Simoninigan Lemonade

We made the first official batch of Simoninigan Homemade Organic Lemonade in the backyard yesterday and we thought we would share the recipe so that our devoted blog readers could enjoy this refreshing & fun to make summer-time drink. So here goes . . .

1 Slice as many organic lemons as you want (or have) in uniform thin slices, by halving the lemons from pole to pole before slicing horizontally. Don't peel the lemons but make sure to give them a good scrub first.

2 Add approximately 1 Tablespoon of granulated sugar per lemon - more or less depending on your taste for tart vs sweet.

3 Now here comes the fun part, mash the sliced lemons & sugar with a potato masher until the lemon slices give up their juice, the sugar is dissolved and the juice is thickened to a syrup consistency, about 5 minutes.

This should be done in a glass non-reactive bowl but, we do it in a pot so one child can hold the pot handle whilst the other mashes. This is a great activity for either excited kids and/or frustrated parents.

4 Next pour your mashed up lemons & sugar through a large sieve over a bowl and press on solids with masher or back of wooden spoon to release as much liquid as possible.

5 Compost lemons, transfer liquid to glass serving pitcher, add cold water to desired taste & stir until blended. Taste for sweetness & add more sugar or if you want to be fancy add one Tablespoon of grenadine to turn the lemonade pink. Add ice to chill and enjoy!

Let us know if you try it.

And then there was bread, finally

I finally got around to making fresh homemade bread, after months of reading my bread books and sourcing out specialty organic bread flour and yeast. There really is nothing like the feeling of kneading your own bread dough, the smell of yeast & rising dough and bread baking in the oven. I started with the basic bread recipe with a bit of whole wheat flour added for flavour. It turned out really crusty on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside. 

Mmmmm . . . fresh homemade bread hot out of the oven with lots of butter spread over it. I can't wait to make another.

The House of Books

We have a lot of books in our house and most of what we do has something to do with a book.

I bought this bread making book for myself about 2 weeks ago and have been trying to read it ever since. But it seems that every time I sit down to read it with a cup of coffee my coffee is cold and I have to pour a new one or someone needs something or the dog wants out or a diaper needs changing . . . bla bla bla you get the point.  I have been talking about starting to bake our own bread since the summer time and I am determined to learn how even if it is from a book.

This is the book Complete Guide to Sewing that I thrifted at "The Village" for $3.99, which is a steal since its almost like a tailor/seamstress textbook. I also bought myself Amy Karol's book Bend-the-Rules Sewing for Christmas. I plan on making a knight costume for Carter, some matching clothes for Madison and Sasha (her new Waldorf doll), some aprons and bags. You know all of this in my spare time. I know this picture is blurry but I chose it because all 3 of their little precious hands are on momma's book while she is trying to take a picture, so telling of my life.

And here is a pile of new-for-us books for the kids, I tell you its better than bringing home candy they get so excited. I absolutely love buying them books, both fiction and non-fiction and reading to them and watching how they learn and explore through books. I want to find them some nice book plates so they can write their own names and glue them in, so much fun.

Lastly I wanted to share a Simoninigan story. Yesterday the kids were happily playing together, that is until Carter (who's 3) bit Gabriel (who is 11 months) on the hand and boy did it make Gabe cry, actually they both did. Of course big sister Madison claims she rescued Gabe from the jaws of Carter "just in time, Mommy".  I sent Cart to his room to think about what he had done. Once I had kissed poor little innocent Gabriel's hand better, we went to talk to Cart about what had happened. Carter decided, with some encouragement, to apologize to his baby brother and asked to see his hand. Gabriel held out his hand for Carter to see and then grabbed his hand and bit him back and hard too.  Carter started to cry and Gabriel had to apologize to him. Of course all this made Madison laugh and honestly I couldn't help myself from laughing too. I guess it was a lesson of what goes around comes around.