Root of the matter

Root veggies ready to be roasted.

My new favorite winter time dish; roasted root veggies. So easy, so colorful, so healthy, so many choices! Simply peel and chop your root veggies into bite sized pieces. Toss with about 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 tsp sea salt for a 9x13 pan full of veggies. Roast at 350F for about 25 minutes, stirring once, until fork tender. That's it. Don't stack the veggies too deep, they'll get more golden brown if more surface area is exposed.

Quick, name all the varieties of root veggies you have eaten this month. Stuck on carrots and potatoes? Try some new veggies and see how you like them. Go for a variety of colors to add a cheerful punch to your dinner. I also sometimes add some technically-not root veggies like celery and butternut squash, but the majority are the underground winter keepers that are relatively inexpensive and nutritious.

Choose from the common carrots, potatoes, and onions, then add lesser used parsnips, turnips, beets, and sweet potatoes. You may get really exotic and try rutabaga, you know, those weird looking things in the grocery store that you've never actually seen anyone buy. Be adventurous! Give the cashier in the grocery store a challenge! Try some roots!

What veggie do you root for? What is your favorite?

Say cheese

Have you ever eaten truly fresh American mozzerella? I have and it is incredible. Warm and chewy, I've never seen a batch that's lasted more than 10 minutes. We don't even bother to put it on crackers or bread or melt it over a basil-topped tomato. Making a mozzerella cheese is harder than making soft cheeses like chevre or labneh (or yo-cheese as we call it) but it's a lot of fun, especially the kneading and stretching part. I'm definitely still a beginner at cheesemaking, but it is a great family activity and especially easy if you have access to a lot of great milk. For easy mozzeralla, you'll need to find two tricky ingredients and two easy ones. The easy ones; milk and salt. A gallon of store-bought cow's milk will work just fine and produce about 1 pound of cheese. I prefer whole milk. The less common ingredients are citric acid and rennet. You may be able to find these at a regular grocery store, you'll just have to look. I found citric acid in the bulk spice bin at my local Sprouts. I ordered liquid rennet from Dairy Connection Inc., a cheesemaking supply store, but you may find Junket tablets locally in the pudding and Jello section. Either animal or vegetable rennet will work. I won't describe the whole process because others have already done it with great pictures and explanations. This 30 minute Mozzarella recipe at cheesemaking.com is a great one. Another excellent site for cheesemaking is FANKHAUSER'S CHEESE PAGE which will walk you through the whole process of cheesemaking from beginner to advanced.

Let me know if you try making cheese!

The land of fruit and nuts

Last week dh and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary. For this momentous occasion, we decided to abandon the kids (thanks Dan and Kori) and take a drive to the gorgeous Santa Ynez Valley, just north of Santa Barbara, CA. We had a wonderful time exploring the tiny towns of Buellton, Solvang, and Los Olivos, and especially enjoyed the gorgeous fields, vinyards, and orchards between the town centers.

A young olive grove near Old Mission Santa Ines.

The town of Solvang is a Danish immigrant town turned tourist attraction. Along with windmills, half timber buildings, and a healthy obsession with Hans Christian Anderson, the town boasts what most Americans think of when we hear the word Danish, which would be, well, Danishes. Several bakeries got our money in those two days, the traditional ball-like aebleskivers being a favorite, eaten for breakfast with a side of Danish sausage.

Some of my favorite experiences of the trip weren't the shops or even the sausages. The hand-painted signs on the side of the roads between towns stating simply "Walnuts" or "Apples" held as much interest for us as the Little Mermaid sculpture or even the gushing Nojoqui Falls.

At our first local produce stop we were lucky to meet Mr. Dittmar of Dittmar's Apples. Even though the apple season was on its very last weeks, he still had a truckload full of Granny Smiths, the latest in the season of his 10 apple varieties. I did not know I had never tasted a real Granny Smith until Mr. Dittmar sliced one open for me. Tree-ripened and quite sweet, this Granny Smith was nothing like the shiny, bright green, hard, perfectly round Grannys found in stores. He did have several bags of 1st quality apples, but dh and I dug into the orchard-run bin, bringing home about 10 pounds for $4. My favorites are the apples with slight blemishes (but not cuts or bruises) on the skin, or those too small or too large (and there were some big ones!) to qualify for supermarket conformity. I guess they have character. Mr. Dittmar was nice enough to chat with us about his orchard. His trees cover just 2 acres next to his home which he bought in 1970 and his son now helps him with the work because it is all done by hand. He is proud of his sustainable and organic farming methods. In case a customer comes while Mr. Dittmar is not at the little stand, there is a can marked "Honor System" on the table.

