 562-980-6480
