>Breakfast Bake with Fruit

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>Chuck: I fear we are failing to communicate.
Daisy: What’s up?
Chuck (unpacking groceries in kitchen): I’ve been buying fresh fruit and you aren’t eating it. I have pears in the fridge and they’re getting overripe.
Daisy: Sigh. It was a wild week; I usually eat fruit with my lunch, but I had a shortened lunch period each day. I’ll see what I can bake with the rest this weekend.

So the search was on! I looked through quick breads, crisps, and cobblers, and decided that this Blueberry Breakfast Bake could also accommodate pears. And indeed, it did. I split the 2 cups blueberries into 1 cup blueberries (frozen, from last summer’s Farm Market) and 1 cup diced very-ripe pears.

Blueberry (or other fruit) Breakfast Bake

1 egg or 1/4 cup egg substitute
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
pinch of ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 slices whole-wheat bread
2 cups fresh fruit: blueberries or pears or your choice

In a large bowl, beat the egg and sugar together with a fork until well blended. Stir in the milk, cinnamon, lemon rind, nutmeg, and vanilla. Tear the bread into 1/2 inch pieces and stir into the mixture. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat and 8X8-inch baking dish with vegetable oil cooking spray. Stir the blueberries (and other fruity gems) into the bread mixture and spoon into the pan, spreading evenly.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until firm. Serve warm. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream.

Daisy’s hint: in my increasing quest to keep our food supply more local, I froze blueberries last summer. By freezing them on a cookie sheet and then dumping the frozen berries into a container, the blueberries do not stick together. I can pull out exactly the amount I need. One cup, one and a half cups, or just a handful to serve over pancakes. Next summer I plan to do the same with strawberries and raspberries.

Original recipe taken from Betty Rhode’s Super So Fat, Low Fat, No Fat Cookbook

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>Pantry Raid, the sequel!

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One fun part of a Snow Day is the chance to cook and eat lunch together. I donned the Iron Chef MommyMoto hat and dug in the freezer. Often I find myself looking over the pan and thinking, “How much is local?” Here’s the assessment of the snow day’s brunch skillet, as I called this mix. We served it with eggs and toast.

Onions and Peppers from the freezer, originally Farmers’ Market fare. Spinach from the freezer, grown in our own garden (the spinach, not the freezer). Frozen corn from the grocery store, a brand that does a lot of business in Wisconsin. It’s tough to trace the origins of grocery store foods sometimes, but I know this company buys from state farmers. That helps. A little.

The cherry tomatoes were actually trucked in the greatest distance. I had a poor crop of tomatoes, so we didn’t have enough to freeze or can. These came to our store from (gulp) Texas.

Sigh. At least the eggs were organic and locally, um, laid.

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>Loads of Hope in the Classroom

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“Sometimes, you can make your own luck.” Was that Cher in Moonstruck? I’m not sure. I’m more sure that luck is only a small part of our destiny; action and hope are much stronger.

Hope isn’t limited to personal disasters, family, children, or close friends. Hope is important in the job arena, too. I’m fortunate (not just lucky) to have a secure job as a public school teacher. Earning that regular paycheck, however, takes a lot out of me physically and emotionally. As budgets tighten and we do more and more with less and less, it takes a lot out of many of us teachers.

Last school year was the Year From H-E-Double Hockey Sticks. Add a class full of unmedicated ADHD that exceeded any statistical average, an overload of students with problem behaviors placed with me because they “couldn’t handle” being in the combination class next door, and then multiply by an unsupportive administration. Insert parents who accused me of picking on their children because I dared hold them to a decent standard of responsibility for homework and called copying what it was: cheating. How does a teacher come back after a year like that?

I’m too young to retire and too old to change careers in an economy like the present. Some colleagues who experienced the same troubles decided to leave for other school buildings, other grade levels, other departments. I opted to stay in my school instead and look for long term options.

Training: I attended a behavior modification training just before school started. The training had some good information, but there was more value in being seen than in the actual presentation.
Education: Recognizing the prevalence of ADHD and the potential for parental denial, I took a class in teaching students with ADHD. Not only did I gain knowledge, I now have that specific topic on my official transcript.
Motivation: I applied to retake an excellent course I’d taken eleven years previously, a course I found highly valuable for methodology, with the goal of reinforcing what I’m doing well and increasing my motivation.
Combining all of the above also earned enough credits and clock hours to renew my teaching license when it comes due, and submitting the transcript lets me slide one lane upwards on the pay scale. It’s not much money, but it feels good seeing a small financial reward for my efforts.

Goals and action: if luck played a part, it was a small supporting role. Setting goals, looking forward, and putting time and energy into positive change: that’s what changed my outlook and brought me back into once again enjoying teaching, doing right by the kids in my class.