Just down the road from the apples, we were intrigued by the walnut sign. Again we were treated to a chat with the owner, but I am sorry I didn't get his name. He showed us the huge walnut trees surrounding his winter-dormant berry bushes. Many of the trees he planted himself and he was happy to explain the harvesting process to us. Dh was intrigued by the antique hulling machine in the yard, and I admired the homemade jellies and jams made by the walnut-man's wife. She had a purple best-in-show ribbon from a county fair displayed next to her jars. As with the Granny Smith apples, these walnuts were not like the ones you buy at the store. As we cracked open our free samples and chatted, I noticed they were different, sweeter somehow or fresher? How do you describe the taste of a nut? Happily carrying our brown paper bag of several pounds of walnuts to the car, I felt like I knew the neighbors already. I announced to my dh that we were moving. He laughed.

Apple Crisp

5-6 cups sliced, peeled apples

1 cup regular rolled oats

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
6 TB butter
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Spread apples in a 9x13 pan. In a bowl, mix all other ingredients until topping looks like coarse crumbs. Sprinkle topping over apples. Bake at 375F for 30 to 35 minutes.

This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday at Sustainable Eats.

Do you know the muffin man?

Or muffin woman? I made a yummy muffin recipe today that turned out quite well. I like to make muffins instead of quick bread because I don't have to slice it, and I like muffins more than cookies because it's easier to justify eating one (or three) for breakfast. Since I still have some lovely pumpkin puree in the fridge, not to mention several pints in the freezer and a couple of fresh pumpkins still in the garage from our bumper crop, I cooked up a batch of muffins today.

Tamlynn's Pumpkin Muffins
makes 24 -because getting all the ingredients out for just 12 muffins is silly.

Dry ingredients:
3 1/2 cups flour -I like 2 cups white and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat
1/2 cup sugar or honey or other sweetener
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see recipe below to make your own)

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 beaten eggs
1 1/2 cups milk -use a little less if using honey

Mix wet and dry ingredients in seperate bowls, then pour wet ingredients into dry and mix until no more spots of dry flour show. Then, add the best ingredients of all:

1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
or
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts
or
a little of both!

Bake in muffin tins at 400F for 20 minutes. Will freeze very well if you can keep them around that long.
I spend a lot of money on high quality milk, so for baked recipes like this I use powdered milk and water. For this recipe, it would be 4 Tb powdered milk added to the dry ingredients and 1 1/2 cups water. Your pumpkin puree may be slightly different in consistency, so you may have to adjust the water/milk. Just make it look like thick batter.

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Mix together and store in glass container:
1/4 cup cinnamon
1 Tb of each: ground ginger, nutmeg, cloves and allspice
If you don't have one of these last 4 ingredients, just skip it. No worries.

Let me know if you try this recipe and how it worked for you.

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Fridays.

It's the great pumpkin!

Is it possible to have autumn without pumpkins? I don't think so. This year we had an amazing pumpkin crop. I planted a couple of pie pumpkin seeds in the community garden plot, then we had a rogue volunteer pumpkin in our side yard that produced the biggest pumpkin of all, plus two decent-sized ones. We have been eating our pumpkins as well as using them for decoration and entertainment. Pumpkins are amazingly versatile and good for you too! Most of the recipes I've been using came from someone else, so I'll try to give credit where it's due. First, check out Pioneer Woman's instructions for making pumkpin puree here. Then clean off those seeds and set them aside to make her delicious roasted pepitas. My friend Mindy has a delicious curry pumpkin soup recipe posted below. I found this crustless pumpkin pie here, but found I needed to add a lot more sweeteners for our tastes. And our standby favorite, chocolate chip pumpkin muffins are always a hit. Also, since October is over, drumroll for our produce tally please!

