Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

My typical morning snack is an apple.  I end up buying the bags of apples and usually go though a bag of them every week.  I know what kinds I like and what brands of apples work best, and mostly can keep up with them.  Every once in awhile, I end up with a few strays...old apples that aren't in great shape and I don't really want to eat them.

You can make apple sauce, or apple pie, but since I am always trying to find ways to get Andy to eat fruits, I end up making muffins out of them.  I found this recipe, and have used it several times with good results.  I do make one pretty big change in the fact that instead of chopping the apples, I break out my food processor and grate them.

You know, I can see how having nice little chunks of apples could be nice in a muffin, but again, my biggest goal is To Get Andy To Eat Fruit, and he ain't eatin' chunks.  With the grated apple, the texture really melts into the muffin, but it holds up well enough that you can tell apple is there (foreshadowing...unhappy ending).

I sprinkle the top with cinnamon sugar, and bake and they turn out pretty good!

I call them cinnamon apple muffins, but no dice.  Andy chokes down half of the bottom, the bottom, not even the cinnamon sugary crunchy top and says he is full.  Well, James and I liked them and there is always next time.  Hmmm, I wonder how they will be with a big spoonful of peanut butter in the batter....

Peanut Butter Ninjas

 Andy is so funny.  He really doesn't like to do anything, but every year, he always insists that he wants to play soccer.  We ask him, "really? because last year it didn't seem like you liked it." but he always ends up getting signed up.  I got signed up as well.  I actually volunteered to be the assistant coach, but so did my assistant coach, so I kind of took over.  Oops.  At any rate, we started off pretty rocky.  I mean, the kids had fun, but it was crazy.  We ended up with a lot of kids that we already knew and that already knew each other.  This is good and bad.  Then there is Andy.  He really started off in his own little world, crying on the sidelines because he didn't get his way, or he didn't want to play.  By the end of the season, he ended up scoring several goals and being aggressive.  

He got the award for Most Improved, but I'm not sure it means anything since he was related to the coach.  ;)

The rest of the team did pretty well also.  I'm relying on pictures that other parents took and put on facebook.  This was a different league then we have played in before.  They had much nicer fields and bleachers.  However, we played 3 vs 3.  This is really great because it allowed every player to get touches because there is no where for weaker players to hide.  There is also no place for the stronger players to hide, and it was tough figuring out how to challenge those players.

I worked a lot on teaching them DO NOT kick the ball in the center when you are on defense.  They didn't always listen.  We did pretty well, I don't think we won every game, but we didn't lose every game either.  The kids had fun and we survived the season!

 Ready, Set, PEANUT BUTTER!!

Green Dragons

Also, know as "shit gets real".

This is the first of a two part installment of this blog dealing with soccer.  First up, James's soccer.  He was right on the cut off of playing with Andy in the 6 and under division, but we decided to put him in the 8 and under division.  It was the right decision, but wow, completely different world.  They had goalies, and throw ins, and tryouts, and actual drills to get better in practice.

Again, shit just got real.

But James took it like he always does, with a smile and a determination to win.  His coaches were super hard core and talked a lot about "strategy" and stuff.  I'm not sure James ever really paid attention

They actually played positions and James found out he had a favorite position...center forward!

Whenever he was in defense, he wasn't really into it.  Its funny he would watch the play and cheer for his team when the didn't get scored on, but he wouldn't get involved...

But, James learned a lot and he did pretty well!  We are super proud of him.

Another funny thing that happened during James's game was Andy playing with the other kids.  It was super cute.  I remember playing on the sidelines during Keturah's soccer games maybe even more than I remember playing in my own soccer games.  It is neat to see my kids do the same thing.

Charleston

Our anneversary was at the end of September, and Mark and I were able to get away for a weekend in Charleston.  We left Saturday after lunch and drove down to Summerville and dropped the kids off with the in laws.  Then we headed downtown.  We got there in time for dinner, and ended up at Basil Thai, one of our favorites!  As an added bonus, it was restaurant week!  I got the pad thai (as always).  It was delicious!

We stayed one block off market street at the Andrew Pickney Inn.  It was perfect for us.  They had a "delux breakfast" on the rooftop.  Here was the view!

Now, we have been to Charleston before, and we have done all the Charleston stuff.  We were kind of at a loss on what to do this time, but it turned to not be a problem.  We did nothing!  After breakfast, we drove to Mount Pleasant and ran the bridge.  Here is the view from the top.

 
Here is Mark running to the top.  This is the only picture including either one of us, so enjoy...

After we showered, we ate lunch at Taco Boy (highly recommend), then walked to King Street and shopped.  Then walked to the water and sat.

Then walked to a bar and had a beer.  Then went to get ready for dinner at Coast (which was ok).  Here is a graveyard we saw on the way.

The next morning we got up, had breakfast, then ran to the battery.  There were porpoises off the water!

 

Great weekend away.  Very nice!

Oatmeal in a rice cooker

So, I had a really bad spring.  Why?  Well, that is for another post, but in order to make myself feel better, I bought a really expensive rice cooker.  I know "retail therapy" is a real thing, but most people buy clothes, or shoes, or purses.  Me, I buy kitchen equipment.  I have heard a lot of people LOVE their rice cooker, but I always though, that's weird, you could just use a pot!  But in my depressed haze, it just made sense.  And what really sold me on it, was the timer function and I could use it to make oatmeal.  Done!  My original inspiration was from this website.

It's a pretty sharp piece of equipment!  Now that the weather is cooler, I am actually using it to make oatmeal.  I usually measure about 3/4 cut steel cut oats and 3 cups water.  I add one pinch of salt for every serving (1/4 cup) oats.   I was low on oats, so this is 1/2 cup oats and 2 cups water.  I also added 1 TB vanilla protein powder and 4 drops stevia.  This serves me, James, and some extra for the next day.

I set the timer to be done at 7am and then I have perfectly cooked oatmeal.

Serve it in a bowl and add toppings.  This one was blackberry puree, PB2 (that deserves its own post), toasted coconut, and some granola for crunch.

Hmm, can't figure out how to rotate that, but you get the idea. My absolute favorite topping is cookie butter.  You can get it from Trader Joe's or there is another version from Ingles, YUM!  It gets all melty in the oatmeal.

So, that is how you make oatmeal in a rice cooker.

James's best day