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Chocolate Ice Cream… With Real California Milk

gidget — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 14:28:36 +0000

I’m really excited and thankful for the opportunity to be celebrating National Ice Cream Month (!!!) here on Gidget Goes Home. The California Milk Advisory Board chose me to blog about the fun family ritual of making homemade ice cream. My loyal readers all know how much I love homemade ice cream!

I’ve been searching for a while and I finally came across a good, simple chocolate ice cream recipe!! It came out delicious and I was able to get the whole fam in on the process.

Have you seen those cute commercials over the years about California cows being the happy cows? I believe it! Let me start by telling you a few things I like about Real California Milk…

99% of California Dairies are family owned
the California dairy industry is providing much-needed jobs for the state and leads the nation in milk productions!
I especially love the push for sustainability among California dairy farmers (one farmer in video on the sustainability page mentions that by converting extra manure into methane, they soon will be able to make enough energy to meet 60-70% of their own electricity needs!)
I love seeing the “Real California Milk” stamp, and knowing that I’m supporting my local economy!

So let’s get to the tasty stuff. I can’t wait to have a bowl of this ice cream tonight with my hubby, but first I’ll show you how we made it.

I recommend you find someone cute to help you with this recipe.

And let’s get the whole family involved, why don’t we?

Chocolate Ice Cream

Makes about a quart
(adapted from The Kitchn)

8 ounces good-quality semi-sweet chocolate (or a mixture of both 70%+ bittersweet and milk chocolate), chopped
3 1/2 cups half and half (or equal parts whole milk and whipping cream)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 ounces cream cheese, softened (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup sugar (I use evaporated cane juice sugar)
pinch of salt

These are the magic ingredients. More on the developer of this ice cream-making method in a future post.

Tasty evaporated cane juice is my sugar of choice.

Yummmmm, I just love whole milk.

Here we go. In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoons of the half and half with the cornstarch.
In a large saucepan, combine the remaining half and half with the sugar. Bring the milk mixture to a boil and cook over moderate heat until the sugar dissolves, about 4 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture. Return to a boil and cook over moderately high heat until the mixture is slightly thickened, about 1 minute.

Meanwhile, set up an ice bath in a large bowl.

Pour just enough of the hot milk over the chopped chocolate and and cream cheese to cover it. Stir until chocolate is melted and the mixture is thick and silky. Add the salt. Gradually add the remaining hot milk mixture.

Set the bowl in the ice water bath and let stand, stirring occasionally, until cooled off, about 20 minutes.

Pour ice cream base into an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze an additional two hours (or more) in an airtight container. Will keep (with best flavor) for about a week if sealed properly.

View the printable recipe.

Well, that was fun. And now I’m off to eat some of my creation. I hope you and your family will go make a batch of this goodness and celebrate what in my opinion is a great month! You can bet there’s more ice cream to come in July in my neck o’ the woods.

If you’re a Californian, make sure you visit this page which shows you where you can by Real California Milk products in California. There are also a few different coupons available on the page (and at the bottom of the website) as well!!

Disclosure: I wrote this article while participating in a blog campaign by the California Milk Advisory Board, who paid me a fee to participate. All opinions expressed are my own.

A Natural Approach to (In)Fertility

gidget — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:03:30 +0000

As any of you who have been reading my blog for very long know, I have dealt with my own journey of infertility (recurrent pregnancy loss in my case). At this stage in the game, I am very thankful for the path that has lead my family to where we are now.

I’m content with our family of four. I am absolutely grateful to have had the opportunity to go through both natural childbirth and adoption.

We always said we wanted three or four kids, but with all we’ve been through– and hey, we’ve got a boy and a girl now– I would feel okay with being done at two.

But I can’t help but wonder if our family is indeed complete yet. I honestly do not know what the future holds for us. I go back and forth. Maybe we are done. Maybe we will adopt again someday. Maybe I will be pregnant again someday.

I do know, however, that if I am ever to be pregnant again, I want to be absolutely sure that I am doing everything in my limited power to provide the ideal conditions for a little baby to be conceived and to grow.

