Five Brown Kids

This is a fun snacks for kids to make on a rainy day or a long empty afternoon... Soft and Yummy Pretzels 4 to 4 ½ cups flour 1 package of dry yeast 1 ½ cups milk ¼ cup sugar 2 tbsp cooking oil 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp salt 3 quarts of boiling water 1 slightly beaten egg white 1 tbsp water cinnamon sugar In a large mixing bowl, stir together 1 ½ cups of the flour and the yeast; set aside. In a medium saucepan heat and stir milk, sugar, oil, and the 1 tsp salt until warm. Add milk mixture to dry mixture. Beat with an electric mixture on low for 30 seconds, scraping the sides of the bowl. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise until it is double in size (about an hour). Punch dough down and turn out onto a lightly...

For the past few weeks my family has been "disagreeing" via email about all things political including health care and taxes and environmental legislation. The original rebuttal started after a conversation at the beach this summer and we've been butting heads ever since. Some of us are staunch conservatives, and some of us are steadfast liberals and there are lots of disagreements. The emails have been flying fast and furious. This is my final rebuttal: I love my family. They are smart and motivated and kind and friendly and fun and faithful. And we can disagree politely and still all get along. Thanks for letting me be a part of it all. (Oh, about the orange skirt and hooded sweatshirt in this wedding photo - I got to the wedding before my luggage did)

We didn't see so much as a breeze from Bill around these parts but he hit hard in Nova Scotia. Here's a picture of the causeway out at Western Head, this skinny little ten mile loop goes past my old house, all the way out along the harbour and back through the trees. If I biked that loop once (and I have) I've done it 100+ times. All the Ripples are hoping it gets repaired - going home won't be the same without it. Picture from Queens County Times .

I don't have anything monumental to say about this book. My boys love it and I think it's worth a read to your kids. Just tells the story of a young bat boy and his experience working with Jackie Robinson his first year in the big leauges. I love that I read these books to my boys and they can't quite wrap their young brains around whites treating blacks badly - doesn't make any sense to them at all. I love this new century!

Since I finally figured out how to get pictures off my cell phone, I can post this darling picture of my little warrior headed off to a playdate - they had big plans for a nerf gun war and camo shorts, dark goggles, touque and sweater were all essential. Feb 09.

If pot roast is conservative then this dish is a little bit "liberal" according to Tyrone. So here's a trick question. If you're half black, half white, raised by ex-hippies and you belong to the Mormon church are you liberal or conservative? Serve this dinner with a quick lesson on the country of Morocco. It's a food and geography lesson your kids won't soon forget. 2 tsp vegetable oil 1 cup sliced carrots 1 cup sliced onion 1 red bell pepper cut into bit sized pieces 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1/2 cup raisins 1 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground turmeric 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp pepper 1 small zucchini, sliced 1 15oz can garbanzo beans/chick peas, drained 4 cups hots cous cous Heat oil in 12 non-stick skilled over medium high heat. Add carrots, onion, bell pepper and garlic; stir fry about 4 minutes or until onion is crisp tender. Add remaining ingredients except cous cous; stir fry about 5 minutes or until zucchini is crisp tender. S...

I had to take a picture of this cute pair. I can hook you up with some serious cement yard art if you ever need! Merry Christmas, Uncle Mike!

This is just a quick and tasty side dish that contains some of my favorite flavours. 2 cups of grape tomatoes, halved Toss with dressing: 2 tbsp rice vinegar 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger 1 tbsp honey 1/2 tsp salt Chill and serve.

Watch out!

(The little pot in the middle right turned into the sprawling pot on the top left.)

This has got to be my favorite summer food love. It's the perfect little appetizer. 4 field ripe tomatoes, chopped handful of washed basil leaves, chopped tbsp of olive oil 1/2 tsp garlic salt one loaf of french bread, sliced olive oil fresh garlic clove, peeled and halved asiago or parmesan cheese, shredded or fresh mozzarella sliced (if you want cheese) Add the tomatoes, basil, olive oil and garlic salt and let it sit and soak. Drain out the extra liquid before serving, or serve with a slotted spoon. Place the sliced bread on a cookie sheet, drizzle each piece with a little olive oil, rub the raw garlic over it then then sprinkle with some shredded cheese or a slice of fresh mozzarella . Broil just until toasty and then serve with the tomato topping. Oh WOW! (Thanks Em, how did my taste buds ever live before you?)

You knew this was coming. Tonight was the Swim Team Dinner/Awards Ceremony. Jaxon pulled in a beautiful 100 point trophy and Taye was this year's team high point winner with 178 points - and now owns another massive trophy. I'm going to need a bigger house... And now this blog returns to the general reporting of Three Little Brown Kids - who aren't so little anymore....