World's Best Spaghetti Sauce

For those of you who read that title and thought I would be posting my family's secret spaghetti sauce recipe, you are going to be let down.  However I did want to show you pictures of the sauce in progress.  Just to torture you. 

This right here is my favorite part, dipping homemade rolls in the sauce all day - just to make sure it's seasoned correctly!  I like this part better than actually eating the sauce over pasta. 

I made a double batch today with the intent of canning it in jars, instead of freezing the extra like we usually do.  But my mother in law informed me that you have to do spaghetti sauce in a pressure cooker, not in a water bath - so off to WalMart I go!  You'd be surprised how hard it is to find canning supplies these days.  Does nobody can food themselves anymore?!?

Living In The Moment - Vicariously

This past weekend I went with my little sister, Carla, to look for places for her to live in San Diego.  Carla's boyfriend, Evan, is deployed with the Navy and gets back in September.  Carla is taking the leap, moving to San Diego where Evan will be stationed for two more years.  She wants to move in and have everything ready for Evan when he comes home.  We found her an awesome place that is just perfect for the two of them.

It was so fun house-hunting with my little sister.  Her excitement is contagious and I can't help but feel happy for her starting out this new phase of her life.  And it kept making me think of that time in my life, about 11 years ago, when I was looking for my first house to buy and thinking about settling in with my boyfriend (now my husband) for the first time.

Carla, like any other 20-something going through this phase, was worrying about closet size, where she would fit her dresser, whether or not the kitchen had a gas stove.  I just kept thinking about how much fun she and Evan will have riding their bikes to the local bars and restaurants, learning together how to cook actual meals instead of ordering pizza, developing a routine as a couple instead of two individuals.

I look back so fondly on those first days with Darrin.  Even today, eleven years later, the smell of bacon pasta and a glass of red wine, instantly place me in the kitchen of our first home, Starship's "Miracles" playing on our stereo, and Darrin and I just enjoying each other's company - focused on nothing except ourselves and the moment.

Part of me is extremely jealous that my little sister is getting to live that time in her life - it can't be replaced. My husband and I still get to experience those times only they are in little increments, a weekend stolen away while the kids are at Grandma's, a dinner out while we pay a babysitter.  I wouldn't trade my babies for the world, or the memories we are making these days as a family, but those old times still call out to me too.

I just want to tell Carla, "Don't rush it".  Don't be in a hurry for marriage, or kids.  Just cherish these days because I think they solidify who you are as a couple, and they give you a happy place to think back on those days when the realities of parenthood and life seem heavy.  And I wish my sister all the love, joy and happiness with Evan in their first home together that Darrin and I had in ours.

Irony

I laughed out loud while buying this shirt for Ben.  And I thought about getting a permanent marker to cross out "For" and put "On".  Because if I actually gave Ben Cocoa Puffs, you would see some serious Cuckoo behavior for sure! 

Maybe I should try it, and then send him off to visit his Grandparents for a week. . . .

Trade It Tuesday

Today's subject:  Baking. 

This is an easy one!  Because most of what you buy is probably okay.  Sugar, brown sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt. . . stick with the main stream brands and you're cool. 

It's all the other stuff you add in that you need to be careful about.

Vanilla:  Only buy "Pure Vanilla" - no more imitation vanilla.  This seems like a no brainer but I swear before Feingold I had no idea, and only bought imitation vanilla.  Heck, it's a lot cheaper!  Read the ingredients on your pure vanilla, too, to watch out for hidden corn syrup.  I just bought Kirkland Pure Vanilla from Costco today and it was a great price, with no corn syrup. 

Chocolate Chips:  I know, we instinctively grab the bag of Nestle Tollhouse, right?  Here's what's in those:  Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Sugar, Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Milkfat, Soy Lecithin An Emulsifier, Vanillin-An Artificial Flavoring, Natural Flavoring).

So, instead of putting artificial ingredients into your homemade cookies, buy these instead:

Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Ingredients:  Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin (an Emulsifier), Vanilla.















Guittard Real Milk Chocolate Chips
Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Milk, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Liquor), Soy Lecithin and Real Vanilla.

Sunspire Peanut Butter Chips
Ingredients:  Evaporated cane juice, palm kernel oil, partially defatted peanut flour, nonfat dry milk, natural peanut butter, whole milk solids, salt, soy lecithin.  