That’s what brings me hope: hope that these children will learn, grow, and feel hope of their own, and some day make a difference in the world in their own way.

Loads of Hope for the Holidays
Please join Blog Nosh Magazine as bloggers share stories of hope this holiday season in support of the Tide Loads of Hope program, a mobile laundromat offering laundry services to families affected by disasters.

Follow along with the live event in New Orleans, Sunday and Monday, December 13 and 14, as bloggers and others tweet stories of resilience from laundry recipients and volunteers on the ground. Follow along on twitter via #loadsofhope and be sure to follow @TideLoadsofHope.
Learn more about how you can extend hope to families affected by disasters by visiting http://www.tide.com/.
Blog carnival hosted by Blog Nosh Magazine, sponsored by Tide Loads of Hope.

Hope is not limited to the holidays. What fills you with loads of hope?

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>An Open Letter to Congress about Title I

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>When my principal asked us to email our congressional representative and state senators, she gave us a link to a form letter and suggested we send it ASAP.

Oops. District email isn’t supposed to be used for political purposes.

So I forwarded the email to my home and wrote from the comfort of my laptop in my cozy, warm den, after making cupcakes for my class’ Welcome Home Flat Stanley party. All the while I thought of the students who benefit from Title I funded programs: those kiddos who would consider a cozy, warm den in a single family home to be a luxury, and cupcakes in the oven a rare and special treat. Tomorrow, when they’re sharing Flat Stanley’s journals and travel stories, I’ll be thinking of how much they’ve learned – and also how much money is needed to keep them learning.

Dear Senators Feingold and Kohl;

I am shocked and dismayed to learn that Title I may be slashed a total of $700 million from its current fiscal year level. I understand the House has already voted to give no increase at all to Title I. If the Senate should succeed in cutting this program, many, many students will be harmed.

Please do your part to stop this cut immediately. Our district’s students have suffered too much already from lost local and state revenue. My students, tomorrow’s constituents, depend on you.

I look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Daisy
Frugal and Practical Teacher of 4th Grade
Advocate for students of low income
Advocate for students with disabilities
Lover of Reading, Science, and more

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>Time is money and Money is time: Frugal and Efficient holiday prep

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Time is money, and money is time.
The problem: I don’t have enough of either!
If you think you’ve heard me say that in the past, you’re right. That saying goes right along with “Supermom’s Kryptonite is Time.” I say it too often because it’s simply true.

Both are too true in December. My birthday is in late November, followed by Chuck’s and La Petite’s in December, then Christmas, and a few weeks later Amigo’s big day. If we didn’t plan, we’d be broke – or totally unprepared.

My shopping buddies tease me about my tiny purse notebook, but not much. They know me as the organized one, the intellectual, the one who finished her grad school assignments several days early while another dear friend was pulling an all-nighter to meet the postmark deadline. When I explain that in addition to the immediate family we had my sister-in-law a few days before mine and my mother in February, they understand.

My notebook is tiny, it fits in my purse, and I read it and add to it each time I shop – online or in brick and mortar stores. Keeping track reminds me not to overspend while reminding me of wish lists and suggestions, too. (Dear family; did you look for the papercutter I suggested? Try an office supply store. Small and simple is fine.)

Then I’ll bring home the gifts and wrap them in creative recycled and reused wrapping, topped off with a tag made from last year’s holiday cards. Are you impressed yet?

Frugal, efficient, and totally on top of things; I try, and I fake it well. Now if only I could find the presents I bought early and hid in the closet….or the attic….or my underwear drawer??

Deals for Busy Moms This Holiday Season


Check out This Week’s Deals!

About this TwitterMoms Blogging Program

Don’t worry; this is not a paid post. TwitterMoms and Staples suggested the topic, and they’re sponsoring a contest for bloggers on the topic of frugal and efficient holiday planning. My notebook technique is rather low tech and ordinary, but it’s fun to blog on it. Maybe next year I’ll keep track on a spreadsheet and keep it on a Blackberry.

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>Snow Day!

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How much snow did we really have? Well, see for yourself.

It sure did make the outdoor decorations look Christmasy. Now, where is that newspaper? Did it get buried or did the carrier get snowed in? Never mind; pass the hot cocoa!

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>Welcome to the world, baby girl!

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Welcome to my newborn niece, Audrey Kathryn.

La Petite thinks she looks like a burrito in this picture. Honey, it’s called swaddling.

Here she is, thoughtful already.

“So, Mom, have you given any thought to my world? Stick to organic cotton and fewer chemicals in my baths, and I’ll grow up healthy and strong. And cute, too.”

