Chevre!

April 30, 2010 By bigbinder 2 Comments

Everyone is all excited about produce right now.  And they should be - growing season is a pretty big deal.  The Farmers’ Market’s season opener is this Saturday and while I like the idea of the Farmers’ Market being open, this is Michigan.  We aren’t growing much of anything yet.

I reserve the right to be excited, though.  We’re still a bit shy of enjoying even asparagus, but we can start chowing down on another spring treat:  goat cheese.  Some of you already know all about this fantastic little cheese, and a few of you think it sounds gross to eat cheese made from goat’s milk.  You’re the ones I want to work with right now (but cheese-plate veterans please check back in momentarily for a delicious recipe).

So why the spring? Well, you know how your allergies are driving you crazy? It’s all of the stuff blooming, right? Bad for your nose – good for the goats.  They love all the yummy wildflowers and tasty things popping up in their pastures.  The mama goats start producing milk for the spring babies, and the taste of their spring snacks gets into their milk. Is this doing anything to entice you to try it? Maybe I should try another approach.

Goat cheese is soft, and creamy.  If you’re in West Michigan, try and find some from Dancing Goat Creamery.  It’s so yummy. There are different varieties, but they all have a slightly tart taste. And if that isn’t enough, I read that goat cheese is hip and it doesn’t smack you in the face.  I’m telling you, I am a barometer of food trends.  No one believes me. Actually, I don’t care. I just want you to try new things. And avoid foods that smack you in the face. Who needs that?

So will my kids eat it? Yes and no. Yes, there is a way I can prepare that so that they will eat it but no, they will not just spread it on a cracker and chow down.  I found this recipe years ago when I had some vegetarian friends over for dinner, and everyone – my kids AND the vegetarians - liked it.  I don’t use canned beans because they are 1) expensive 2) salty and 3) mushy and I think it is a culinary crime to use goat cheese and fat-free sour cream in the same breath, let alone recipe.  Other than those two changes, this is the recipe I have used many times:

BLACK BEAN AND GOAT CHEESE QUESADILLAS

2 teaspoons olive oil, divided

1 cup chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup salsa

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (19-ounce) can black beans, undrained

1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

1 (4-ounce) package goat cheese, crumbled

8 (8-inch) flour tortillas

1/2 cup fat-free sour cream

1/2 cup salsa

Preparation

Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and saute for 3 minutes. Stir in /2 cup salsa, cumin, and beans, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or until thick. Mash the bean mixture slightly with a potato masher. Remove from heat; stir in the cilantro and goat cheese.

Spread the bean mixture evenly over 4 tortillas; top each with 1 tortilla, pressing gently.

Heat 1/4 teaspoon olive oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 quesadilla, and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Repeat the procedure with the remaining olive oil and quesadillas. Cut each quesadilla into 6 wedges. Serve with fat-free sour cream and 1/2 cup salsa.

I love (Things I Love Thursday) goat cheese! It’s real food (Real Food Wednesday) , and this recipe is real fuel (Food Is Fuel Friday) for real kids.

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Free Whitecaps Tickets

April 29, 2010 By bigbinder Leave a Comment

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Active Kids Update

April 28, 2010 By bigbinder 1 Comment

I have very active kids. Sometimes I wish they were a little more content to be still and know that I am Mom – but it’s just not their way.  They are simply very busy.  In an effort to brace myself for summer, I have added a whole BUNCH of events to the Active Kids Page (click on “Active Kids” up on top). 

There are a lot of 5K walks that allow strollers.  A.P. wheeled through a few when he was a baby.  The ones I’ve listed are runs or races that have a “kids’ event”.  I will continue to add to this page, but if you’ve only checked it once you will want to look at it again because there is a lot there that wasn’t before.  Get a few of these dates on the books, and get those kids out there!

I am also adding some May and June activities to the Calendar.  As usual, they are cheap, free or just different.  There is enough to do, and it’s Grand Rapids, home of Meijer. Why Pay More?

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Tasty Tuesday Round Up

April 27, 2010 By bigbinder 4 Comments

The Grand Rapids Press had a Guide to Ethnic restaurants a little while back.  I was curious how many we had been to, and I thought you might enjoy reading about our experiences.  While the article inexplicably left out the ten gazillion really good Mexican restaurants in town, it was a good little kick in the pants to set some ethnic dining goals for this summer. 

