Just wanted to share a few links to some items of interest.
First, this is a fascinating (but long!) article by Michael Pollan about the decline of cooking in America. The most interesting take-away, to me, is that the more time you spend cooking from scratch, the healthier you'll be. So take heart, those hours in the kitchen are worth it!
From one of my favorite blogs, here's one reason why I'm looking forward to homeschooling my children as they get older. They're designing their own course of study on the subject of "eating". How's that for some flexibility and pursuing your interests?
And this is my one non-related food item: a fabric mailbox tutorial. For quite a while I've wanted to set up some sort of mailboxes here at home for each member of the family. The kids often make things or write notes for daddy during the day, and it would be fun to have a special mailbox for such things. Not to mention how nice it would be to have a spot to leave notes for the kids. So, I'm still pondering exactly how I'd like to set that up. Not sure if I could get around to making 5 fabric mailboxes, but they are awfully cute!
And last but not least, a recipe to pass along. This recipe for Kale Slaw is from a recent issue of Martha Stewart Living, and it is so good. I don't think I'd ever eaten so much raw kale in one sitting. Granted, it does have quite a bit of oil. The next time I make this, I will probably try reducing the oil a bit.
Kale Slaw
Combine in a large bowl:
2 large bunches curly kale, center ribs discarded, very thinly sliced crosswise (about 10 cups)
1 bell pepper (red, yellow or orange), thinly sliced
2 carrots (thinly sliced or shredded)
Puree in a blender until smooth:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup salted peanuts
2 TB packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp coarse salt
Pour dressing over vegetables just before serving. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped.
We're looking forward to spending the weekend camping with family. Hope you have a fun weekend too!
