Ranch

DH's family has a ranch in central Texas.  The ranch has been in his family since the early 1800's.  His parents built a home and moved out there a few years ago. DH grew up going to the ranch.  He spent lots of time working at the ranch and also enjoying the outdoors. When we were dating, I got to go and help build a fence.  There's always work to be done on a  ranch.  We want our kids to learn to enjoy the outdoors.  When they are old enough, we also hope that Granny and Grandpa will put them to work so that they can learn the importance of diligent labor.

While we were in Texas, we went and stayed out at the ranch for a few days.  The kids had all sorts of fun in the few days we spent at the ranch.  There is just something about being outdoors that is just rejuvenating for the body and the soul.  Although it is very hot in Texas in July, we still really enjoyed our visit and spent lots of time in the great outdoors.

The squirrels like to come and sprawl out on the concrete under the covered porch to cool off.

Walking over to the shed where the hay and tractors are housed.

Don't the hay bales look tempting to climb on?

Needed a little help from Daddy, but she made it onto the bales of hay.

 

Tractors...they look innocent enough, but there are warning labels all over them depicting the numerous ways you can be injured, maimed, or otherwise killed. I should have taken some pictures of the labels. They'll give you nightmares!

Budding entomologist (she has a serious grasshopper fetish)

The kids love to go fishing!

Hanging out on the dock.

Heading back to the house.

Just having fun being outside.

  

Snack time!

It's just a little bit hot in Texas in July!

Sunset..someone is tired after a long day :)

Independence Day

Happy 4th of July!  I guess in the U.S.  the day is just getting started.  We had a really great day.  I explained to the kids that today was America's birthday.  The kids started singing "Happy Birthday" to America.  It was cute.  I printed out some crafts for the kids to do. I wanted today to be special.  We always spend the 4th of July with family but of course this year, it was just us.

We made toilet paper roll Bald Eagles. I collect toilet paper rolls because they are very useful for all sorts of crafts. I printed the templates out from here.  For all printable crafts, I try to use the backside of a sheet of paper that has already been used...like an old worksheet from school.  The kids cut out their eagles with a little bit of help.  They really enjoyed using the glue stick and putting their eagles together. 

The kids also enjoyed making their own firecrackers from toilet paper rolls.  They got to paint their toilet paper rolls.  After the paint dried,  we put paper over one end of the roll and put some pasta shells inside.  Then we covered up the other end with paper (just taped on).  I helped the kids fringe some colored paper that we taped to the top.  The kids enjoyed shaking their homemade firecrackers.

We printed and folded paper airplanes that were red, white, and blue. The kids enjoyed flying the planes.  I printed the planes from this site.

I did an online search and found a free printable picture of the American flag that the kids enjoyed coloring.

My son was the only one who completed his picture.  We hung it up on the door as a decoration.

We ended this great day with a barbeque.  We had barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, deviled eggs, and mashed potatoes and gravy.  I wish I had some apple pie, but that's okay, I think we had plenty of food.

After dinner we played 4th of July Bingo.  At this site you can customize your own bingo cards.  I picked the 4x4 Bingo card with the 4th of July theme.  We kept playing Bingo til it was time to get ready for bed.  The kids didn't want to stop playing. 

The kids and I had a blast today.  DH had fun with us too after he got home. It was different not celebrating the 4th of July in the U.S., but it was still a great day. What do you do to celebrate the 4th of July when living outside the U.S.?

Cinnamon Rolls

The kids have been asking if they could have cinnamon rolls or muffins.  I found a recipe called Ninety Minute Cinnamon Rolls.  This recipe got really good reviews.  I went ahead and made a glaze/frosting for the top since many of the reviewers said they topped the cinnamon rolls with some frosting.  The cinnamon rolls were delicious!  This really was a good recipe. DH loved the cinnamon rolls too. The rolls were moist and airy...definitely not dense like some other recipes I've tried before.  I wish I had not put the frosting on top though because it was just too sweet for my tastes.  The kids really loved the cinnamon rolls and the frosting.  My youngest especially has a sweet tooth.


So here's the recipe:

Ingredients


3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup margarine, softened
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Directions

1.Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in margarine; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm.

2.In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 1/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt; mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 minutes.

3.Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, cinnamon, softened margarine.

4.Roll out dough into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with margarine/sugar mixture. Sprinkle with raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in 12 lightly greased muffin cups. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

5.Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until browned. Remove from muffin cups to cool. Serve warm

I used unsalted butter instead of margarine.  I also made 7 gigantic cinnamon rolls instead of the recommended 12.  I think I will cut the roll into 12 pieces as suggested next time. I had to cook the cinnamon rolls for alot longer and they were um....enormous! I also baked the rolls in a round glass dish instead of in muffin cups. I think the cinnamon rolls would have been just great without the frosting.  If you want to add some frosting, here's a basic recipe.
 