Sunspire Baking Drops
Ingredients:  (Center) Dried can juice & unsulphured molasses, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin (a non-GMO emulsifier), pure natural vanilla.  (Shell) Dried can juice, whole rice solids, beta carotene color, beet juice color and caramel color, vegetable & beeswax, pure food glaze (without sugar).






Nuts:  You would think that buying plain nuts would be easy, but not so fast!  Some nuts have preservatives in them.  I used to buy Diamond brand Nuts at Bel Air, but one day I read the package and saw they list preservatives right in the Ingredients list.  Yuck!  So buy from the bulk bins and/or always read the ingredients label before you make a purchase.

Icing:  If you want to be all natural, skip EVERY food coloring and icing flavor in the grocery store.  I special order my food colorings online.  I get the India Tree brand of food coloring and their website even has a special table for helping you get the exact color you want.  (I probably should have found that before my kids' last birthday party when I made Ben's cupcakes a light shade of gray rather than blue.)



India Tree also has a huge line of sprinkles, sparkling sugars, sanding sugars, decoratifs, etc.  Just make sure you plan ahead so you can order them in time.  Amazon.com carries almost every India Tree product.


On another note:  today at Costco I found 32oz of Pure Maple Syrup for only $13!  This is a great deal.  Typically in the grocery stores this size is about $17.  Have you switched your syrup yet?  Check out this blog post from Eating Real Food on the ingredients in typical table syrup.

Remember:  Trade out two things this week to products that read "All Natural" on the label.  Don't go to all that trouble to make homemade cookies and then fill them with artificial ingredients!


 

Big Fun!

While I was away in San Diego, helping my little sister find an apartment for her impending move, Darrin decided to take the kids to the California State Fair.  I was pretty impressed that he would do this without me because with all the crowds and lack of food we can eat there, the fair can be a little stressful.  Darrin definitely earns "Cool Husband" points for this one.  Anyway, I asked him to send me lots of pictures because with my crazy schedule this past week and my weekend travels, I felt like I hadn't seen my family in a while. 

So throughout the day, Darrin sent me periodic picture updates with a bit of commentary via text message.  The pictures made my day (and some made me laugh hysterically), so I thought I would share them (and the commentary) with you:





5:25pm







5:51pm (Darrin:  "They act like I made them do it.")



6:03pm



7:46pm ("Lia picked this ride, I don't think Ben likes it though.")



8:33pm

9:15pm ("Almost time to go, kids are being great.")

10:15pm ("They are still going strong, I'm fading ha.  Prob because I need a beer.")



("The End")


When I got home on Sunday, as soon as I walked in the door the kids were gushing about how much fun they had at the fair.  I must have heard in great detail about every single ride they went on.  Even though I really enjoyed my weekend, I was more than a little jealous about the great time my family had without me.  And yet super happy that they can have so much fun while I'm gone.   

Budding Artists

Tonight I came home to my kids drawing with chalk on the front driveway.  It was a welcome sight since I hadn't seen my family in over 32 hours due to work that kept me away.  They ran up to me, very excited to tell me that they had drawn something for me.  Ben took me over to his creation, which was the big heart below, and he said he drew it GIGANTIC because that was how much he had been missing me. 

***INSERT MOMMY GUILT NOW***

Then I got to see their other creations.  This one Lia drew, and she says it's a picture of me.  I think those big hands are why I can multi-task so well.  I hope the blue around the bottom of the dress is a couch or something and not Lia's perception of my hips.  I love drawings at her age (she's almost 5) because they start to show lots of details but in no real proportion (really, my hands and hips aren't that big).  Very fun. 

Ben's other drawings were really cute.  Lately he's into labeling things in his drawings, as you can see.  I think his drawing skills have improved dramatically over the last month or so.  The poor spelling is due to his visual memory issues.  He can't remember the correct spelling of words like you or I can, because he can't visually see them in his mind (did you know that's how you remember how to spell?).  So everything becomes phonetic.    (In case you can't read phonetic spelling, that says "Snow Cloud" and "Garage".)