God is still sovereign. I firmly believe He opens and closes the womb.

For we are made for eternity as certainly as we are made for time, and as resposible moral beings we must deal with both.
~ A.W. Tozer

There is a fine line between God’s sovereignty and my responsibility. This is what I have come to believe in terms of my overall health, my fertility, and my diet, as well as my stance on creation care.

I need to do my part to the best of the ability, and then I leave the rest in His capable hands.

All of this brings me to something I’m very excited about.

There is a new eCourse being offered by Donielle at Naturally Knocked Up that I myself am registering for and am really looking forward to. The name of her blog, by the way, makes me giggle a little, but in truth I love the premise behind it: increasing the odds of conception through natural living and nourishing foods.

The eCourse is designed to teach others what Donielle has thoroughly researched and personally experienced, that lifestyle (and therefore environment) can and does effect our fertility.

Here’s some more details straight from Donielle:

Infertility now strikes one in six couples, one out of five known pregnancies end in miscarriage, and our children are increasingly suffering from disease and disorders like ADD, autism, learning difficulties, behavior issues, depression, allergies, and asthma.

THE CONVENTIONAL APPROACH ISN’T WORKING!

Over the last century or so, our health has radically changed. We’re suffering from chronic and degenerative diseases and becoming infertile at alarming rates. Our modern world is making us sick and most us us just don’t know what to do about it. So much of our traditional thinking of conception has changed. The world we live in is flooded with toxins from both the food we eat and the homes we live in. We no longer know what “real food” looks like. Infertility automatically means medicalizing conception.

IT’S TIME TO BECOME EMPOWERED AND RECLAIM YOUR NATURAL FERTILITY AND HAVE TRULY HEALTHY BABIES.

This one-of-a-kind 12 week multi media course will be a breath of fresh air in an otherwise depressing world of unfortunate statistics. With these classes you will learn:

How to cleanse your body of toxins

Why common products you use may be contributing to your infertility

What exercises can help you prepare your body for conception and pregnancy

How to pin point ovulation

What to eat…..and what not to eat

Alternative treatments for infertility

But most importantly you will learn how to conceive and go on to have a healthy pregnancy and a truly healthy baby!

There’s a lot more information on the eCourse over on the information page, including a sneak peek of the classes. It begins July 12th, 2010. If this resonates with your personal journey with infertility, or even if you are just starting to think about beginning a family, I encourage you to check it out.

I would love to have some accountability with some friends and readers, so please let me know if you are going to consider taking the course.

Here’s the pricing info straight from Donielle’s site:

This 12 week online course, complete with course materials, worksheets, video tutorials, podcasts, and a members only forum in which you’ll have direct contact with me, is available for only $8.00 per class. This works out to be a one time payment of $96.00. You may also pay 3 monthly payments of $40.00 each.

Unsure if this course is for you?

We’ll be offering a money back guarantee in which you’ll receive a full refund, no questions asked, if you’re not satisfied after the first week of classes – until July 18th.

My personal goals for this course go beyond conception. I’m looking at it as a lifestyle lesson that will help me take care of my female body in the best way possible. And as the one who basically controls the rudder of my family’s health as well, by planning and cooking most of the meals and setting an example for my children as far as daily lifestyle goes, I’m looking forward to how it will benefit my whole family as well.

Also, if you are a blogger, you can consider becoming an affiliate, like me. If any of you register for the course through my links, I will receive a percentage of that sale. I’m obviously super excited about this and taking the course myself, so I’d be telling you about it even if I wasn’t an affiliate though.

AND, Kitchen Stewardship is giving away one full registration to the course! Enter by July 9th to win.

A Father’s Day Sunday Treat: Banana Nut Pancakes with Berry Syrup

gidget — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 16:06:13 +0000

We’ll be heading out for cinnamon rolls today (daddy’s choice), but if the dad in your family likes pancakes, these are sure to bless him. We make a lot of pancakes around here and these are probably our current fave.

I’m so thankful for an amazing father and a husband who is an awesome daddy as well. Happy Father’s Day!

NEW!! You can now print out my recipes!

