CAKIES

family meals: week 40

mycakies — Fri, 17 May 2013 04:55:20 +0000

Salmon Tacos with Mango-Avocado Salsa. The salsa was very good, but it tasted better a day later. I think all the flavors had time to blend and it was much more yummy. We love fish tacos, so it’s hard to go wrong with that for dinner. Brave is the only one who isn’t wild about salmon, but I think True had like 5 tacos! Of course, the girls did theirs without the spice. The radishes we used were straight from our garden and they are the best radishes I have ever tasted!

Kale Noodle Bowl with Avocado Miso Dressing. This one was just, “eh.” It sounded good in theory, but something was missing to me. Ben liked it, but he wasn’t wild. True loved the soba noodles and Brave loved all of it (she had a couple of servings). It was loaded with lots of kale, so that was one good thing about it. I probably tripled what the recipe called for because we had a lot to use from our garden.

Week 5/20 – 5/24
Monday: Orzo with Feta, Basil and Shrimp
Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Hummus wraps
Friday: Sushi night

I would love to make this, but Ben says it’s a bit costly for a family dinner, so I’m thinking of making a similar version using cod. Anyone ever try to change crab cakes into fish cakes? Is it just as good? I’ve totally been loving the Williams-Sonoma food blog. All their pictures are just gorgeous and almost every dish suddenly makes me hungry! I’m obsessed with looking through their blog for ideas and I’ve been pinning so many of their recipes. What have you been cooking lately?

learning to be eco-warriors

mycakies — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:10:19 +0000

When I was a kid, I remember ordering the book 50 Ways to Save the Planet from the monthly book orders at school. I remember being so convicted by it as I read it from beginning to end. I remember one tip that stood out to me at the time was to cut up all the plastic thingies that canned drinks came in so that sea animals wouldn’t get trapped in it. After I read that, I remember constantly making sure my parents cut those things up.

Okay, so only 1 out of 50 things stuck with me, but it was a step. Ben and I try to be as eco-consciuos as we can, though we’re hardly models for being eco-warriors, but we try our best to take care of certain things to help the environment. For sure though, we can definitely do better. I wanted to get the girls to at least start thinking about it, I started checking to see if the book I read as a kid was still around. I distinctly remember the cover being blue and having a picture of the Earth on it. I didn’t find that exact thing, but did find this one on Amazon and thought that might be a good start and should be similar.

True, Brave, and I have been reading through it and I’m almost sure it is an updated version of the book I read as a child. In fact, the tip on cutting up the can plastic thingie was there too! As we’ve been going through it, I’ve been feeling all sorts of guilty for things we don’t think about doing to help save the environment. I can’t say we’re ready to go radical and apply everything just yet, but we will start small with what’s feasible and best for our family. I want my girls to learn that small changes can make a difference. We planted about 25 trees in our yard already, so that’s a start right?!

our dinner

mycakies — Thu, 16 May 2013 04:37:54 +0000

Our dinner was mostly courtesy of our veggie garden and the weather has been so great lately, unlike the 100 degree weather we had over the weekend, that we wanted to make sure and take advantage of eating dinner outdoors. We rarely do it, but we’re trying to do it more. True and Brave are slowly taking up more responsibility during meal times. They set up the dinner table (with folded napkins too!), and it’s so cute to see them taking initiative to do so.

This week has felt calmer and I feel like I’ve had a little more clarity when it comes to dealing with the kids. I think it’s because I’ve been praying more about it and trying to trust God with it. I’m thankful for all that I get to do with these girls. Lately, I’ve been focusing on how hard mothering is that I have been failing to see how great it is. It’s a privilege that I get to spend time with my children. It’s a privilege to be able to feed their bellies and their minds with good things. It’s a privilege to laugh and just be a silly goose with these girls. The hard moments will come and go, but even with the hard parts, this whole mama deal is kinda great. I know I’m a crazy mama, but I’m their crazy mama and they’re my crazy kids.