If you know my kids, you know that just playing with chalk meant that they were COVERED in chalk, so off they went to wash up for bedtime.  I just wish these drawings wouldn't wash off the driveway so quickly. 

Unfinished Business

I am being pulled in way too many directions this week, failing to complete all of the projects on my to-do list. 

At home:  piles of laundry and dishes to be cleaned.

At work:  stacks of contracts to be reviewed, discussions to be had and terms to negotiate.

Typically one aspect of my life or another is balanced whenever another is out of whack.  But both feel a tad out of control right now. 

This may be why I've recently become obsessed with running.  At least for thirty minutes I can focus on nothing but the task at hand - my breath and the rhythm of my footsteps on the pavement - heading towards a goal.  The stop sign. . . the next street. . . the next house. . . the dirt road.   And after thirty minutes I have completed something, achieved my goal, leaving one less thing to be called unfinished business.

Naked Toes

Coming back from camping I had to remove the barely there nail polish that remained on my toes.  Except I didn't have time to paint them, and I threw on open toed shoes for work today.  All day my naked toes yelled out to me, "For the love of God, we need paint!"  Three of us ladies at work today discussed how our toes were in various states of disarray and how we all needed to go get a pedicure to fix our naked (or semi-naked) toes. 

That got me thinking on the way home. . . . when did it become so commonplace to get pedicures that none of us even considered the fact that we could PAINT OUR OWN TOES!!  Sheesh. 

Anyway, I had better get a pedi appointment tomorrow. 

Trade It Tuesday

I LOVE getting feedback about how Trade It Tuesday is making people think differently about the food choices they make at the grocery store!  But I realized it can make people feel uncomfortable eating around me, too.  Camping with two of my best friends this weekend, there were several times that I felt like they were almost apologizing to me or feeling guilty when they handed their kids something that they knew wasn't all natural.

But here's the thing:  I'm not judgy!  Our family does not have the leeway to bring artificials into our home, but if we did there would absolutely be times when I would knowingly give my kids something that wasn't all natural.  The first thing I would cheat on would be marshmallows!  And red ropes!  I love those things.

My point with Trade It Tuesday is not to say that everyone should eat 100% all natural like we do with Ben.  Instead, I just hope that you trade out most of your everyday products that are so easy to swap - so that when you do have the occasional treat it becomes the only petroleum and other bad ingredients that your kids are eating.  If you think about the quantity of artificial ingredients our kids get each day it is overwhelming:  cereal, vitamins, chocolate milk, lunch meat, bread, chips, juice, fruit snacks, toothpaste, capri suns, etc.  Yet each one of these items can be traded for a healthier version to significantly LIMIT the consumption of artificial ingredients.

My goal is to get you thinking about that.

Today's topic:  Cereal!

Before Feingold my family's favorite cereal was Peanut Butter Captain Crunch.  We'd go through boxes of it.  Since starting Feingold, we've had to try a lot of different cereals to find the ones we really like.  Of course when you limit artificial sweeteners and colors the food looks less vibrant and doesn't taste as sweet.  We've also found that protein is very important for Ben's moods and keeping him stable.  Because of that, we've simply just eaten less cereal around here and have switched to bagels or toast with peanut butter, eggs and oatmeal.  But we do keep a few boxes of cereal on hand for those mornings when time doesn't permit anything else.

Here is our favorite find (and trust me, we tried LOTS of peanut butter flavored cereal before we found this one):  Mother's Peanut Butter Bumpers.  I found a box once at Henry's Market, we loved it, and then the store stopped carrying it.  So I actually order it online, six boxes at a time.  This was actually cheaper than buying it in the store until California's legislature decided we should start paying sales tax on online ordering.  UGH!


The other good line of cereals the kids like is the Annie's line.  There are flavors to match any flavor your kids like, Fruity Bunnies, Choco Vanilla Bunnies, Honey O's, Cinnamon Bunnies, etc.  These can be found at many grocery stores including Bel Air, Whole Foods, Henry's and I think maybe even Target.

The EnviroKidz line is also fairly easy to find at those same stores.  These cereals have very light flavor, not overpowering - so I wouldn't switch straight from the typical artificial cereals to these or they will seem boring.  But my kids do like the Amazon Frosted Flakes and the Panda Puffs.