And last, my baby brother is now a dad. Wow.

Look at those cheeks. Is she not adorable?

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>Pomegranate Apple Compote

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>POM Wonderful offered me a small case of pomegranate juice, so I looked up their recipes. I knew Chuck would enjoy drinking it, and Amigo wanted to try it, too, but I made them wait until I looked beyond the cute shaped bottles and found something fun to make with pomegranate juice.

This compote is intended to go with cinnamon French toast. I opted to pair it with a meaty meal instead. Cranberry sauce works with turkey, said my logic, so why not a pom/apple compote?

Here’s the recipe:
Juice from 2 to 3 pomegranates or 1 cup pomegranate juice
1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise (I used vanilla extract; less intense, but still good)
1/2 cup dried pitted cherries or dried cranberries
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
2 lbs apples, peeled and sliced, 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup real maple syrup

Prepare fresh pomegranate juice (if using fresh pomegranates). Heat juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until it simmers. Turn off heat. Add sliced vanilla bean and dried cherries or cranberries. Let rest 15 minutes or until berries are plum. Scrape vanilla beans out of the pod and add them back into the compote; discard the remaining pod. Heat a 12″ skillet over medium high heat. melt 1 Tablespoon butter in the pan and add the sliced apples. Cook the apples until they being to soften but retain their shape, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add maple syrup to apples along with the pomegranate juice and berries. Simmer until the juice reduces to syrup, about 5 to 8 minutes.

I served it warm with vanilla ice cream. It reminded me of my grandmother’s Norwegian fruit soup.
Chuck: There’s no such thing as fruit soup.
Me: There is if you’re Scandinavian. Feel grateful I don’t cook lutefisk.
Amigo: We had fruit soup at (the co-op he worked for last summer). I had it a couple of times. It tasted like a smoothie.
Chuck: (silent, spoon poised over bowl)

The end of the script: He liked it. We all liked it. I’ll make it again.

POM Wonderful has recipes, health information, and more on their site. I enjoyed browsing while I looked for recipes. They provided me with a small case of their pomegranate juice in order to test and review it. This is not a paid post.

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>Gifts that matter – gifts that speak

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>I’ve mentioned the Nature Conservancy.

I’ve blogged about Mother Nature Network’s creative gifts for quirky people.

Change.org has a holiday gift guide that outdoes them all.

The guide starts with five categories: Gifts that Create Change, How to shop Ethically and Responsibly, Giving Volunteer Time and Donations as gifts, Cause-Specific gift guides, and (in case anything was left out of the others) Additional Resources.

I started with the Cause-Specific guides and checked out the Sustainable Food Gift Guide to see how I can support the locavore philosophy at Christmas. There are five links for information – food sources within a 100 mile radius, guides by zip code, and more. I moved into the next category, a “random but good assortment” of “food products and paraphernalia.” Foodie t-shirts or bird-friendly coffee? Organic chocolate or heirloom beans? There’s so much to choose from, it made me hungry!

The final section makes the random paraphernalia seem frivolous. Here, you’ll find links to organizations like Heifer International, Oxfam, and the Mercy Corps.

If you have more time than money to give, this page also gives ideas for volunteering to make a difference. Community gardens, soup kitchens, and organic farms can use assistance at times. I would add to that: food pantries, adopt-a-family programs, and homeless shelters.

About ten years ago a wealthy family gave me (their son’s science teacher) a unique gift; in my name, they donated school supplies to a school in India. What a thoughtful and generous investment!

So go, if your shopping isn’t done, and check out Change.org. You might find it a good respite from the holiday hoopla. If nothing else, it puts our privileged lifestyle in perspective.

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>We can never be too wealthy or too tolerant.

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>Apparently wealth and tolerance are the main traits to be considered happy – well, for your state to make the Happy List.

Wisconsin ranks near the end. Say what?!! I beg to differ. In defense of the Badger State, here are ten reasons to love living in Wisconsin.

10. We rarely miss our chance for a white Christmas.
9. Tiger Woods doesn’t live or drive here.
8. We can ride bikes without worrying about hills.
7. Women in Wisconsin know football as well as men in the other 49 states.
6. We support Brewers – in baseball and in beer!
5. Bratwurst (preferably grilled) is one of the basic food groups.
4. Our state university’s band is as important as the football team.
3. The best cheese is made here; the kind we eat, and the kind we wear on our heads.
2. We can wear Packer gear to work and still be considered professional.
1. The Green Bay Packers, win or lose, are always entertaining. Go! Pack! Go!

All right, my lovely readers. What makes your state a happy place?

Thanks to Kristin at Going Country for the link to the article.

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