 
Cinnamon Roll Frosting
 
Ingredients
 
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs. butter melted
2 to 4 tbs. milk
 
 

Pizza Crust

I tried out this pizza crust recipe that I found on allrecipes.com.  It's called Quick and Easy Pizza Crust.  It got alot of good reviews.  The kids really liked the pizza crust.  They didn't care for the peppered beef pepperoni that I put on the top.  I've had a hard time finding good old fashioned sausage or pepperoni here in Jakarta. 

Here's the recipe for the crust.

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 tsp. white sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups bread flour (I used regular flour)
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 450F (230C).  Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.  Stir in flour, salt, and oil and mix until smooth.  Let dough rest for 5 minutes.  Pat or roll out dough to form round circle.  Transfer to greased pizza dish.  Spread with desired toppings.  Bake for 15-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown (mine took 10 minutes).  Cool pizza for 5 minutes before serving.

Green Onion Pancakes

I grew up eating green onion pancakes.  I love them, and my kids love them too.  We usually eat them for breakfast.  They are easy to make and take just a very few ingredients.  If you are not familiar with them, green onion pancakes are a kind of non-leavened flat bread.  They are not like the fluffy pancakes you normally think of that are made from a batter. If you google Green Onion Pancakes or Scallion pancakes, you will find all sorts of sites that will tell you or even show you how to make them.


This is how I make mine:


Green Onion Pancakes

2 1/2  cups flour
1 cup boiling water
1/4 cup cold water
salt
vegetable oil
1/2 cup of diced green onions

Mix 2 cups flour and boiling water.   Add 1/4 cup cold water and additional 1/2 cup of flour.  Knead until dough is smooth (maybe 5 to 7 minutes).  Put dough back in mixing bowl and cover with wet cloth and set aside.  Chop up green onions.  Put a little vegetable oil (maybe 1/4 cup) in a bowl.  Divide dough into 8 equal sized balls.  Flatten the dough...doesn't matter if it is round at this point.  Brush some vegetable oil over the top.  Sprinkle a little salt evenly over the top.  Add some green onions. 


Roll the flattened dough up like a jelly roll. It's okay if the oil and onions squish out a little.

Then start at one end and roll it up so that it looks like a wheel or a coil. Tuck the end under the bottom and pinch a little so that your coil stays together when you start to flatten it.

Flatten the coil slightly with your palm and then roll it out 1/4 inch thick with a rolling pin. You should be able to make roughly 8 CD sized onion pancakes.

Fry in a little bit of oil for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden and crispy.  I can fry about 3 in a large frying pan. I usually use a griddle and fry about 5 at a time.  My kids like their onion pancakes plain.  I like mine with a fried egg and warm soybean milk...yum!  How do you like to eat yours?

More Fun with Boxes

My son came home from school one day with a little sculpture made from boxes.  There was an empty toothpaste box, a milk container, a butter box, and a crackers box to name a few.  He said that during "free choice" at school, he chose to make something from old boxes.  The teacher provided him with boxes and tape and he just had at it.

When he got home, my son asked if he could make another box sculpture.  I just so happened to have a collection of old boxes and toilet paper rolls. I gave him a roll of tape and he had so much fun putting together a couple of things.

I'm not sure if I should be worried or not, but everything my son made was for his army men to do battle with.  He said his creations were "cannons."  He also made a large robot.  The robot has yet to engage in battle so maybe there's hope and not everything has to be related to war :)

My daughter also taped together a bunch of toilet paper rolls and said that she made a "garbage can".  I'm not sure what happened to her creation so I don't have a picture of it.  Here are the things that my son made.

School creation

Another "cannon" creation

The firepower is increasing with each creation...ha ha.

Robot

My son showed DH his creations. He told DH that they were made from old boxes and that he was recyling! DH said our son was very proud of the fact that he was reusing old boxes. I love that they teach him at school to be a "Responsible World Citizen." That's what I am striving to be and hope that my kids will learn to do the same.

See how much fun you can have with some old boxes, toilet paper rolls, and some tape?

Tumis Kangkung

I recently learned how to make an Indonesian vegetable dish called Tumis Kangkung.  Kangkung is otherwise known as water spinach.  It is an Asian green leafy vegetable.  DH first encountered Kangkung while living in Malaysia and he loves the stuff.  He really liked the Tumis Kangkung after he tried it.  I liked it too.  Unfortunately, my kids are not fond of any leafy green vegetable.

Tumis Kangkung

250 g Kangkung
100 g bean sprouts
3 cloves of garlic
2 red shallots
2 red chilies
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. chicken powder (Knorr)
3 tbsp. oil

Cut the Kankung into smaller sections.  Chop the cloves of garlic, shallots, and chilies. Heat oil in pan and stir fry garlic, shallots, and chilies.  Add Kangkung and bean sprouts.  Stir fry for a few minutes until Kangkung is wilted.  Add salt and chicken powder. Continue to stir fry until vegetables are fully cooked. 

I didn't realize that the kangkung really shrinks down once it is cooked. I would probably recommend using 500 g of kangkung if you want to feed more than a couple of people. Other than that, we really liked this dish.