October 2010:

82 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies

45 eggs

Since June 1, 2010: 339 lbs. of fresh fruits and veggies 226 eggs We have a 1/10th acre lot, and a 20x20 foot community garden plot. Most of this month's produce was winter squashes; pumpkins and butternuts. DeeDee's Creamy Curry Pumpkin Soup
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
4 cups broth (I happened to have beef, but chicken or veggie would work just as well)
2 tsp. curry powder
4 cups pumpkin puree or a 29-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 14-oz. can coconut milk, or 1 3/4 cups cream
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Dash of cayenne pepper (optional)
Dash of hot sauce (optional)
Saute onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil. Add broth and simmer until vegetables are totally soft. Add remaining ingredients, puree in blender in batches (or use hand blender if you have one), return to pot. Enjoy! This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

Meow, meow, meow, meow

Remember the cat food that cats ask for by name? This is way better.

I am not a crazy cat woman, but we do have a nice pet cat that we care about. We brought Romeo home from a shelter about 7 years ago, so I am guessing he is about 10 years old. The workers at the shelter named him Romeo because of his loving personality, and we kept the name. He has been a fun, playful, snuggly cat. And he may have superpowers.

A few months ago we noticed that Romeo was drinking a lot of water. He would jump on my bathroom counter and beg for me to turn the faucet on. He'd drink the water on the bottom of the shower. His water dish was often dry by the end of the day. He was losing weight but still eating the same amount of dry cat food. We fed Iams, a pretty good brand. Doing a little online research, we discovered these symptoms could indicate kidney failure, a common occurence in older cats for which there is no cure. The only recommendation was to feed wet food instead of dry because the dry food would absorb water in his gut and cause him to want even more water. This posed a problem. Romeo hates wet cat food. Dh tried in the past to give him a special treat by buying one of those fancy cans of wet cat food and he wouldn't touch them. He never ate tuna or milk, or anything we had tried feeding him before. But, feeling concerned for the cat, dh decided to make up his own recipe and cook some homemade cat food.

Complete success! The silly cat loves the stuff. We figure it has to be way more nutritious than any dried cat food. Most cat foods contain corn as the first or second ingredient. Who in their right minds thinks corn is a good nutrition source for cats? And, calculating costs per pound, homemade is quite a bit cheaper than higher-end cat foods - the kinds that actually list some type of meat by-product as the first ingredient.

So here it is, the delicious and nutritious cat food recipe. Warning- the first thing you may need when making this recipe is a clothespin. And lots of open windows.

This is a cooked recipe and makes about 15 lbs.

4 lbs. beef liver

3 lbs. chicken -meat, skin, fat, and organs

3 cups rice (9 cups cooked)

6 boiled eggs with shells

5 cups cooked macaroni or other pasta

4 large carrots unpeeled

2 cups high-quality dry cat food, soaked in water until very soft

Cook all indgredients. Dh pan frys the meat, boils the pasta and carrots and starts the rice cooker. Send each cooked food item through a food processor, blender or meat grinder. We include the dry cat food to provide trace vitamins, minerals and enzymes. You should NOT feed your cat onions, garlic, salt, green tomatoes or potatoes, chocolate, or nuts.

You may have a hard time finding liver in grocery stores. Lets face it, liver is just not popular anymore, though dh occasionally gets a hankering for liver and onions and the rest of us get a hankering to leave the house. We buy beef liver at a local carniceria for $1 per pound.

Mix the whole mushy mass well in a large bowl and divide into small freezer-safe containers that are clearly labeled CAT FOOD. We don't want any surprises with our frozen foods. Keep one small container at a time in the refrigerator for daily feeding.

Many people advocate a raw diet for cats, but this one is more convenient for us. Romeo kills an occasional bird in the backyard (and brings it into the only carpeted room in the house) so I figure he is getting the trace enzymes and raw food fix that he needs.

Romeo has put on a little weight and doesn't need to drink as much water. I think these are good signs. We hope to keep our kitty around for many more years - as long as he keeps those laser eyes under control and only uses them for good.

This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesdays.

