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Seasons and Seasonings

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It’s so interesting to me to think about the different seasons we go through in life. In March of this year, I was preparing to go teach a Kids Test Kitchen class and full steam ahead with food photography gigs, when everything suddenly came to a screeching halt. Thank you, Covid-19! And now, while I have not completely closed the door on my original vision for Nourishing Foundations, I find myself in a different season. Some of the food related stuff in my life has stayed consistent (like volunteering with Farmer Dave’s amazing CSA and enjoying the fruit of his labor!)

However, currently I am “nourishing foundations” in a way I never anticipated: homeschooling my two kids.

And while there is some overlap between food and homeschool (Home Economics is a VERY important part of our curriculum!), much of my attention is now focused on my kids’ education. So, I started another blog as a way of chronicling our homeschool journey, collaborating with others who find themselves in a similar boat, and providing content. I share this with you, my Nourishing Foundations audience, as a way of holding space for what was and welcoming what will be.

May you embrace the season you are in, friends, and be sure to enjoy some good, well-seasoned food in the midst of it!

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

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Time to revive this old blog! I literally have about 20 pounds of whole wheat pizza dough in my freezer because my Kids’ Test Kitchen class was cancelled due to Coronavirus. What to do, what to do, what to do with pizza dough…. Emily, (awesome lady and founder of Kids’ Test Kitchen) tossed out a bunch of great ideas: pretzels, cinnamon roles, calzones… Today we decided to try cinnamon rolls. I’m thrilled with the way they turned out! Wanted to share the process in case you’re looking for an easy, fun way to occupy your kids, too. Here’s an overview:

Simple Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb bread dough (Preferably whole wheat, but anything will work. If you need a recipe to make from scratch, this is a good one!)
  • Cinnamon
  • Sugar
  • Butter or Ghee (if you’re dairy free)
  • Powdered Sugar
  • Flour
  1. Cut Bread Dough into 9 pieces
  2. On a floured surface, have your kid(s) shape the dough into a long rectangle
  3. Brush rectangle with melted butter or ghee
  4. Sprinkle with a generous helping of cinnamon and sugar
  5. Roll Rectangle
  6. Cut in half. Repeat with the remaining dough.
  7. Place cinnamon rolls on buttered cookie sheet
  8. Brush with melted butter and top with extra cinnamon and sugar
  9. Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 10 minutes. Cool.

Frosting

Mix 1 cup of powdered sugar and approx. 2 tbsp of water in a Ziplock bag. Simply add more sugar or water to achieve the desired consistency. Cut the corner and use as a pastry frosting bag. When rolls are cool, frost and enjoy!!!!

Spring Soup & Salad Challenge: Week 3

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I’m a little jealous of my friends who got to spend the week in FL. I’ll let you in on a text exchange today:

Yep, you read that correctly: we had snow this week. Actual flakes coming down AS I WAS DELIVERING SOUP to friends. And while I am more than ready for Spring-like weather, I must admit, Thursday was actually the perfect day for soup. It was cold, raw, rainy/snowy mix… a lovely day to curl up with a warm bowl of some hearty, filling, deliciousness.

Here’s what we tried this week: Dara over at Cookin’ Canuck has a delicious recipe for Hearty Chicken Stew. I am a horrible Italian and for some reason, I don’t care for olives, so I left them out. Other than that, I LOVE this recipe. It’s the kind of soup I can feed my husband and know that he won’t be complaining in an hour that he’s hungry again…

In case you were wondering, this shot was taken on Wednesday (my cooking day) when it actually kind of felt like Spring, so my favorite “Taste Testers” ate outside. My hubs had been on the Carnivore Diet (more on that in a future post), which basically entails eating only meat and animal products. It’s kind of radical and he could only take it for about a week before we decided he needed to include some low carb veggies. All this to say, he was RAVING about this soup. It could have been due to deprivation, but I think it might be just that good.

And then there’s the Vegan Broccoli Cheese Soup from Bites of Wellness. If it wasn’t obvious from the previous paragraph, we’re NOT Vegan and yet, this is one of my favorite healthy soup recipes — especially if you are going dairy free. I don’t think I have ever come across a recipe that does such a great job of creating that creamy, cheesy flavor without actually adding cheese or some over-processed substitute. Seriously good stuff here.

Both of these recipes have become regular favorites in my repertoire. They’re easy to put together, filled with nutrition from the whole food ingredients, and taste great. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Also, don’t forget: you can enter to win Esther’s Seasonings Variety Pack by participating in the Spring Soup & Salad Challenge in any capacity over the course of the remaining 6 weeks. (Yep – that includes taste testing!) Your participation will be tracked by comments on blog posts. For every comment, your name will be entered into the “hat” (more comments = more chances to win)! Hope to hear from you!

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