Banana Nut Buttermilk Pancakes

recipe from gidgetgoeshome.com
adapted from Bob’s Red Mill Baking Book

Makes about 24 pancakes

1/2 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

3 tablespoons sugar (or agave, or even honey)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 ripe banana

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (or coconut oil)

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you are using regular sugar, add that, too (if using agave or honey, add it to the wet ingredients). Slice the banana into 1/2-inch rounds, then each rounds in four pieces and set aside.

Preheat and oil griddle (I use coconut oil or butter).

In a separate bowl, beat together buttermilk, butter, eggs and vanilla (and possible sugar depending on what you are using- see above). Fold into flour mixture until just combined, then stir in banana and nuts. Add a little extra buttermilk if necessary to get a good pancake consistency (but the batter will be pretty thick).

Ladle about 1/4 cup of batter onto griddle and cook over medium heat until bubbles appear. Turn and cook until golden brown.

Enjoy! We like ours with homemade berry syrup…

For the syrup, heat in a sauce pan berries, sugar and water. This isn’t an exact science. I’ve tried and liked a few different recipes. For all of these, just heat to boiling and then simmer until it cooks down a bit (about 10 minutes), stirring often and mashing berries with spoon as you go. Then you can serve as is (we like it chunky) or blend and strain if you want to get fancy. I usually use blueberries, or sometimes blackberries, depending on what I have.

Bob’s recipe: 1 cup water, 1/4 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cups mixed berries (I used blueberries)

My maple-berry recipe: 1 cup maple syrup, 1 cup blueberries (or other berries), water optional to taste

My honey-berry recipe: 1 1/2 cups fresh berries, 1/2 cup honey, 2 tablespoons water

How’d you celebrate this special day?

Adopting Brody {my journal}

gidget — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 18:24:11 +0000

Today our little Bro-Bro is two months old! I thought it was about time I shared my thoughts on our adoption process. These were the journal entries I wrote as we were progressing, starting with the first meeting with Brody’s birthparents. I decided to post it all in one place for easy archiving, so please bare with this long post, as I bare my soul a little here.

{written Friday, March 26, 2010}

Today was marked a potentially monumental day for our family.

We had lunch with one of Bethany’s social workers along with a birthparent couple that chose our family after looking at some family portfolios. It was pretty exciting, just to be chosen, let alone to meet them.

The meeting went well. It wasn’t awkward at all and we got along great with them. The birthfather is totally a baseball fan so that was fun. They each have some great goals and aspirations for themselves. Overall, they seemed to really like our family and expressed their interest in adoption.

They seem to have quite a bit of outside pressure against their choosing adoption which must be making their decision that much more difficult. It really does seem like adoption would be in the baby’s best interest in this situation, but I simply cannot imagine the difficulty in making the final decision.

We’re really trying to stay guarded and not get too emotionally attached since nothing is for sure yet. Her due date is April 16th, so we should know pretty soon what’s going to happen. I must admit though, that thinking about having a little boy (!!) about a month before our nephew is born would sooo fun and such a blessing to the family.

Thankfully, it’s all in the Lord’s hands, and He knows what’s best for all parties.

I love this verse that my friend Heidi recently posted on her blog (Heidi and her husband are picking up their son in Rwanda right now!):

“And the Lord answered me: ‘Write the vision… For still the vision awaits it’s appointed time; it hastens to the end- it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”
Habakkuk 2:2-3

{written Monday, April 5, 2010}

Peace in the Waiting...

Since we met the birthparents, we’ve had ups and downs in our waiting. But through it all we’ve felt peace.

I was at the park with a friend, a week ago today {March 29th}, watching Gigi run around, “making friends” while playing with other kids’ toys. I overheard a caretaker (either a very young mom, or more likely a babysitter) call out to a little boy… “Brody!”

That’s our name.

Long before we were married, that was the boy name my husband liked. I loved the sound of it, so it’s always been on the list of prospective baby names for us. My heart skipped a little, knowing that someone who was carrying a baby boy was considering us to be that baby’s family. Will we have our Brody?

