Monday, October 29, 2012

Toddler Hummus

Becker has come to an age where he is really fun to cook with.  He is interested in the process and wants to be part of it.  Many months ago we started him off helping to flip pancakes or watch the mixer spin.  He found our step stool one day and never looked back.  He loves being able to stand up at the counter with us.  Now he can help measure out ingredients, pour them into bowls and watch the process unfold.  We made pumpkin butter together last week and it was such a successful activity, I've been including him in cooking as much as possible.  This morning right after breakfast we made kalamata olive hummus in our new food processor.  This was a lot of fun because Becker could do almost all of the steps himself with very little help.  You can see from the pictures that he was very focused the whole time.

First Becker rolled 3 garlic cloves to peel them:


Next Becker helped open the can of garbanzo beans (Mommy had to help on this one):



Then Becker dumped the beans into the food processor with the garlic cloves and added two scoops of tahini:


Here he is on his cute little "tool" or "ladder" (stool):



  He shook in some Cumin and added a pinch of salt:


Next up was lemon juice.  He the juice out of squeezed lemon slices:


We gave it a whirl! Becker wanted to be held while the food processor was on:


Now for the kalamata olives.  Becker added a few handfuls:



 Had to taste test:


Ready for a couple of pulses to break down the olives:


And the final taste test of approval:




*I didn't plug the food processor in until we had everything in it and were ready to turn it on*



Sunday, October 21, 2012

Granny's Farm

Becker's Great Grand Parents have a small farm in Rio Linda, CA.  We have been trying to get up to the farm ever since Becks could walk, and finally found the perfect time with a good Southwest Airlines sale to boot.  I was hoping for good fall weather, but the days leading up to our trip were pushing triple digits.  Luckily we caught a break with highs in the mid to upper 70s and overnight lows in the 50s.  Yay for Uggs, pants and jackets!  You see, the lows actually don't affect us at night as Becks goes to bed at 6:30pm.  We are all snug and warm inside after dinner.  But come 6am, the rooster calls (literally, his name is Sarge) and Becker is up and ready to get moving.  Since Granny and Grandpa were still *attempting* to sleep, we headed outside each morning to walk around the farm and help Michael feed the goats, chickens and sheep.  The cold air was wonderful and Becker thoroughly enjoyed chasing the sheep as their bells jingled in the morning mist.  Our trip was filled with egg collecting, animal feeding, a trip to a nearby pumpkin patch, a trip to the aerospace museum and a visit to Fairytale Land.  Becker topped it all off with a ride on the big lawnmower.  Busy weekend for sure and we loved every waking second of it.

My favorite photo from the trip is when Becker caught the bunny in the animal area at the pumpkin patch.  He was the only child in the small wood shed.  He picked up the bunny in his arms and walked a few steps, then paused, tucked his head in close to the bunny's head and softly said "oh bun bun" a few times.  He was in love instantly.  He remembers that day and often says, "nice bun-bun farm, Becker miss bun-bun."

Here are a few of my favorites from the trip.  In true Mamarazzi style I took over 700 photos in 3 days.  The cuteness overloaded my system.  Oh that's just embarrassing  I need a support group!  






Thursday, October 18, 2012

Throwback Thursday

Pumpkin Patch. 8 months & 20 months.  Same diaper.  What a difference a year makes.