A dinner post turned into a mothering post, and I guess I’m just strange like that. Thanks for always coming in to check my ramblings!

a birthday trip to the aquarium

mycakies — Wed, 15 May 2013 04:43:43 +0000

With True’s 7th birthday request of an ocean/mermaid/swimming theme, we decided a visit to the Long Beach Aquarium was necessary. After her breakfast in bed, we all got dressed to head out for the adventure. Of course, True wore her special birthday dress and “mermaid” shoes on her birthday excursion. She had no clue where we were going until we got there. The kids were so excited to explore and admire all of the various sea creatures. Seriously, there were so many wonderful things to see and True was loving every bit of it.

They got to touch a baby shark, a starfish, see lots of different jellyfish, and we even found Nemo! It’s a decent size aquarium and it was most definitely engaging for the kids. Their favorite might have been touching the starfish that they requested to go back one last time to touch them before we took off. My favorite were all the different jellyfish. They are just absolutely captivating to watch.

We headed back home before traffic got really bad, and we were going to take True to have a special birthday dinner, but all she wanted was salmon burgers that we already had at home. Thus, we just went straight home and salmon burgers is what she got! I did have a special cake waiting for her, so she got her birthday song and a chance to make her birthday wish. One of her other birthday requests was a ocean/mermaid/swimming themed party with her friends, but since her birthday was on a Friday, she had to wait until Sunday to fulfill that part of her birthday wish. There will be another post for that later, but I have to wait until my brother-in-law sends over the pictures.

Just looking at these pictures make my heart swell. I can’t believe my biggest girl is 7! That went by so fast!

my mother’s day was simple and good

mycakies — Tue, 14 May 2013 05:14:38 +0000

I requested pumpkin pancakes for breakfast with cinnamon whipped cream, and Ben and the girls delivered exactly that. It was so good! I love pumpkin pancakes! They are my favorite kind. The girls all came in singing the Happy Mother’s Day song (sung to the tune of Happy Birthday) and came bearing gifts along with my breakfast. The gifts were 3 homemade cards and one package, which contained a hat (which was already mine), a spool of thread, two markers, and nail polish. All of them were my things that somehow magically disappeared a couple days before Sunday, only to reappear again in my present Sunday morning. Nevertheless, I was so excited to open up my present from True and made a big ooh and ahh about wanting all those things! I remember doing the same things with gifts for my parents and siblings when I was younger. I would totally wrap up things that were already theirs and gift it back to them. True must have gotten that from me.

If you’re looking at the pictures of me in the morning and thinking I totally got camera ready, yes, I did. Not for the camera though, but because Sunday mornings are tight with having to get dressed (and the four girls ready) to get out of the house and get to church on time, that I had already gotten up and started getting ready for church while I was waiting for my breakfast in bed. When they were ready, I hopped back in bed. After I ate, all I had to do was change out of my pajamas and we pretty much took off for church soon after that.

The rest of the day was perfectly simple and low key. We gathered with church family, then we met my family for lunch at our favorite Chinese restaurant, where we pretty much stuffed our bellies. We made it home around 5, served the girls dinner, then had them in bed by 7 for their quiet (reading) time, and then Ben and I were relaxing in our room with sushi, frozen yogurt, and a movie by 8. I told Ben not to plan anything and I didn’t want anything. We’ve been working on house projects, so spending our money towards things for the house was a good enough present for me. I was just so happy to have a simple, stress-free day with my sweet family, so this Mama’s Day was exactly what this mama needed. As crazy as I get sometimes, I’m so thankful that these girls are mine and that I get to love, teach, and grow with them, even if there are a lot of bumps (sometimes it feels like major turbulence) on the road while doing so.

p.s. this was my favorite picture of the day. #stilllovethempolaroids

on me: top, modcloth (last year). shorts and belt, thrifted. shoes, madewell. on true: dress, c/o homespun vintage (brave wore the same one last week). on brave: dress, vintage. on soul: top, misha lulu. dress, c/o homespun vintage. on glow: dress, vintage. all their sandals are salt-water sandals.

huzzah!

mycakies — Sat, 11 May 2013 17:12:48 +0000

This littlest love is so sweet. This weekend is all about celebrating mamas and as crazy as I feel sometimes, I’m so thankful to be a mama. I’m also thankful to be blessed with my wonderful mom and mother-in-law who I have learned lots from. They are both full of so much love and wisdom and I’m thankful for the influence they have had in my life!

This week’s learned, links, and thankfulness…

Glow has officially moved out of her infant car seat into a convertible one. After using the same car seat for all 4 girls, that thing is getting kicked to the curb. It’s kind of a sad moment.