For the first time in a really long time, we’ll be in town for Festival.  Those of you not in Grand Rapids might not understand why an Art Festival has a bunch of ethnic food stands.  Actually, those of us in Grand Rapids don’t really understand either, but we know what we need to know – and that is to shut our fool mouths and not question deliciousness.   It’s like if Epcot had a ‘foods on a stick from around the world’ exhibit.  Awesome.

Now that the kids are a little older I will be able to not only force them to eat funky foods, I can finally use my Anthropology major for something and educate them about the cultures the foods come from. If you are feeling mildly sorry for my kids – you are not alone.  I’m one stop shopping for all of your Dorky Mom needs. 

Here’s the list:

Do your kids like to try foods from other cultures? How do they react? I’m so curious – do tell!

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Menu Plan Monday

April 26, 2010 By bigbinder 3 Comments

mpm-1This week will be pretty basic stuff.  We are trying to spend as little as possible at the grocery store so we can donate most of our grocery budget to the GRACE Hunger Walk.  Are you interested in chipping in? Even a few dollars is welcome.  You can read more about it here, or just head directly to my donation site here.  A couple of people have asked me how to donate with ‘real’ money (not online).  I’m so grateful for any donation, made by any method.  You can email me at bigbinderblog (at) gmail (dot) com and I will get my contact information to you.

So what are we having? Here it is:

MONDAY

Huevos Rancheros.  I have tortillas, cheese, dried black beans and eggs, and some fresh tomatoes but I’ll have to get some onion, jalapeno and cilantro.  That should be pretty cheap.

TUESDAY

Lasagne.  I have to make the spaghetti sauce and it will be a little thin on the meat because I don’t have very much, but that’s OK.  Lasagne isn’t about the meat, it’s about the cheese which fortunately, I have plenty of.

WEDNESDAY

Dirty Rice.  I actually have hot chicken sausage (it’s better than it sounds) and I think we’ll go ahead and skip the chicken livers this week.

THURSDAY

Tuna-n00dle Casserole.  Because I haven’t had it since Lent and maybe my family won’t make ‘that face’ this time.

FRIDAY

Pizza – I’ll make bread dough for the crust, and whatever is hanging around in the kitchen is fair game.  I do think I saw some pepperoni hanging around, and I know I have sauce so we’ll just throw some olives on there and call it good.

SNACKS

  • Home-made Clif Bars roughly using this recipe.  I am using molasses instead of the brown rice syrup because that’s what I have, and whatever nuts are lying around will just have to do.
  • Popcorn
  • Blueberry/peach smoothies – I have to kick this stuff out of my freezer so I can defrost it.  We’re going to have blueberry/strawberry/peach EVERYTHING for a few weeks.

I can make bread, and I have buttermilk so I can make pancakes if we run out of cereal before shopping again.  I’m going to be hustling a little more in the kitchen this week, but who cares? It’s for a good cause.

Now I have to make up my short grocery list.  I shop at Meijer and Family Fare, so I’ll use these wonderful matchups when I go.

For about a million more Menu Plan Monday posts, go check out I’m An Organizing Junkie.

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Me Gusto!

April 24, 2010 By bigbinder 4 Comments

Here are some things that really got into my brain this week:

See what other fine, well-rounded folks are into at It’s Come 2 This.

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Scholastic Warehouse Sale

April 22, 2010 By bigbinder 6 Comments

It’s time to start thinking about all of those long, hot summer days.  They seem so appealing right now but when they get here they’re just so… long. And hot. One of our big summer activities is to participate in each and every one of the Summer Reading Clubs around town.  I am crazy competitive with these things.  I spend a good 20 minutes every night logging books we read that day onto the forms from the various clubs.  It’s a sickness, really. 

My kids both learned to read this year.  Yes, they are two years apart but this particular skill blossomed in both of them at pretty much the same time.  That means I need a fresh stash of books that they haven’t memorized.  You know, to keep their skills sharp.  It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I am insane when it comes to buying kids’ books.  Also complete coincidence that I am have read the same books over and over.  Yup, I am doing this for my kids.

In my opinion the best place to get this fresh stash of books is at a Scholastic Warehouse Sale.  Around these parts, it happens but twice a year; once in May and once in December.  If you aren’t in West Michigan, check out the Scholastic Website to see if there is a warehouse sale by you.  There is a coupon to print too, but you have to spend $50.  For me this is not a problem.  I suggest you take a calculator to keep track of what is in your cart, and that you do not take your children.  Or at least, do not take my children.  They have proven themselves impossible to have a good browsing experience with.

