Monday Madness

Yikes, how is that I got behind by nearly three days. I don't know.

Anyway, Monday was really really boring so I don't have much to report about it. It will be maybe a paragraph if I can even swing that. We really did just sit around. I had a terrible head ache for some reason, so I kind of hid at my computer for the day reading blogs and feeds. The boys bascially ran around like wild animals because their mommy was somewhat MIA.

I think they loved it. I try not to be a mom that hoovers over her kids, or is super anal retentive about stuff, but my boys wait for the moments when they can literally run wild.

Realising, however, that I needed to stay on top of doing Family Home Evening with the kiddlets, even with Benjamin gone, I pulled myself together and made nice vegitarian burritos for supper and then did a relaxed family home evening. I have to say, I am getting to be quite good a making yummy burritos. I know, you're thinking, ' really Kate, how hard is it to make a burrito?' There is an art to it though. You know how many things you can throw in a rolled up tortilla? The options are endless; my family will be the first to tell you, too, that they don't all turn out good either. Anyway.

For FHE I taught the boys how to make butter. Why? I don't know. Probably because I had a pint of cream that was going to go bad soon, and I really hate wasting food. I mean, it's one thing if I can throw it in my composter-- then, at least, I know it will become my gardens dinner eventually-- but to just have to throw it away makes me sick. (At this point in the post, Hubby is probably laughing about how much of an earth muffin I am becoming.)

So here are some pictures of Frog Prince and Sheepie making butter. Very cute, and they had a blast.

It's tres simple too... if any of you want to try it with your kidlets. Just throw some heavy cream or whipping (not whipped) cream into an empty pickle jar add a marble or smooth, clean stone, put the lid on and shake. As a side note, I actually like to not rinse the pickle jar out, as it give a nice lightly salted flavour to the butter w/o having to add salt.

Your kids will have a blast shaking and shaking and shaking (maybe for younger kids use a tupperware). When the cream gets thick enough that you can't hear the marble shaking around you're making progress. Keep up the shaking. Eventually you will see the creamy coating start to clear off the sides of the jar, you'll be able to hear the marble again, and low and behold you will see your butter forming. Shake it until you think you have all the butter you can get, then, setting a bowl under a strainer, pour the butter and liquid out into the strainer. The white liquid that catches in the bowl is butter milk. You can drink this *if you like it* or use it for cooking.

Turn the butter out of the strainer into a bowl and rise with cold water until the water runs clear. It MUST run clear or else you will have buttermilk in the butter still and it will go bad quickly. Do not save the washing water. Once the butter water is running clear, take a wooden spoon and press any remaining water out of the butter. Shape it, or put it in a cute mould and let chill for abt an hour before using it.

Really not hard, and kids have a blast eating their creation!!