Crafts – Page 2 – Growing Up Savvy

Published March 6, 2015 by Nadya

Snow Day Recap & Other Shenanigans

I remember loving snow days. As a teenager, I would have the house to myself and all the time in the world to lounge, read and … and sleep. As an adult BS (before Sophia), I would spend the day working from home also in my pajamas and round out the evening with a super comforting dinner and drinks. As a mom, snow day means juggling two kids and work without our nanny. It means getting up super early to work, working through their nap and then, working some more when they go to bed. There were pajamas and TV but only for Sophia. We let ourselves go, and permitted Sophia to watch two cartoons. The first was My Neighbor Totoro and the second was Ratatouille.

We couldn’t just plop both kids in front of the TV all day and so there was plenty of other activities going on. We structured the day to include self-play, science, crafts and reading. Sophia played with Laser Pegs and learned the basics of circuits.

Eliza helped take the circuits apart :). We also learned about plants and how they come from seeds. Since I best learn through application, we planted an avocado seed in a container hoping it sprouts. Sophia checks our little seed every hour or so looking for the “leaves”.

The delicious avocado that housed the seed in our science lesson became a part of our mostly healthy and most definitely delicious lunch. This is broccoli, bean and avocado salad with miso-yogurt dressing and topped with pumpkin and sesame seeds. That was served with a french onion grilled cheese. Mmmmm…. so good.

And since it is likely that you’re already hungry after looking at the picture above, I may as well share a few more dishes from this week’s food roundup. Here we have Saba no misoni which is Mackarel stewed in miso served atop japanese sushi rice and topped with seaweed. This dish is a favorite at our house especially for Sophia. Salty and sweet and topped with crunchy seaweed makes every bite oh so very satisfying.And lastly, you can never have enough roast chicken though the usual method of tossing a bird in the oven can get a bit boring. We tried Jamie Oliver’s roast chicken in milk and were very happy with the results. It was perhaps the most tender and moist roasted chicken I’ve had and as a bonus, our house was perfumed by garlic and cinnamon while it baked.

The weekend is upon us and with it the promise of warmer weather (seriously, though I also am a skeptic at this point), more delicious meals, more playing, more science learning and just … more.

Cookery Crafts Flavors Hubby Cooks Life Moments Sophia Cooks

cartoons chicken cooking fish food kids and science mackerel roast chicken science

Published December 18, 2014 by Nadya

Crafty Business

Every year, my sister and I try to make something homemade for Hanukkah for the kids. Last year, we made aprons, cookie and chocolate milk mixes. This year, we decided to treat our 5 year old cousin, who we know is going to be a fashionista one day, to an accessory. I took a crash course on beading from my mother-in-law and spent a bit of time honing my skills. And in learning how to bead a little bracelet, I learned that I enjoy this craft very much.

Crafts

Published March 3, 2014 by Nadya

A Snow Day

What date is today? March 3rd? Are you sure?

This is what our back yard looked like today. The snow was heavy enough that we both worked from home and tag-teamed childcare. Thankfully, Sophia is pretty good at occupying herself now-a-days. We started the morning with some dancing…

and transitioned to calmer activities like painting.

The end of our workday called for something comforting, something with chocolate — naturally. And so, I whipped up a batch of chocolate muffins. Seems luxurious, right? Well it was. At first, I was worried whether or not the batter would fit into my muffin tins, and then I was worried whether or not the muffins would come out of the tins. First world problems, no?

Turns out, I didn’t have to worry about the muffins coming out of the tins, or their taste for that matter. See for yourself.

Crafts Culinary Adventures Dessert Flavors Life Moments

Published February 24, 2014 by Nadya

Weekending: Life in The Wild

Springtime weather. I am almost afraid to say it for it may not happen again for a very long time. Mother nature was somehow compensating for the snow storms and frigid temperatures we’ve been subjected to recently. Whatever the reason, we were happy to be out and about this weekend — worried mother nature would change its mind. First things first, we went to the National Zoo. Rather, we took our own little wild ~~animal~~ child to see all the exciting creatures that exist in the wild.

Early bird gets the worm so to speak… The zoo pavilions open at 10 am, but the grounds are open at 8. We arrived at 9:15 and that was clearly this panda’s breakfast time!

Of course no day at the zoo would be complete without a carousel ride. This was Sophia’s first ever ride and though she was a little timid at first, the music won her over.

My sister, brother-in-law and nephew visited with us after the zoo. Seeing the kids play together was just out of this world especially because he is ten and she is not even two and a half.

Sunday fun-day was a continuation of our Saturday with more visitors. This time, Grammie and Pop and Clowdie (the dog) visited us for the day. As usual, my in-laws know how to wow Sophia. They arrived just after 10 am equipped with finger paints and watercolors. Painting is quite a stretch for us around these parts. We like to think that crayons and markers suffice, but were happy to see painting as well.

Pop and Sophia put a playdoh rolling pin to some imaginative use with playdoh.