Chili for the chilly

Today it rained. Cool and cloudy. A far cry from the 100+ temps of just one week ago. A perfect day for chili! This is one of our go-to meals when it's late and I don't know what to make for dinner. It's quick, easy, and I usually have the ingredients on hand either canned, fresh or frozen. Enjoy. Garden Chili 1 lb. ground beef 2 cloves minced garlic 2 stalks chopped celery 1 or 2 chopped bell peppers, fresh or frozen 1 cup shredded zucchini, fresh or frozen 1 quart bottled tomatoes with juice, or about 2 lbs. fresh, peeled and chopped 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained 1 can (15 oz.) kidney beans, drained 1 can, (15 oz.) or one pint tomato sauce 3-4 fresh basil leaves, chopped, or 1 tsp dried 2 to 3 tsp chili powder 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper Brown the ground beef with the garlic. Add everything else. Bring to boil then simmer until veggies are cooked, especially the celery, about 20 min or until you are ready to serve. Better the second day, according to my dd. One of these days I'd like to figure out how to use dried beans in the recipe instead of commercially canned. But that will probably take some planning ahead. This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

Put 'em up

What a beautiful sight. This has been a great year for home canning.

My pretties from left to right are:

Tomatoes from our garden, pears from the supermarket, peaches from our trees, cherries from the grower, orange-honey marmalade from our tree, salsa with tomatoes, cilantro, and peppers from our garden, currant jelly from a friend's bushes, cucumber dills from our garden, and apricot jam from a friend's tree. These bottles were all processed in a steam canner (same processing times as water bath canners.)

Did you know canning is making a comeback in popularity? Several national home and family magazines (the ones found in Drs offices -that's where I get my quality magazine reading time) featured canning articles this summer, and canning supplies were to be found in many big box stores. I think its great that a newer generation is being introduced to this fun and rewarding work. I didn't learn how to home-can until after I was married, so I don't want to hear any whining that "my mom never taught me how." Find some supplies, some good instructions, and give it a try! If you find you like canning, keep your eye out for used canning bottles. They can often be found at yard sales or in the homes of little old ladies. While you're at it, talk to the little old ladies about their experiences in home canning. Did the kids or husband help? Did she grow her own food? What are her favorite recipes? Then make sure to check current guidelines for food processing safety. Just in case. I think jam is the easiest place to start, and I may as well recommend my favorite pectin, Pomona's Universal Pectin because the recipes use less sugar and the instructions encourage you to experiment with your own recipes. The only thing I haven't put up this year yet is applesauce. We usually buy apples from the grocery store or farmer's market, but they just haven't had a good enough sale yet which means the season is not quite at its peak. BTW, I like the new updated satin nickel finish on the canning lids and rings, but it does clash with the old brassy gold colored ones when I have to mix and match. Happy canning! What do you like to home can? What would you like to learn how to can? Who was your canning teacher? This post is linked to Kelly the Kitchen Kop's Real Food Wednesday.

Killer cereal

Cold cereal used to be my favorite food. I never liked the sugary stuff though. My favorites, even when I was a kid, were GrapeNuts, Shredded Wheat and the like. Remember the huge shredded wheat biscuits that came in individually wrapped packages, the ones with no sugar or anything? I loved those things. Weird, I know. When I cut way back on buying commercial cold cereal, I knew I would need to find a good homemade substitute. I need my cold cereal in the mornings. Just because I'm not buying pre-packaged food anymore doesn't mean I'm going to wake up in the morning and cook. That would be asking way too much. I love most granolas, so with a few tweaks, including doubling the recipe (because who wants to make granola 2 times a week?) I have created my absolute favorite cold cereal granola. In fact, the whole family loves it which unfortunately means less for me. It is so good I could pretty much eat this all day. I think I had 2 bowls today with milk, but its also good right out of the container, on yogurt, ice cream, warm peaches...sometimes I do make it twice a week.

Tamlynn's Favorite Granola

Mix together in a large bowl:
8 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flax seeds
2 cups chopped raw almonds or pecans
3-4 Tb cinnamon

In a saucepan slowly melt and mix together:
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla

Pour the honey/oil mixture over the dry ingredients and mix well. Divide the granola and spread on two large baking sheets. Toast in a 300F degree oven for 20 minutes, stirring carefully after 10 minutes. Watch carefully so the granola doesn't burn in the last few minutes.

