Medieval Entertainment

We didn't have a bard or jester as entertainment at our feast, but the girls each gave a presentation or reading as after-dinner entertainment. Emily constructed a castle and read an essay she had written on the different parts of a castle. 

After she finished, Eli jumped up and gave us his "presentation" by counting the tower and flags for us.

Megan read a story about a musical knight who was ridiculed for playing the lute.He saved his reputation by saving the princess and becoming heir to the kingdom. 

And, to finish our evening, we played chess.

Stepping Back Into the Middle Ages

History. 

I despised history when I was in school.

I didn't see the point. 

I didn't care about what happened in the past.

I didn't make the connections.

Now I am fascinated with history.

 I am not concerned too much with dates, but instead with events and ideas, and how they changed life and culture. 

I love digging up stories of people who show integrity during trying times. 

I want to experience history.

There are a lot of amazing resources that bring history to life!

Last night we stepped back into a piece of history -- and we ate medieval-style! We did our best to replicate foods and traditions that were customary to the time. I did use our oven to bake, although Emily protested. She thought we should cook over a fire. I stood my ground on this one. Not willing to give up all of our modern conveniences.

Typical place setting. Notice anything missing? That's right -- no forks. And, what is that in place of a plate? It is a trencher. Basically, stale bread was used as plates, and then thrown out to the peasants or beggars. (We threw ours out to the dog.)

This is our "mock" mead. Mead was an alcoholic beverage created by fermenting honey and water. Ours was not fermented, and was popular with the adults, but not with the youngsters. This was good at room temperature, but even better warmed as morning tea!!!

A spinach pastry. Also, popular with the adults, but the kids were not wild about it.

Four of us dressed in costume, although by the time photos were taken, Eli had disposed of his cape and crown. (He is NOT big on costumes!)

Baked pears. These were delicious. Baked pears, lightly seasoned with cinnamon! MMMMMMM!

We also ate cornish hens and a macaroni dish, and Emily's homemade braided bread (http://morebutlersnapshots.blogspot.com/2015/02/knead-braid-bake.html) finished off our menu! Everyone left the table full and content!

Hopefully, this was a fun way for the girls make a connection to the time period. After all, it isn't every day your mom has you eat on a piece of stale bread, and encourages you to eat with your fingers!

Knead . . . braid . . . bake!

Emily is a bread-lover. If I buy a loaf of french bread at the grocery store, she has half of it eaten before we get home. She has been known to eat bread as a meal. If there is bread on the table -- it doesn't matter what shape or form -- she is eating it!

She actually asked me if she could make a braided loaf of bread for supper tonight. Ummm, of course you can take over one of my kitchen tasks!

So, here she is! Measuring, sifting, mixing, kneading, rolling, and braiding! It was almost all her from start to finish. 

Emily was amazed at how much it rose. Beautiful, aren't they? 

In case you were looking for an easy bread recipe -- easy enough for an 11-year-old -- here you go!

Braided Bread

2- 1/2 cups whole wheat flour 

5-1/2 cups bread flour, divided

2 pkgs quick-rise yeast

2 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp salt

2-1/2 cups water

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1/4 cup honey

4 eggs

cornmeal

2 tsp water

In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, 2-1/2 cups bread flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Heat water, butter and honey to 120 to 130 degrees. Add to dry ingredients and beat on medium speed. Separate one egg, refrigerating the egg white. Add the yolk and remaining eggs to dough mixture. Beat until smooth. Add enough flour to make a stiff dough.

Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in a greased bowl, turning to coat dough. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Sprinkle cornmeal on baking sheet.

Divide dough in half. Divide each half into 3 sections, forming into ropes and braid. Pinch ends together and tuck underneath. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Beat cold water and reserved egg white. Brush on the braids. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes, until lightly browned.

High School Hoops Date -- Again

A week following our date at my high school's home basketball game, we caught a game at West Prairie! Same date, different court! (Thank you, Ryan and Ashley, for watching our three treasures so we could enjoy dinner and a ball game!!)

Again, we had high hopes that our home team would come out ahead, but despite a very competitive game and an amazing finish, they found themselves losing by 1 point. Lots of good play though. Some great athletes and a very respectable coach!

Skeletal System Attire

I know this isn't the best photo, but I wanted to share another project that we did in conjunction with our study of the skeletal system. This was fun and easy to make!

I bought a set of black pants and shirt for Emily, and a tube of glow-in-the-dark puffy paint. That was it!!

Then I free-handed the bones and let it dry! It is fun to see it at night glowing.

Emily work this for Halloween this year!

You can find the rest of our skeletal system post here:
http://butlersnapshots.blogspot.com/2014/10/skeletal-system-anatomy.html

and here:
http://butlersnapshots.blogspot.com/2014/10/skeletal-system-fruity-vertebrae.html

Andes Mint Cookies

Ok, this is a cookie that you will fall in love with for a few reasons. 

Number 1: They are truly delicious, and will disappear quickly. Make sure to have a jug of milk in the fridge to complement these sweeties!

Number 2: They are super easy to make! With only four ingredients, they throw together quickly!

I found the recipe at sixsistersstuff.com, and made a modification that I'll share with you.

1 Devil's Food Cake Mix
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 pkg. Andes mints

Mix cake, oil and eggs together. Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Do not cook longer than 9 minutes!!

Take cookies out of oven and place an unwrapped Andes mint on top of each hot cookie. In about 5 minutes, the mint will be melted. Smooth out each mint like frosting.