True has moved up into a booster seat, hence why Glow gets the new car seat.

I think the girls have learned that I mean business when I say something.

Brave is ready to graduate to the next level of swim class. YAY!

6.5ers these nude sandals are sweet for only $18 and 7.5ers these sandals are cute and only $13!

I love all the well curated kid items from Salvage Life! My girls would love it all!

Thankful for my girls who still excited about Mother’s Day even though my crazy mom moments should probably exempt me from the holiday.

Thankful for being able to talk about God, Christ, and forgiveness with them and how excited they got to hear my pray.

I’m thankful for the weekend. We get to catch up on projects, go on another adventure (trying to do more with the kids), gather with church family, and then celebrate the mothers in our lives. I’m kind of excited about my breakfast in bed tomorrow morning! Hope you mamas out there have the happiest day on Sunday!!! xoxo

family meals: week 39

mycakies — Fri, 10 May 2013 17:31:37 +0000

Pan Seared Tuna with Kale and Chorizo. The recipe calls for hake, but we didn’t have that so we used tuna, and it also called for chorizo, but we used soy-rizo instead. Another change we did is instead of mashed potatoes, we did mashed cauliflower. It all tasted good together, but I don’t think it’s a recipe that I will make again. We just weren’t wild about it. We got the fish from my mom and dad who went to the port to get some fresh seafood over the weekend, so I wanted to use up the fish she gave us and things we already had. Our garden has lots of kale, so I googled kale and fish and this recipe came up.

Week 5/13 – 5/17
Monday: Kale Noodle Bowl with Avocado Miso Dressing
Tuesday: Chicken Enchiladas
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Sandwiches (swim nights are usually easy meals)
Friday: Sushi night

Sometimes I don’t always follow our weekly meal plan because things will come up (or I forget to give Ben the grocery list), but they still provide a little bit of guidance on what to make. I’m looking for more vegetarian dishes to cook, so if you have any good recipes to recommend, I would love to hear it!

and the crazy woman came out again

mycakies — Fri, 10 May 2013 05:13:37 +0000

Yesterday was one of those days. The crazy woman in me came out again. The day went mostly well, we were done with homeschooling by lunch time, then the girls spent the afternoon playing and I was cleaning. We were all excited because we were going to hang out with church family that night and have a bonfire (with s’mores of course!). Well then by 4:30 our plans (well, the ones I had in my mind) started unravelling. I had planned to leave at 4:45 pm, so I told them to get dress at 4:30 (yeah, we were still in our pajamas at that point), well, 15 minutes later they still weren’t dressed, and another 15 minutes passed and they still weren’t done (and just playing), so now I’m kinda frustrated at this point and was yelling like a mad woman that we weren’t going anymore. Ugh! I was so frustrated with myself! Brave was crying because she really wanted to see her friends and I was feeling bad because maybe I was too drastic about it. But I had already told them we weren’t going and as much as I wanted to just take them because they were so excited, I knew I had to stick with what I said.

Eventually, the girls calmed down and we went about our evening like normal (we didn’t go), but man I was feeling crummy for reacting so badly. Ben was working late so it had been an especially long day for me, but even still, it was no excuse and I was so mad at myself for being such a crazy mama. It definitely put me in no mood to blog because what was I was going to do? Come to this place and be all sunshines and rainbows. Yeah right! I was definitely not feeling any sunshines and rainbows. At the end of the day, I just wanted to crawl under a shell and hide forever. I was exhausted.

Thankfully, a new day came this morning and I had a talk with my girls about how I behaved badly and I was able to ask for their forgiveness. We all talked about good and bad choices, Christ and forgiveness, then we prayed together. I’m thankful for their forgiving spirits and their continuous showering of affection towards their sometimes crazy mama. And if you feel like a crazy mama from time to time, I’m here to tell you, you’re not alone! As difficult as these crazy and overwhelming moments are, it’s all part of the parenting package and as my mom tried to remind me today, “Soak this time in, it goes fast.” So through all the frustrating and happy chaos, I’ll keep trying to do just that.

