Making Pretzels

This afternoon I had the bright idea that we should try making our own soft pretzels. I got this idea while grocery shopping the other day while hungry. I know never shop hungry. As I was walking past the freezers I saw the pretty blue box with the giant pretzels in it. They looked so yummy. They were on sale. I started to reach for them when I said to myself "Stop. You can make these. You have flour and yeast at home. You do not have to buy these processed pretzels. You can make a healthier version at home". It was definitely an interesting experience.

First the search for the perfect recipe. We decided to go with Alton Brown's recipe because, well, I just love him. I gathered all the ingredients together and the kids and I started mixing up the dough. So far, so good. Dough is mixed and we walk away to let it rise.

After an hour we returned to our dough. It doubled in size. Excellent. I cut it into 8 somewhat equal sizes and we start rolling. One of us can roll a little better than the others but I won't say who.

We make our pretzel shapes and lay them out on our cookie sheet. I then drop them one at a time into the boiling water and baking soda mixture. Some of the pretzels held their shape and some became pretzel sticks.

We sprinkled a little salt on top (and here is where it would have been handy to have some pretzel salt on hand) and popped them into our preheated oven. The wait was difficult but the timer beeped and out they came. Looking all yummy. But wait-they need to go on the cooling rack for 5 minutes. The torture, the sweet torture.

While we waited we each retrieved our mustard of choice for dipping. I like spicy brown and the kids wanted yellow. B-also wanted to melt some cheese but I wasn't going there.

Finally we sat down to try our pretzel blobs. Considering it was out first attempt I think they came out quite tasty if not beautiful. The kids definitely want to try again another day.

Last Cooking Class 01/27/09

Today was the last class in our 6 week cooking elective. The kids were sad to see it end. We are going to see if we can do another 6 weeks in the Spring. On the menu today were quiche and oatmeal chocolate bars.

We made the oatmeal chocolate bars first since they would take the longest to cook. Here they are sprinkling on the oatmeal topping.

Here is M showing off her pie crust for her quiche.

After class we all went bowling. A good time was had by all.

Live Performance

Yesterday we headed off to Memorial Auditorium at Montclair State University to see a performance of The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. Having never driven there before and having no idea where to park or where the theatre was made this quite the adventure. We missed the first couple of minutes but we had a nice hike. A little exercise in the bitter cold is good for the soul. The kids really enjoyed it. Although this was the second time B had seen it. I forgot he went on a field trip to see it last year. But, he still enjoyed it since he has since finished reading the book. M loved it as well. The performers did a great job and they kept true to the book.
After the show we went out to lunch with our friends who we had met at the theatre. Lots of fun for the kids. Then when we were driving home I realized the kids had Hebrew School. Thank goodness their backpacks were in the car. They were only a minute late.

Today we are having a snow day. The schools in town are closed and so are we. Although due to the rain it is now more of a slush day.

Monday is Monday

Typical Monday here. A morning of lessons. Math and Language Arts. Today I started them on Dance Mat Typing (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing). They are really enjoying this free program. Who wouldn't enjoy being taught proper keyboarding by a cartoon goat? They have the start position down pat and have started memorizing where the keys are. I have poked around on the site and discovered I will benefit from a refresher course.

After lessons we ate lunch and headed off to swim and gym class. They continue to master the breast, butterfly, and back strokes. They always enjoy swim class. Gym class was a lot of fun today. After warm up exercises they played a lacrosse like game. They had a ton of fun learning how to use the sticks and catch and throw the balls. The teams were broken up girls vs. boys. Each team won a game.

Tomorrow we will be seeing a performance of the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler. We loved the book and are looking forward to comparing the performance to the written word.

Cooking Class 01/22/09

This weeks cooking class was all about soup. We made a vegetable soup and chocolate chip cookies.
Here they are choosing which vegetables to put in the soup. They chose carrots, sweet potato, tomato, and cauliflower.

Peeling carrots.

Peeling sweet potatoes.

Seasoning the soup. Italian seasonings and salt and pepper. Yum.

Cookies! Delicious!


Today we continued with our studies. The usual for math and language arts. M started learning about Ancient India and B-was studying hieroglyphics.

We are all looking forward to a relaxing week-end.

Museum of Natural History

Today we took a trip the American Museum of Natural History (www.amnh.org). We went to the Planetarium first to "Take a Walk on the Moon". An informative half hour where we got to see and learn about the the rockets, the magnetic field around the earth, all the man made satellites orbiting the earth, the moons rotation, the far side of the moon, and more. We saw the sunrise in space and learned why the horizon line of the earth is hazy and the moon's is not (the moons lack of atmosphere-in case you were wondering). After the show we wandered around to see a few of our favorite sights. The Big Blue Whale, Gems and Minerals, Meteorites, and Forests.

Here we are in the car about to go into the museum.

Everyone loves The Big Blue Whale

One of the many dioramas in the Biodiversity Room.

The Room of Gems and Minerals. Beautiful. M-really liked this room and insisted on a picture in front of the giant amethyst.

It is not a trip to the museum if you do not see a slice of a giant sequoia.

The Inauguration

We watched history today as a family. It was wonderful to watch Barack Obama sworn in as President. Dad was the teacher for this event. The kids really enjoyed listening to him explain what was happening.

All in all a moving afternoon.