So, my modification: We made half of the cookies with Andes mints. But Matthew isn't a huge fan of the mint flavor, so I melted a Hershey's kiss on top of half of the cookies. It worked just as well.

Our Girl's Best Friend

Essie loves hugs!

Face Painting -- Not Just for Halloween

The girls have taught Eli to "paint" his face. I never know what character, animal or superhero he will be! On any given day, he can grow a mustache or goatee!!

High School Hoops Date

Matthew and I are taking a challenge to date more often. We never quit dating altogether, but the last few years we have not scheduled time without the kids regularly. We had lots of excuses, with our top excuse that we don't have someone to keep the kids. But, we are setting aside our excuses and working a little harder and getting a more creative, to carve out time for date nights.

Our first date night of 2015 was a trip to a Jacksonville High School basketball game. It was fun to return to the Bowl, where I have so many memories of high school basketball games. It was fun to return -- for a few hours -- to the home of the Crimsons! 

After a delicious Italian dinner at Leo's, we skipped over to the JHS Bowl for a very competitive high school basketball game.

Matthew called the game early, saying that JHS would be the victor against Rochester in the contest. It was a low-scoring first half, but Jacksonville held the lead. Unfortunately, Rochester caught some momentum and -- with some excellent coaching -- won by one point. It was a good game (although it could have ended better), one that kept you on the edge of your seat until the last second!

After the game we walked through the Hall of Fame. When Matthew and I first started dating, he asked me if I had ever seen Andy Kaufmann play. I hadn't. But Matthew knew of him, and had watched Andy play at the University of Illinois. You would not believe the crowd this framed jersey still generates after all these years!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The empty Bowl after a tough defeat.

The Chinese Grapefruit

Ok, got a picky eater in your house? We have one, and I have learned to encourage new foods . . . often. It helps expand their acceptance of new foods, and it is fun too! So we frequently pick up less common produce to try. We have been surprised at how many new foods we have a taste for. 

Our latest was the pummelo, the exotic Chinese grapefruit. It is a cousin to the grapefruit, with a slightly different flavor. The pummelo is the largest citrus fruit, and makes a large grapefruit look small! It does have a larger pith than the grapefruit which makes it difficult to peel, but well worth it! (I cut it with a citrus peeler and peeled it like I would an orange or grapefruit.)

So, if you like grapefruit, you might pick up a pummelo and give it a try. But, be forewarned: Your cashier may ask, "What is this?" 

Fun in the Snow

We've had a couple of good snowfalls this winter. And when it snows the kids can't resist the fluffy, white stuff that blankets their outside world. Sledding. Snow Angels. Snow Forts. Snowmen. Icicle hunting. Trying to chase the dog in bulky snow gear! It's all great fun!

What I don't love about snow. I don't love driving on snow-packed roads and getting to a parking lot. I don't love all the extra time it takes to get dressed in this winter wonderland. I don't love that it is usually accompanied with frigid temperatures. And bitter winds. I don't love the mess snow leaves as it thaws, but cannot soak into the frozen ground.

What I do love about the snow. It comes as a silent surprise, filling the morning with anxious squeals. I love the beauty of snow. I love the swirls and ripples in the drifts, and trees delicately decorated with the frozen precipitation. I love making snow ice cream. :)

This was a great packing snow, as well as great for sledding. They played until I made them come in and thaw out their rosy cheeks and noses!

 Emily discovered that she likes to sled without a sled! Words of advice: keep your face up and make sure your coat is zipped to the top!

This was a drier snow without any packing ability. But after some time this snow developed a "crust" on the top. As soon as the kids discovered that the crust could be broken away in pieces, they got to work on a fort. 

Raspberry Thumbprints

I want to share with you one of our favorite cookie recipes. We usually make it around Christmas, just because they are so pretty. The cookies are similar to shortbread, and you could experiment with different flavors of jam.

One thing I love about these cookies is that the kids LOVE to help put thumbprint "wells" in the cookies and help fill them before baking. It is always fun to have help in the kitchen.

After these cookies have cooled I drizzle the icing over them, but I didn't get a photo of the finished cookies. Most likely, they found their way to some hungry bellies before I got the camera out!!

Fast. Simple. Delicious. My kind of recipe!

This recipe is very similar to this favorite recipe: 

http://butlersnapshots.blogspot.com/2011/01/raspberry-ribbons.html

So here's the recipe!

1 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 cups flour
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam (or flavor or your choice)

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar. Mix in 1/2 tsp almond extract. Mix in flour. Roll dough into 1-1/2 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Make an indentation in the center of each cookie with your thumb, and fill hole with jam.

Bake for 14 to 18 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool 1 minute on cookie sheet before transferring to cooling rack.

Mix together remaining ingredients and drizzle over cookies.

Go-o-o-o-o-o-o Leathernecks!

Every January we try to take the kids to a WIU men's basketball game. The kids love Rocky. Matthew and I love the basketball. And we embrace the challenge to yell loudly enough to earn a free Papa John's pizza. This year was a different experience because we sat in the "Luckiest Seat in the House!"

From here . . .

. . . to here! I cannot tell you how excited the kids were to sit on a huge, inflatable purple couch! There was a little bit of catapulting action, but no injuries directly related to the bouncing furniture!

All three of the kids played a game during a time out on the floor. Their challenge was to roll a small basketball into Rocky's doghouse.Rocky didn't make things easy for the, but Emily was able to score on the bulldog, winning a free appetizer from Chubby's restaurant.

Our favorite mascot loves the camera!

Oh, yeah. There was a game being played. It was a good game, and we weren't sure WIU would come out on top.

But they won. :)