Tomodachi Gakko

Gakko has begun!!!!!!!!

We set out our materials....

and got to work..........

The art room is a craaaaaazy place...so much to get done and so little time.

This year we are working with Japanese patterns and of course our gourds or hyotan.

Our theme is 'Community' and so we are preparing a surprise (shh) for our teachers.

Without their hard work there would be no Tomodachi Gakko.

The community is what makes Tomodachi Gakko work...Cressy Elementary School opens it's doors for our classes - parents, grandparents, friends, aunts, uncles - everyone works together to make sure that there is a place to learn about the Japanese American culture.

We have high school students who volunteer...
giving back to the Gakko community that gave to them.

Friends are made at Gakko...

There are new things to learn...

and there is lots of fun to be had!

Everyone works hard to do their best...

And, the students never cease to amaze me with their interpretations of the projects!

So - we are off to a great start...next we will be making some items to put in our hyotan vases.

Now, just imagine this same energy and fun in the kitchen where the students cook fried rice, make sushi and mochi - in the classroom where they learn the history of Japanese Americans, hear stories about the internment camps from people who were there and even work on a bit of Japanese!  There are dances to be learned, songs to be sung, taiko drums to play and even Kendo to practice...it is a week packed with culture, knowledge, family, friends...so much from so many.

Thank you to all those in the 'Community' who come together to make Tomodachi Gakko happen each and every summer.

xoxo   Elizabeth

Book Club - it's not all about the book...

This month it was my turn to pick the book at book club.  I take this duty very seriously and peruse many books before I make my choice....now sometimes I pick books like I pick wine - by the cover (or with wine by the label), sometimes I read the jacket and see what I think, other times I go on Amazon and read reviews and their longer blurb, and always I read a page or two to see if it grabs me.  Ok...with this book I did ALL of the above - and still part way through the month I emailed the book club peoples and said EEEk...I might have picked a bad one!?

No, they said, we are farther than you (they are more advanced readers than I) and enjoying the book - Whew...so here it is...it takes a bit of time to get into but the characters become endearing and there is a message to it all.

After our discussion of the book I am looking forward to finishing it!

That said Book Club is more than just the book...we always discuss the book (sometimes longer than others)...but we also have many other things to discuss - we have solved the world's problems three times over...and we love to eat and have a little cocktail or wine or iced tea or something to wet our whistle!

Last night I prepared the bean salad that I just put on the blog -

and I made some little breads to go with it...

I just sliced a baguette, melted some butter and added garlic salt, chili powder and nutmeg.  I lined the slices of baguette up on a cookie sheet, spooned a teaspoon of the buttery stuff onto each and then broiled them until they were bubbly...Yu-um as my friend Annie would say!

I also made a new hummus to snack on...

Speaking of Annie - she gave me this cute bowl and knife!!!

For the hummus I put a can of garbanzo beans, a jar of roasted red peppers (be sure you get all the water out of them), 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, a little pour of olive oil and some sea salt into the blender.  Easy-peasy - throw it in a bowl, set out some crackers and TA DA - instant party snack.

Now........for the beverage - my favorite summer time cocktail is a mojito - the combination of mint and lime is so refreshing.

Last night I made them individually but I have also made them by the pitcherful (which is nice because it frees you up a bit)

Into a tall glass toss - 6 or 8 mint leaves torn in half, 2 t of superfine sugar, and juice about 1/4 of a lime in and throw in the lime peel also.  Now you muddle this...or smush it up as I say.  They have a very fancy muddling tool shown on the Baccardi Rum site (www.bacardimojito.com/), I want to find out where to get it...but I just used the end of a wooden spoon. (Depending on the size of the glass you use you may want to change the amounts of these ingredients.)

This is another good use for the lime squeezer I told you about.

Now add a jigger of rum and fill the glass with ice...

...and top it off with club soda and a quick stir!!!  We also make these without the rum for the girlies.

A party isn't a party without sweets so I put out some of my favorite red licorice,

and made a couple of shortbreads.

I got this shortbread recipe from my mom and it is nice because it is tasty and easy to make.

In a bowl put - 1 1/4 Cups flour, 1/4 Cup sugar, 3 T cornstarch and 1/2 Cup softened butter.  Mix these together by smashing with the back of a fork.  When the butter is all distributed put the mixture into a pie plate and push it down with your hands til it is all packed in nicely.  Then put some pretty fork marks aroung the edge and prick the surface all over with the fork tines.  I don't know why...this is what my mom taught me to do.  It looks pretty, but there might be a practical reason too.

Bake at 325 for 35 to 40 minutes - it should be a little bit golden but not too much.  When it comes out of the oven you can sprinkle it with sugar - and cut it while it is warm so it doesn't break all apart.

Well there you have it - now go and start a Book Club - you know you want to....


xoxo    Elizabeth

Crafting Japanese Style

What would you do with......

A pile of chopsticks

Some fabulous washi tape

(Get some for yourself at this great site:   happytape.com )


and a boxful of gourds???

Check back all next week to see how we turn these and other items into Japanese crafts at our Tomodachi Gakko!!!

xoxo    Elizabeth

Cooking 'Honey' style

I love to cook...that said I don't do it as often as I could/should.  My mom got me started cooking - watching her and seeing how important it was for us to always have a balanced and home-cooked meal set me on the road to creating meals.  Being an Italian family (there is some dispute about just how Italian we are...but I remain determined..I AM ITALIAN) means that all activities are in some way connected to food.

