This Moment...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. 
Inspired by Soulemama

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What Have We Done With All of Those Apples?

Apple Sauce:

We peeled and cored about 2 bowlfuls of apples and cooked them, along with some cinnamon, until they were tender. I like my applesauce chunky, so I mashed using a potato masher. Either eat warm, or jar for preserving! this is really delicious served warm with plain yogurt!

Note: I think I made my applesauce way too thick... it tastes delicious, but when I canned it there were lots of air pockets in the jars..... the jars sealed, so I think they are fine, but in the future, I think I will water mine down a wee bit!

Dried Cinnamon Apples:

Cut apples into thin slices and sprinkle with cinnamon. Place onto a greased tray and cook on 275 for about an hour or until dried. 

Apple Pie:

Peel and core 6-8 apples. Mix with cinnamon, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 tbl lemon and a few pats of butter. Place into your favorite pie crust (homemade, or if you feel like cheating, store-bought). Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, than 45 minutes at 350. 

Note: I made this pie knowing my husband does not like pie (weirdo), but figured that Finn and I would be able to eat the entire thing. Now I know that Finn is not a fan of pie either,  so I guess I am going to have to eat this whole pie myself!

Apple-Cranberry Muffins:

What You Need:

• 1 cup white flour
• 1/2 cup whole grain flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 Tbl olive oil
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup milk or milk substitute
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 apples, peeled cored and chopped
• 1/2 cup cranberries dried or fresh (I used dried but look forward to when cranberries are in seasons and trying it with fresh)

What You Do:

• Preheat oven to 375. Mix dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. Combine together and fold in fruits. Place into prepared muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes.

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Leaf Art!

The lovely autumn days that we have had recently have been an inspiration to do some more leaf art!

Leaf and Flower Print Cards:

To make these printed cards, grab a basket and go nature collecting! We cut and collected flowers and ferns from our own yard and gathered fallen leaves from the neighborhood.  The time of year makes your selection somewhat limited, but calendula worked well, as did ferns. Also, deep, dark red leaves came out amazing.
Once you have collected, head back to make some cards! You'll be using a hammer to press the leaves and flowers to make a print on your paper. There is currently a great tutorial at Rhythm of the Home.

Leaf Rubbings:

We have all done this one as kids, right? Collect some fallen leaves, place under a sheet of paper, and rub with a crayon to see the design of the leaf beneath! It's fun to ask the children to compare and contrast the leaves.


Felt Hand-print Leaves for Our Holiday Tree

This is our holiday "tree", which usually has a theme depending on the season or approaching holiday. Yesterday I was planning on cutting out some felt leaves to adorn the tree for fall, and Finn decided that he wanted to trace his hand onto the felt and use his hands as leaves! Even better! It came out pretty cute, although it is a terribly hard thing to photograph, but it ended up being a great project we could do together. Pin It Now!

TopDocumentaryFilms.com: Have You Heard?

OK, so maybe I am the last person on earth to find these things out, but last week one of my students told me about a website, topdocumentryfilms.com. This website has a whole slew of documentaries, both feature-length and shorter, that you can watch on your computer for FREE! There is a huge section of environmental films, many of which I have seen (like FLOW and Blue Gold), but also a bunch that I can't wait to watch! Pin It Now!

W is for Waffles!

So, I got an amazing waffle maker from my mom  for my birthday (back in August) and let's just say that until the past couple of weeks, my pregnancy has made me really unmotivated in the kitchen... unmotivated enough to even make waffles! So, this past weekend was our first time using the new waffle maker and we made sweet potato waffles. They were not as scrumptiously fabulous as I had dreamed of, but, hey, it was my first time. I plan on perfecting my waffle making skills over the next few months!
So even though these weren't the world's best waffles, they were still pretty tasty and they are pretty darn healthy. I covered mine in plain yogurt and I think they ranked pretty high on the scale for healthful breakfasts. If you are interested, you can find the recipe here. And if anyone has a fabulous waffle recipe that they would like to share with me, please post it for all to see! Pin It Now!

The Salmon Are Coming!

Today, our family headed to the sleepy little town of Vernonia, Oregon for the 8th annual Salmon Festival. The festival itself was fun, but nothing much to write home about. However, actually getting to watch the salmon swim up the Nehalem River on their journey back to the ocean was pretty amazing. It's a feat I couldn't imagine tackling; watching them force themselves through the current, taking a quick break, and then once again swimming full force ahead. Those fish have some serious determination.
Salmon have a tough life as it is (with this swimming upstream business), but humans have managed to make their journey even harder. Dams impede migration (even with fish ladders) making it harder for salmon to return home, humans harvest them on their long journey, water pollution and global warming have changed the conditions of many rivers and streams making salmon survival difficult or sometimes impossible, and demand for water (especially for irrigation) has made many streams too shallow for fish to pass. These obstacles have been enough to list certain runs of salmon as threatened or endangered, and many runs have seen declines over recent years.

Finn patiently waiting to view some salmon

Finn and his friend Aoife enjoying some tunes

Finn and mom

The view of the valley from Stubb Stewart State Park

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This Moment...

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by Soulemama

Pin It Now!