There are so many more choices than just these three lines of cereal.  If you walk through the cereal aisle at Henry's or Whole Foods, or even the natural foods cereal aisle at Bel Air, you will see there are almost as many choices as in the regular artificial cereal aisle.  Natural cereals are not the bland cardboard cereals you might expect.  But it may take you a few tries to find the ones you like best.

My friend Kate requested that I find a replacement for Cinnamon Toast Crunch - their family favorite.  Walking through Whole Foods I found this box of Cascadian Farms Cinnamon Crunch.  We haven't tried it, but even without trying very hard I was able to find a replacement for Kate to buy.  I'm telling you, whatever your favorite flavor - you can find it all natural.

Next time you pour your kids a bowl of cereal, check out the ingredients label to see if there are any artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.  Also look for corn syrup (dextrose, maltodextrin, etc.).

That bowl of cereal is the start of your child's entire day - make sure you make it a good one!

Kids, Dogs, Friends and Wine

It was probably THE BEST camping trip of the year. . . . Lawson's Landing at Dillon Beach with incredibly lucky, awesome weather and good friends by our side.  We made this one a long weekend - Friday to Monday - and each day the weather was better and better.  We made the trip with the Newby family (longtime friends and camping buddies), and the Biava family (new best friends and first time camping with the group).  Later, we were joined by the Krenzler family (also longtime friends).  So between the four families we had eight adults, nine children, four dogs and I believe fifteen bottles of wine.  Whew.

As I've mentioned before, Dillon Beach is one of my favorite camp spots by far.  There is so much to do - riding bikes, playing at the beach, crabbing, fishing, clamming, drinking.  Group camping is the best because with no designated camp spots, we can just circle the wagons and create our own little getaway - which is what we did this weekend because the place was PACKED!!

Camping with best friends is the easiest thing in the world.  Our kids would bounce from motorhome to trailer to motorhome, welcome and at home in any one.  We shared snacks, meals (and wine), firewood, music and sand toys.  We'd play fetch with each others dogs, discipline each others kids, clean each others dishes (and did I mention drink each others wine?).  The result was a very relaxing weekend, full of fun.  

 

Nothing Better

There is nothing better than to relax by a campfire with your best friends after a long, busy day at the beach, watching the kids have a blast with their best buds.  Glass of wine in hand, belly full of tri-tip and baked potatoes, kids all tucked in watching movies.  It doesn't get any better than this. 

A Good Cuppa Joe

Well, it's actually vanilla milk, not coffee.

How To Find Real Food At The Supermarket

I absolutely love this flowchart from one of my new favorite blogs, Summer Tomato. Take this with you when you go grocery shopping!

Field Trip

I got out of the office today and visited four of our local project sites!  It had been months since I had been to some of them, and things had dramatically changed. 

The first stop of the day was our project at the Sacramento Railyards, where we are working on the Amtrak/Union Pacific track relocation.  This work involves creating tunnels for passengers to walk under the tracks, new platform areas to board the trains, and all the electrical infrastructure to support this project.  It is a very cool construction project - not to mention it is awesome to get up close to the old railyard buildings that have been shut away from the public for so long.  These buildings are in serious disrepair but are absolutely beautiful.  (I kept thinking my friend Lora would have loved to come along so she could photograph the old buildings!)

Here are some of the pictures I got at the railyards project today.

This last one isn't part of our project, I just thought it was cool. 

After our visit to the railyards, we headed to UC Davis to visit the new building we are constructing called Segundo Student Services Building.  This one is almost done!  I didn't get many pictures since the building still needs finishing touches like paint. 

Then we headed to Folsom, where we visited the new spillway we are helping build.  This project will last four years but for now we are simply putting in the underground utilities that will go to the new spillway. 

At 1:30 pm they were closing down the site to do the blasting of the existing rock, so we hightailed it out of there and headed to Shingle Springs where we are building a medical office building for the tribe that owns Red Hawk Casino.  This project is also almost complete, so no pictures now! 

It's a shame I can't get out to these projects more often.  I love meeting with our talented crews who build each site, getting to see the blueprint develop into an actual project, and experiencing the pride in our company as we build really great things.  You can see the diversity in the types of projects we build and this keeps every day fresh and fun.  Have I mentioned that I love what I do?