A Field Trip and A Fungus Lunch

"Next time, buy eight!" was the request (not from the kids - although they did love them) after we lunched on our stuffed portobello mushrooms.

This lunch was inspired by a trip to the new Fresh Market grocery store nearby.  They have a huge selection of organic fruits and veggies.  The kids loved it!

One of my favorite things about homeschooling is the ability it gives me to feed our children nutritiously at every single meal and snack.  There are no processed "school snacks" in our cupboard, so every treat is made from scratch and there is no temptation to feed them junk food.  

STUFFED PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS

4 Portobello mushrooms

2 cups bread crumbs

1 can crab meat

3 Tbsp. butter

1/2 onion - finely diced

2 cloves garlic - minced

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese - grated

chives

sage

thyme

salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2.  Wipe the mushrooms gently with a damp cloth and place them in a baking pan.

3.  In a large bowl, combine the other ingredients.

4.  Separate the mixture into four equal amounts and form it into a flattened circle.

5.  Place the stuffing circles on each of the mushroom caps.

6.  Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

Green Soup

"What's in it?" was the first suspicious question - not from the kids :)
"Zucchini," I replied.
"Wow! It's delicious!"

Some friends we met from the Dominican Republic on our sailing expedition introduced our kids to this yummy soup.  This is the first time I have tried making it, but it is definitely a favorite now.

GREEN SOUP


INGREDIENTS


1 large zucchini, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
fresh thyme 
2 Tbsp. butter
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
4 sprigs parsley


DIRECTIONS


1. Gently saute the onion, garlic and thyme with the butter in a saucepan until translucent.
2. Add the chicken broth, water, zucchini, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
3. Simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Puree in two batches in a blender and serve with a floating parsley garnish.

More Baking . . .

Madison is hooked on home economics!

Since she started baking she has turned out some creative crepes with tons of toppings:

CREPES 

Ingredients

         1 cup all-purpose flour

         2 eggs

         1/2 cup milk

         1/2 cup water

         1/4 teaspoon salt

         2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.

Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

Next on the agenda was Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chunks
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt; stir into the butter mixture until well blended. Mix in the chocolate chunks and walnuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or just until set. Cool slightly on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

We all love Madison's enthusiasm for this new subject and do all we can to encourage her!  :)

A Snaky Surprise

Some friends of ours frantically waved me down as I drove into our yard yesterday. Turns out they had a . . . snake for us!  What a gift, right?  For us it really is. We love snakes, Marco especially. We put him in a container temporarily, but today transferred him to his very own mini greenhouse complete with escape proof (we hope) sea-fan covered holes and little plants in his garden.  He has been fed two lizards so far!  He is tiny but well able to hold his own with the lizards!  We have figured out that he is a Brown Racer and, although we technically don't have any "poisonous" snakes in the Bahamas, he is a rear-fanged viper so we will be very careful not to put our fingers down the back of his throat :)

School and the Schooner

Both school and the schooner were sadly neglected today.

A playmate was visiting the neighborhood and, as it is a somewhat rare occurrence, I declared school cancelled for an extended play date.  Madison was overjoyed as said playmate was a little girl.  They spent the day playing in the garden letting their imaginations run wild.   Marco and I spent the day working in the garden.

It was raining lightly - or "sprying" as we Bahamians say - every half an hour, so Keewatin's bowsprit did not receive its intended coat of varnish that was on my Honey-Do list for the boat today.  I'm the "honey" in this case  :)

Marco and I built a compost pile - basically we chopped down four casuarina trees (with a cutlass), chopped them up into five foot logs and layered them in a square for a really cool compost pile.  At least I thought it was really cool.  The comments I received ranged from "interesting" to "move it into a corner!"

Marco also found some bromeliads growing wild in an empty lot nearby.  He was so excited.  He was theorizing about how they rooted along their trailing stems and, because they were in the shade, created many offshoots to find the sun.  It was a perfect "unschooling" moment.  We dug up a few, collected coconut shells and spanish moss, and created some gorgeous, handmade early Christmas presents for some lucky people on our list ;)

So, looking back on the day, I don't really think "school" was neglected after all.

M.I.A.

Do you remember Mate the first?

We assumed she had fallen prey to the resident wild cat population in our neighborhood but we were mistaken.  Mate the First is alive and well!  A neighbor spotted her yesterday and we crept over ready to pounce . . . but chickens don't just flutter around, they really fly!   As soon as she spotted us she flew 30 feet straight up into the tree branches above.  Marco followed, but then away over the rooftop she flew!

We went scouting yesterday afternoon but saw not a sign of her.

She must be laying low :)

Beaten by the Birds

"Marco, what else should I put on the shopping list?" I enquired.
"Milk, pears, eggs . . . " he listed off.
"Eggs?" I questioned.  We looked at each other guiltily and nodded in resignation.

We will persevere with our egg laying plan but it seems we cannot forgo eggs in the meantime :)

We measured for chicken wire today to enlarge our coop.  I think we may need to try our luck with more hens!

These are the chickens in question:

I also took some photos of our raised beds:

Cutting Class

No, I'm not talking about truancy!

The kids and I were taking some cuttings of our favorite plants for transplantation today.  Our seed shelves are covered with cuttings.  We started with a clipping from a fig tree from Manjack Cay, which I transported all the way back on both the ferry and the plane!

The stewardess was very concerned.  "You're not planning to take that to the States are you?"
"No, ma'am.  We live in Nassau, we're Bahamian.  No attempted smuggling happening here!"

We took cuttings of our basil and frangipani - very easy, mulberry - a bit more challenging and rosemary, which roots along its trailing stems - Madison loved seeing that one.

"It's just like how ferns grow," she informed me.  I had no idea how ferns grew or that she knew!  I love homeschooling.

We planted some more seeds in our raised beds too.  Carrots, onions, corn and peas.  We only have a tiny gap left out of all of that square footage we built!  I am reserving that for the radishes.

I don't think the chickens noticed our absence - or if they did, they are withholding the egg out of spite now :)

But one of our dogs certainly did!  Knight is still not talking to me!  He just looks away when I call him. I have a lot of making up to do.

The compost pile is not going as planned .  Apparently that particular smell means anaerobic decomposition may be taking place.  I need to aerate and water my compost pile!

And I thought I only needed to water the garden!