You must be wondering by now what culinary delights we cooked this weekend or if we cooked at all. We did indeed cook because we had visitors to feed and the workweek to fend with. First and foremost, my sister brought a care package from my mom with her famous strudel and apple pirogies. I recently relieved my mother of blintz-making duties, but have now retained her to make apple pirogies.

Additionally, and because russians never ever visit without bringing something delicious as an offering, my sister baked one of my all-time favorites — a cottage cheese cake with a meringue topping. My mom used to make this when we were children and it is the perfect afternoon tea accompaniment. My sister put her special touch on the dish by adding apples between the cottage cheese and meringue topping. Evan and Sophia liked it too. Little Sophia thrust herself off her chair quite fast at the site of this sublime confection demanding a piece.

If you look at the cake picture carefully, you’ll see a new batch of the Boston creme cupcakes from last week in the background. We just had to share them with our family this weekend. The cupcakes were clearly a dessert item and despite my better judgement, I couldn’t rationalize having one for breakfast on Sunday. So what to do, what to do? Obviously, the answer was churros — Spanish donuts. Besides, I try to make something that I know my in-laws would enjoy. We need to make sure they will be back 🙂

Here they are taking a dip in the hot oil.

Rolled in cinnamon sugar they were pretty irresistible.

Cookery Crafts Culinary Adventures Life Moments

Published February 14, 2014 by Nadya

Our Very Own Winter [Olympic] Sport

Not a typical Friday moment… but very special none-the-less.

We’re snowed in… again. This winter is making up for the previous two where we hardly got a dusting of snow.

If there is one thing that is more challenging that being a working mom or a stay-at-home mom, it must be a working mom forced to stay at home with no other childcare and a full day’s work ahead.

And when the workday is finally done, and we are battling cabin fever, I turn to my favorite winter sport — knitting. A wool vest that I knitted over the last few evenings finished off with two colorful buttons is warm and cozy. I’ve actually knitted this before for our youngest cousin born October 2012 in a light green and had to scale the pattern to Sophia’s size.

Crafts Moments

Published January 27, 2014 by Nadya

Weekending: Art on Loan

Our weekends, at least the last one and this one, have been pretty busy despite being in the throws of winter’s freeze. We enjoyed my parents’ visit this weekend and especially my mom’s surprise home-made varenyky and beef stroganoff. As you know, we hold true to the “Will Feed for Free Babysitting” motto. Here are some of the shenanigans that went on while we were cooking.

that … and …

With our hands free and the desire not to be outdone by my mom’s Russian culinary delights, we made chicken tikka masala which happens to be one of her favorites.

My dad, much like his little granddaughter, is a sweet tooth. So to appeal to his weaknesses/preferences, I whipped up a batch of old-school oatmeal sandwich cookies with cream cheese and mascarpone filling. I found the recipe on the New York times. Instead of raisins, these have dates and toasted coconut. They were A-M-A-Z-I-N-G if not a little too luxurious.

And look, look who helped!?

I also baked brownies for a dinner date we were heading to in Virginia with Sophia in tow. I don’t have pictures of them as they were destined for our company anyway… but lets just say that they did not disappoint. I can also maybe, maybe admit to eating a few too many ends and crumbs from the baking sheet as I was packing them up in individual petit four cups. I learned the petit four cup packaging idea from Evan’s Bubbie who always sends us passover goodies packaged that way.

The highlight of our weekend was receiving this beautiful cross stitched piece for Sophia’s nursery. It was lovingly hand cross-stitched a few years ago by my sister for my nephew’s room.

His nursery used to have a Winnie the Pooh theme and he has since outgrown it. She is going to keep and pass it on for my nephew’s kids but is lending it to Sophia since she has recently gotten into the tales of Winnie and his friends. There is something magical about hand-made, one of a kind pieces that are done by someone you love. It instantly brightened up Sophia’s nursery. We hung it up over a chair where we read books and Sophia looks at it while we read our Winnie the Pooh’s Perfect Spring Day – also a hand-me-down from my nephew. Who says that loaning art is just for grown ups and large scale installations?!

Cookery Crafts Culinary Adventures Dessert Flavors Food For Thought Hubby Cooks Life

Published January 12, 2014 by Nadya

At Last…

Sort of like the song itself, I’ve dreamed of this weekend for so long. We were home, it was cold and wet outside, but warm and pleasant inside the house. First things first… we’re all stocked up on groceries and the tall list of things I had to cook have all materialized and are waiting to be eaten over the course of the coming week.