The type of baking sheets and oven temps may vary the toasting time. You really don't want to burn your granola. It's sad. Let the granola cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Store for one or two weeks at room temp or in the freezer if it takes you longer to eat this much. Variations: add whatever you want! Try pecans, sunflower seeds, wheat germ. Add dried fruit after granola has cooled. My kids whine about dried fruit in their granola, so I just sprinkle some in my bowl before eating. Try raisins, (if you must) dried cranberries, blueberries, currants, chopped apricots, coconut, etc. Let me know if you try this and how you like it.

Thoughts on meat

First of all the July produce tally. Drumroll please...65 pounds of fruits and veggies from my yard! This does not include anything from the community garden plot. We harvested peaches, oranges, tomatoes, artichokes, some beautiful potatoes, peppers, and various lettuces and herbs. Oh, and one lemon. I needed it to make salsa and although it wasn't quite ripe, it did the job. Actually, I stopped weighing on July 20 because we left on vacation. The great friends who took care of our yard got to eat whatever ripened between then and now. I am excited to start weighing again because August will include so much from our community garden plot. Now about meat. In July I did something I had never done before. I helped butcher animals to eat. My parents raise Muscovy ducks, and they are highly prized for their lean, high quality meat. My husband did do about 80% of the actual work, but I feel I helped significantly. Don't worry, I won't go into any details and gross anyone out. What surprised me about the whole process was how interesting I found it all. It gave me an appreciation of the animal, of the beauty of anatomy, both inside and out, of the function and relationship of every part of the animal. I really think that every person who eats meat should at least witness, if not participate in, the preparation of some animal for human food. I think the experience gives a sense of humility and gratitude for the animals themselves and the people who work as butchers. I think people would waste less and even consume less meat if we more clearly understood the entire process. While searching online for tips and procedures for our big day, (you can learn anything from the internet) I came across this discussion about how people felt about killing their own animals for food. I especially like post #17. What are your thoughts about knowing your meat?

All dried up

I've noticed a few online giveaways lately where the lucky winner can recieve a brand new, fancy schmancy Excalibur Dehydrator. My dehydrator is not fancy or new. In fact, it's probably as old as I am since I inherited it from my grandmother. It has two settings; on and off. But it still works, especially when the weather is not humid and/or foggy all day. My favorite thing to make with my dehydrator is fruit leather. Fruit leather is probably the easiest way to preserve fruit. Just puree some yummy fruit, (peeled if necessary) add sweetener - I like honey- and in about a day you have fruit leather! No boiling water, steaming jars or watching pots. This picture is actually some cherries I brought home last year and froze. Freezing pureed raw fruit works great, and is useful if you are inundated with ripe fruit and need to do something with it quickly before the fruit flies overwhelm your kitchen. Today I made a peach-raspberry puree. About 8 cups of pureed fruit and a little less than one cup honey. I like using honey because it's already liquid and does not crystallize in the fruit leather like sugar does. However, the honey fruit leather does tend to be more sticky. Remember when sweetening your fruit that the flavors will condense when drying. Make it a little less sweet than you think it should be. After 12-24 hours-ish, the fruit leather should peel up easily off the fruit leather trays. IF you have sprayed your trays with a cooking oil spray. Be nice to yourself and remember to do this. My dehydrator has little clear rectangular trays that fit on top of the regular trays. Put the leather on sheets of wax paper or plastic wrap and fold or roll up. Store in an airtight container on the shelf or in the refrigerator if you like. It won't last long. Oh, and if you have a little extra puree that won't fit on your dehydrating trays, use it as a topping for ice cream, pancakes, waffles...or just use a spoon. Real Food Wednesdays

The reluctant summer

Yesterday LAX had a record low high. For July 9, the temperature hit a whopping 67F. This is not tomato and pepper growing weather, my friends. My plants have mildew. We count the hours of sunlight in minutes. I think the flavor of the peaches has been affected. They just aren't as sweet this year.