The sale in Caledonia is at 8280 Broadmoor SE on Wednesday, May 5 through Wednesday May 19.  I LOVE these sales and I can’t wait to go! For more Things I Love Thursday (and a giveaway!), go to the Diaper Diaries.

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Grace Hunger Walk

April 21, 2010 By bigbinder 3 Comments

A couple of years ago, my husband and I decided to forfeit our grocery budget for a week and make do with what we had.  We donated the difference to the Grace Hunger Walk, and while we didn’t eat the way we were used to it was a humbling lesson and very meaningful to us to be able to contribute and participate in that way.

I’ve decided to walk it again this year, and to raise additional funds.  I contacted the walk organizer who agreed to let me use an online fundraising page.  I explained to her that I had a blog and in addition to hitting up everyone I have an email address for, I would put a link on Big Binder.

I’m excited about this for a few reasons. 

  • First, because the cause is awesome.  It raises funds for local and international hunger organizations.
  • Second, because there are exactly two fundraising pages for this event, and mine is one of them.
  • Third, because I think social media can completely revolutionize charitable giving. 

Remember the Text to Haiti? Non profit organizations were blown away.  They are really trying to adapt to the way people seem to now prefer giving.  I’m thrilled that the Hunger Walk is investigating this way of reaching people.

And here I am, at the intersection of hunger assistance and social media.  My heart literally beats faster when I re-read that sentence – and knowing that I get to participate fully is a tremendous honor. 

So now I come to you, and unapologetically ask you for money.  It’s not for me.  It’s not for the success of my blog.  It’s to prove that it can be done.  I haven’t done any advertising on Big Binder, and I try and score good and fun giveaways.  I keep it real; and try and help you find awesome things to do with your kids.  Please keep these things in mind, and donate what you can.  I would be thrilled to death with $5 from everyone who is a regular reader.  Thank you so very much.  Click here to go to my fundraising page . Will you help?

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Earth Day Activity

April 17, 2010 By bigbinder Leave a Comment

Many, many years ago I worked as a volunteer at the Kalamazoo Nature Center.  I had grown up watching this place expand from a little building with some animal bones hanging around in it to a stunning, award winning Nature Center.  I was a long way away from having kids at that point, but I felt a real pull to teach kids about nature.  Fortunately, I was teamed up with Pete Stobie, an amazing naturalist with an incredible talent for connecting with children. 

For the KNC’s Earth Day celebration, I was assigned to the “Down To Earth In Your Backyard” tent.  The activity at my table was Cookie Mining, and I remember thinking “when I have kids, I am TOTALLY going to do this with them“.  I have been dragging around a photocopied activity page since 1997.  Really. 

The sheet makes me giggle, because it notes that the cookies for this project were donated by Gil’s Market.  Anyone familiar with Kalamazoo will know that stepping into Gil’s was a bit of a time machine itself; back when grocery stores were little, slightly dirty and did not include an “International Foods” section unless you count about 24 inches of shelf space donated to Old El Paso products.

So cookie mining is an idea whose time has come.  It’s a perfect Earth Day activity, because all you need are cookies.  There should be one for each participant.

Tell them they will be able to eat the cookie soon, but for now, they have to follow your directions.  Say, “We are going to go cookie mining.  Your job is to remove all the chocolate chips very carefully“.  Give them a few minutes to do this, then when they are done tell them they just have to do one more thing.  “Please put the cookie back together again”.  This is the best part, because they freak out.  They’ll laugh, but you have to stay serious and act like you asked them to do something perfectly reasonable so they’ll try it.

It won’t take long for them to realize they can’t do it.  Here is where you use the activity to illustrate a bigger point; tell them, “This cookie reminds me of the Earth.  You can only remove so many things from it before the whole thing crumbles, or in the Earth’s case, it can’t repair itself.  Whenever we make a change – develop land, or change a habitat, it’s like taking one chocolate chip out.  Take too many, and we can’t fix what we have done”. 

The kids will be very sad, but it’s a profound learning moment.  You can say, “Let’s talk about some ways we can do for the Earth while we eat our cookies”.  You can talk about recycling, or walking or riding bikes instead of driving, or composting – something the kids can participate in. 

My kids have heard about the recent mining accident, and I feel a little opportunistic doing the Cookie Mining project with them right now, but at the same time, it is the truth.  If you have talked with your kids about conserving energy, they will understand the connection between using less energy and requiring less coal.

I LOVE Earth Day, and trying to teach my kids their role in caring for their planet.  Yes.. I know it’s Saturday.. but if for more Things I Love Thursday, go check out the Diaper Diaries.

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