Besides cooking and crafting, I managed to take Sophia out to the mall. I wouldn’t usually brag about a mall excursion but Saturday was rainy but warm, and she’s been cooped up all week long. I did it more for a change of scenery than anything. I suppose that I could have taken her to a children’s activity but nothing is scarier than a group of kids with runny noses and sore throats. The mall is just a short ten minute ride away and as you know, Sophia is a terrible carseat rider. At first we thought it was motion sickness, but I am starting to think it may be a mean case of anxiety over being restrained. Anyway, the mall excursion started with tears and a tantrum signaling Sophia’s unwillingness to get into the carseat. After much cajoling and, I am not too proud to admit it–bribery, I finally got a stoic and resigned Sophia on her way to the mall where there were cookies and balloons. Our mission was to just window shop and get out of the house; That much was accomplished. In the end, she didn’t want to leave the mall… but lunch and these chocolate covered marshmallows (home made, of course) waited for us at home.

Aside from these indulgences which were requested by Sophia after watching George devour them on Curious George, we also made

a lamb roast, grown up tater tots with chimichurri sauce, stuffed peppers concluding our culinary activities with made-from-scratch breakfast this morning:

My sister got us a waffle maker and we finally whipped up a batch. You’re going to think this is crazy, but I’ve only had fresh home-made waffles maybe three or four times in my life. These were definitely the best! Sophia agreed … devouring a full quarter waffle :-). All those carbs must have been exactly what she needed to rouse up her inner artist.

Cookery Crafts Culinary Adventures Dessert Flavors Hubby Cooks Life Play Tiny Tastebuds

Published November 30, 2013 by Nadya

Hanukkah Crafts

I alluded to the secret crafts my sister and I were working on for our little cousins for Hanukkah and I can now finally share what we’ve been up to for the last few weekends. We have six little cousins (four on my side and two on Evan’s). We thought that instead of getting books or toys, we’d do something a little more personal; Something from the heart. Fall is finally here and there is a chill in the air. What can be better than a cup of hot chocolate and home-made cookies made with your brother or sister? So… we made hot chocolate and cookie mixes for everyone to make and sewed aprons to ensure no outfits were dirtied in the process. The hot chocolate mix requires very little work — just add hot milk. While enjoying their hot chocolate, the young chefs need to mix oil, eggs and vanilla adding those to the dry ingredients we provided in the mason jar. Finally, I want to highlight the special food stylist at the photoshoot to capture the Hanukkah gifts. 🙂

Cookery Crafts Dessert Flavors Life

Published November 28, 2013 by Nadya

Eight Nights of Hanukkah — First Night: Latkes, Gifts and More

Hanukkah is one of my all-time favorite holidays. For one, it features latkes and jelly filled donuts. Secondly, it is celebrated for E-I-G-H-T days and nights. Last year, my sister gifted Sophia EIGHT presents. They were such a hit and Sophia loved the attention her Aunt showered her with. The winner was a hand-made color book where each of the primary colors was quilted into a page and its name was cross-stitched on the opposing side. She still reads it and loves it. This year, I caught the crafting bug and tried my best to spread the crafts around.

This year, my sister who’s a genuine balabusta — a perfect homemaker and gracious host — hosted a Hannukah dinner for my parents and us. She made latkes, khatchapuri, sufganiyot and a few other dishes, too. After all, whoever said that Hanukkah couldn’t feature a few Georgian dishes? To compliment all the fried dishes, there was my mom’s to-die-for beef stew and a few others, too. Let’s just say this was a practice run for tomorrow’s Turkey Day dinner hosted by Evan’s parents.

As we were celebrating the festival of lights and gifts were on the kids’ minds, we delved in. Evan and I held off on giving Sophia any gifts just yet as she was yet again a lucky recipient of my sister’s generous gifts. I will reveal some of my own crafty creations in due time as Sophia opens them. Until then, I am especially grateful to Evan for watching Sophia while I crafted not only for Sophia but for our cousins (all six of them!!!).

Cookery Crafts Dessert Flavors FriendsFamily Life Mom's Cooking

Published November 25, 2013 by Nadya

Weekending: Mangia, Mangia!

That kind of a weekend where we once again crafted, caught up on chores and stayed in because it was frigid — well, by November standards anyway. I did manage to sneak out to the stores for just a short while and brought back a princess-themed stamp set for Sophia. Here she is stamping to her heart’s content.

Good thing that she was occupied because we managed to make linguine with bolognese sauce.

But our Italian weekend that just sort of happened didn’t end with bolognese sauce. It was followed by an orange infused, apricot jam crostata which I formed while Sophia watched her very first movie/cartoon. She picked “The Adventures of Pooh”.

The crostata looked much prettier in my cookbook, but looks don’t always foreshadow taste.

The crostata followed pizza margherita — another of Evan’s signature dishes. There are leftovers and I feel quite accomplished in the culinary and crafts department. As I write this, Evan is listening to Beethoven with Sophia though I hear that Stravinsky is up next. There is something magical about staying at home, staying in and filling the house with amazing aromas.

Lastly, a very brief attempt at a “recommended reading/watching” list; I managed to get started on this documentary of the plight of Russian Jewry in Russia in the 1970-ies and would like to recommend it to anyone who is curious about what life was like for Jews and in fact for most others, too.

Cookery Crafts Dessert Flavors Hubby Cooks

Category: <span>Crafts</span>

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