tilapia ceviche on crispy wontons

mycakies — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:19:41 +0000

Tilapia Ceviche on Crispy Wontons
adapted from this recipe

Ingredients:
1. 2 avocados
2. 1 medium tomato
3. 1 lime
4. Habañeros finely chopped (we used 6 because we like it that spicy, but unless you like it pipin’ hot, maybe just use 1)
5. 1 small red onion finely chopped
6. 1 package of wonton wrappers
7. 1 tbsp sesame oil
8. 1 pound of sashimi grade tilapia
9. 2 tbsp rice vinegar
10. 1/2 tbsp fish sauce (can do without it if you don’t have any)
11. 1 bunch of chopped cilantro
12. Salt to taste

Directions:
Chop up the avocados, tomato, habañeros, onion, tilapia, and cilantro and toss together (note the finely chopped items in the ingredients list). Continue to add in the rice vinegar and fish sauce, and mix well. Sprinkle with salt (about 1/2 tsp – 1 tsp should do it) and squeeze the lime juice on top. Mix, cover, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Set the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly brush each side of the wonton with sesame oil, and then lay each piece separately onto a baking sheet. Watch the wontons carefully as they can burn pretty fast, but generally it takes about 4-8 minutes (depending on your oven) to get them crispy. Once they turn a nice golden brown, take them out of the oven and allow them to cool. Top your wontons with the tilapia ceviche and enjoy!

When we want a sushi night, but don’t really want to dish out the money, this is what we do. Tilapia is so much cheaper than salmon sashimi, which is our fave, and most definitely cheaper than getting sushi for take away. It’s Ben’s favorite way to eat raw tilapia (this is my favorite way to eat it as I just substitute the tuna with the tilapia). We probably put a little more habañeros than the average person because we like things spicy, but 1 should do it, or if you can’t hack spice, just lightly sprinkle some red pepper flakes. The habañero tastes so good here because it’s a pepper that has a sort of spicy sweet thing going on and we love it! I’m pretty sure we’re probably going to eat some version of this on Friday night. It’s just so good and quick to make, plus it’s perfect to eat while we relax and watch a movie in bed! If you like sushi, I’m almost sure you’ll like this too!

her seventh breakfast in bed

mycakies — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:27:34 +0000

Here she is, my biggest girl, the head honcho of the sisters (though #3 often tries to take the job away), and she is finally getting her 7th birthday breakfast in bed. We’ve been doing this tradition since she was one, but it started in my family when my parents were doing this for us since I was a kid. Our biggest gal is quite the creative gal. She’s always reading, drawing, and crafting. Every day she wants a new project to do. It’s always, “Mommy, can we make something today?” True has been planning this birthday of hers since August and she had lots of very specific requests, so we started off the day with her first one… the dolphin shaped pancakes (made by Ben!).

When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, besides her request for a party (and all the specifics to go in it), she said, “Anything swimming, ocean, or mermaid.” Then she followed that up with, “You can just make me something mommy!” So make is what I did.

I ended up making her a mermaid doll and had Ben drill a hole in a little seashell the girls collected, and sewed that onto her head. She came out looking pretty sweet and quirky. I just knew True would love her. Then, we were going to get her another bathing suit, but then I came across these turquoise glittery sandals (for $10!) at the store, which seemed mermaid-ish, so I got that for her as well (we ended up not giving her a bathing suit).

With everything I had made, I was kind of thinking she needed a special birthday dress because having a special birthday dress is a must, right?! This was totally a last minute idea. I remembered I had this Heather Ross fabric from her “Mermaids” line that I have been holding onto for at least 3 years, so I took that out and went off into dress making. I kind of mimicked this dress I made for myself long ago, and thankfully it all came out fantastic on my first try. Good thing, because I wouldn’t have had anymore fabric had I messed up. We gave her all her gifts during breakfast and she was quite happy and thankful for all of it. We also gave her her first real Bible now that she is such an avid reader. It’s sweet because she’s been reading bits of it at night with Ben.

I’m thankful for my sweet girl who is all about birthdays (she even insisted we call her Princess True during the month of April)! Whenever it’s someone else’s birthday in our home, she goes all out making things for the celebrant that it made me so happy to go all out and make things for her. I’d say her seventh year of life has already started out pretty good! And as the day (and weekend) went on, it just got better and better for our little princess. We love you Truey!