Every day after swimming lessons my children fix themselves mugs of hot cocoa. Did I mention it's July? I still have my down comforter on my bed!

The best I can do right now is bake and make soup. Someone at the community garden left a ginormous zucchini on the free table. I made 4 dozen muffins, freezing most of them for quick snacks. I also froze the leftover shredded squash- easy to add to soups, chili, etc. The muffins are pretty tasty, though adding chocolate chips makes them an even better treat on a chilly summer day.

Tamlynn's Zucchini Muffins
makes 2 dozen

mix together:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 cup quick oats
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

in another bowl mix:
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (or melted butter or oil)
1 1/2 cup sugar (or other sweetener)
4 medium eggs (that's the size my chickens lay)
2 cups shredded zucchini

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well. Put into greased muffin tins and bake at 350F for 20 minutes. They will be darker than white flour muffins, so don't think they are burnt.

And the winner is...

Jeannette who said: What would happen if Shrek and a Vampiress had a baby. That was a tomato.

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My dad got to choose the winner because he enjoys drawing on vegetables. Or is it a fruit?

Lucky Jeannette will receive a hopefully intact pint of my homemade salsa. And for everyone else here is my recipe. Or if you're not up for a bunch of work, may I suggest Pace.

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Tamlynn's Salsa

• 17 cups peeled, cored, seeded, diced tomatoes -about 12-15 lbs. (I lost most of you right there, didn't I?)
• 1 cup diced onion
• 3 jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced -wear rubber gloves!
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and diced
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 cup vinegar
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 10 drops Tabasco sauce
• 1/3 cup minced cilantro
• 1 1/2 Tbs salt
• 8 pint (16 oz) glass preserving jars with bands and lids

1. Prepare boiling water or steam canner. Prepare lids in simmering water. Set bands aside.

2. Combine all the yummy ingredients in a large saucepan.

3. Heat to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.

4. Ladle hot salsa into hot jars leaving 1/2 in headspace. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight. You will have enough extra for some instant gratification chip dipping-store in refrigerator for up to a few days.

5. Process filled jars in canner for 15 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours.

6. Have a silly contest and mail one across the country!

Happy birthday Buddy!

My ds's birthday was this week. I love theme birthday parties for my kids, but I also love keeping things extremely simple and relatively inexpensive. Living so close to the beach makes it a snap to have a fun birthday party and invite everyone we know. Plus, I don't have to clean my house before OR after the party!

I am not a fancy cake decorator. I do not make cakes shaped like cars or castles or R2D2. I just can't handle it. Therefore, I would like to kiss the person who made cupcakes trendy again. When I saw these cupcakes I nearly jumped for joy. Perfect for my shark loving ds and so easy my kids could do it. In fact, they did.

My kids frosted the cupcakes, cut out the fins from construction paper and stuck them on. Ds crushed the graham crackers into sand, dipped a few frosted cupcakes in to make "islands" and we stuck in some palm trees we had left over from last year. I even dyed the cake blue at ds's request. So incredibly easy and fun. Since I had to transport these goodies to the beach, I sent dh to the local grocery store bakery to buy a box. The bakery people never know what to charge for an empty box, so suggest .50. They'll probably go for it. If you'd like to try this at home, one box for a half-sheet cake will hold 4 dozen cupcakes. Two boxes of cake mix will make 4 dozen cupcakes, and one can of frosting covered them all.

For the rest of the party, I had some awesome beach themed games planned, but when you've got the ocean right in front of you who wants to listen to mom?

In case you'd like to have your own beach party, my game plans were: Dolphin, dolphin, shark (duck, duck goose) Red light, green light with the kids doing the crab walk Salt water relay -having the kids race to fill a sand bucket with water from the ocean using a sand shovel. Easy peasy games with no prep, so who cares that we didn't play them. We also served pizza, fruit and plenty of drinks. I found some inexpensive sand toys for party favors (though I did have to search because the school supplies were taking over the seasonal items aisles) and it was done. Oh, one more thing. Emily Post may be rolling over in her grave, but I love e-vite for party invitations.

Gender discrimination is alive and well at my house.

Homemade chicken soup. And I do mean homemade.