My grandfather, who we affectionately called Honey, was the one in the family who cooked like me.  Standing in the kitchen he would just add ingredients until he was happy with the result.

                               Look at that precious smile...he was the sweetest man...




Don't get me wrong - I do use recipes - I love trading with friends and family and finding a new fun cook book. ( My favorite cook book right now being The Pioneer Woman's new cook book.  Thank you Stacy!!!)

thepioneerwoman.com


And...sometimes I even use them without changing them!  But, what I love to do is to get a feeling about the flavors I want to experience and then try to just add ingredients until I am happy with the result.  Sort of like Honey!


Following is one of my latest concoctions.  It is so fresh tasting, perfect for a warm summer evening at the pool!


You will need:

1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can black olives

Now, all these ingredients are going in a bowl together -

So rinse the beans and dump them in the bowl and as you add the olives just crush them with your fingers to break them in half.

Chop 1/4 of a bunch of cilantro and add that in

along with 1/2 of a red onion diced

2 tomatoes seeded and diced and 1/2 of a medium jicama peeled and diced.

                    This is what a jicama looks like in case you haven't cooked with it before!

Add the juice of one lime....

and the zest also

In this picture are two of my favorite kitchen helpers!  First the zester...it makes the job of zesting so much easier, just rub it across the lime and the zest piles up on the other side ready for you to drop into your bowl!  Then the other gizmo my mom brought me from Mexico...it squeezes the juice right out of your lime...check the local Mexican markets.  Here it is in action....
 

It works great for Mojitos also!


So, all of the above items are in your bowl...add garlic salt to taste and 1/2 cup of salsa and Ta Da!  your fresh summer salad is complete.

Sometimes we crush tortilla chips over ours...sometimes we just dig in.

For convenience sake here is a list of the ingredients:

1 can black beans - drained
1 can kidney beans - drained
1 can black olives - crushed
1/4 bunch of cilantro chopped
1/2 medium jicama - peeled and diced
1/2 red onion - diced
2 tomatoes - seeded and diced
juice and zest of 1 lime
1/2 cup salsa
garlic salt to taste


What's your favorite summer salad?



xoxo    Elizabeth

Over Easy

Yesterday I decide to make a cake...went to the fridge to get the eggs out and the pooch, Miss Lena, had to come and see what I was doing...I pull the eggs out of the fridge she comes up between me and the fridge...pushes me, I lose my grip on the egg carton and.............

Splat!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a mess...........I hate cleaning up eggs.............they are so slimy, you can never get them all up in one swipe...............



Then the dog wants to lick them up....by the time I'm done I don't even want to make a cake anymore...



And the waste....I hate wasting things....think of all the work those poor chickens went to, to make these wonderful eggs......









Just kiddin'.....

This is a carton of cupcakes that my girlies made!!!



A few years ago my sister got this fun cupcake book called.... Hello Cupcake....

It is amazing the things you can do with a cupcake!!!



We made these for our friend who loves penguins.....

***No real penguins were harmed at this party!!!


Recently my sis, Jennifer, found another cupcake book....What's New Cupcake?  Which she gave to Lane so they could each have one and share back and forth!!!  Cause that's what Aunties do.

This one is also filled with the funniest, cutest, most clever ideas for cupcakes.   Who would ever think that you could make cupcakes look like a dozen eggs, broken no less!!!

We decided the egg carton would be the perfect dessert for our pool date with the wonderful Avalos family (Hi Stacy, Dave, Tatum and Tristan!) - our friends that bring us yummy fresh eggs!

As cute and real as they look they really aren't that hard to do.  There are ingredients to consider - these needed lemon curd (which you could make yourself but I took the lazy way out and bought a jar), white chocolate, a cake mix, and canned frosting....oh and some food coloring.

Then you have to invest a little time...but the results are certainly worth it and don't require any crazy cooking skills.

So if you need a few projects for the summer and you want to be the hit of the parties you attend...I suggest you go out and buy yourself one or both of these wonderful cupcake books!

And don't trip over the dog on the way to the fridge!

What are you doing this summer?


xoxo      Elizabeth

Dad Stuff

This is for the two Dads in my life...


First, there is the Dad who married my mom....

And with her help made - me (and a couple of other swell kids)

Thank you for loving Mom so well, and with her creating a home and family that nurtured, protected, encouraged, challenged, supported...taught us how to be and who to be.

Thank you for teaching my girlies from a young age that to give is better than to receive.  And for loving them like only a devoted grandfather can.

Thank you for all the listening you have done over the years,  for all the times that you gave us your much needed advice...and for being patient and being there for us...for 'peeling back those layers' and letting us blossom.

I appreciate the careful consideration that you give to all matters in your life...and I LOVE  the wonderful hugs that you are always happy to dole out.

I am proud and honoured to say that you are my dad....and I am your daughter.




Now, the other Dad in my life

The one that married me....

The one that became a Dad while making me a Mom....

First with our Madison...

and once more with our Lane.

Thank you for being the kind of Dad that loves to spend time with his girlies -  just hanging out...

Going on a trip...

Even getting all dressed up and painting the town...purple... of course!

Maybe just for today I will give in and say...yes you are our King...our one and only... our man of the house....the Grand Poopaw (is that how you spell that?)

Thank you for making me feel special and beautiful...even after all these many years.

Thank you for all that you do for our family...for being there when we need you, for having our best interests at heart...but most of all for loving us unconditionally and with the fierceness and commitment of a true King.


With all my love to the two Dads in my life.....Elizabeth Anne


Happy Father's Day to all the deserving Dads out there!


xoxo     Elizabeth