Just then, my phone rang, and sure enough, yes, it was the social worker calling.

My understanding friend took over on Gigi Patrol so I could chat.

It wasn’t the best news for us. The social worker explained that the family pressure to parent is so strong. The birthfather’s parents wants to raise the child, despite the birthparents’ desire to make an adoption plan. The social worker is not sure what will happen now.

Then, a couple of days later, she called back.

The birthmom, sweet and soft-spoken, had lovingly stood up to her boyfriend’s mom, expressing her (their) desire to choose adoption. The social worker told me she was surprised. Encouraged.

The birthparents still want to meet us again.

Her due date is in 11 days.

So we wait, and pray for God’s will to be done for this little one.

{written Thursday, April 8, 2009}

I can’t sleep. I can barely type.

Yesterday we got the call from our social worker that the birthmom had the baby!! Our potential, hopeful baby has been born! He’s alive and healthy and in the hospital.

The little guy (!!) was born on April 6th. We don’t have all the specifics yet, but we do know that the birthparents are still leaning towards adoption. That’s what they’ve told people in the hospital that their plan is anyway.

He was born by C-section, and is being breast-fed. This of course brings up the question as to whether this will create more bonding between him and the birthmom, but as our social worker said to me, it’s going to be hard enough for her already. So I guess my feeling is, it’s better for the baby, and it’s all in God’s hands anyways.

If this is the baby for our family, He will work out all the details, and there are lots of details to work out.

I hope to hear again from our social worker this morning with more of those details, and hopefully a little more confirmation if this is actually going to happen, um, tomorrow. I do after all still need to go get some bottles, formula and little clothes that aren’t pink (we have lots of pink stored up but only a handful of unisex items).

It’s so crazy. I knew all along that it could very well be a very quick process, but it’s so surreal to actually have these events unfolding.

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude and feel covered by prayer.
Still trying to guard my heart, but that is getting harder by the hour.

{written Friday, April 9, 2010}

After talking to the social worker a few more times, it’s {almost} official that we are picking up. our son. tomorrow. Wow. Still can’t believe I just typed those words.

We are going to visit the birthparents and the baby in the hospital this afternoon, stay over at my bro and sis-in-law’s place and then head back to the hospital tomorrow (Saturday) to sign papers and take him home.

I feel like there’s no way to truly prepare for how emotional it’s going to be.

I spent what felt like a boatload of money yesterday on some bottles, formula diapers and little boy clothes. I let Gigi pick out an outfit for her brother. I really love little boy clothes.

I’m really hoping we can find the missing box that has the unisex baby clothes we saved from Gigi’s birth. They’re in a *really safe place* apparently.

I’m anxious and excited and nervous.

We’re going to meet our son today.

!!!

{written Saturday, April 10, 2010}

We met him.

It was amazing.

He is so tiny (even smaller than our little Gigi was). He’s so precious.

Visiting the birthfamily in the hospital was a sweet time. They filled us in on the specifics and how things had been going and we talked a little bit about the plan.

The air was surprisingly light, and it definitely did not feel like it was only our second time meeting them. We have a connection. We’ve been praying for them so much, as have our close friends and family, that I feel that they are already apart of our little circle of life, if you will.

I feel such a love for their family, that I cannot even explain.

It was surreal.

“Surreal, but nice.”

~~~

I just realized that I never really put my thoughts down on “paper” after our meeting with them all at the hospital. But I think the truth is that it was much to hard to process, let alone describe right away. The experience was so unlike any other. The relationship we now have with another family is so unlike any other.

The morning we took Brody home from the hospital was, hands down, the most emotional experience of my life. In the lobby of the hospital, our family of three waited as we were about to become a family of four, receiving a most precious and undeserved gift.

Amidst an abundance of tears, the birthfamily said their goodbyes and each embraced us. Our birthmother hugged me tightly and then whispered, “Thank you,” as the birthfather handed over their son to us.

Thank you? She said that to me? My heart melted for her.

I could barely reply through tears, “No, thank you.”

Encylopedia of Me: D is for…

gidget — Thu, 27 May 2010 16:16:57 +0000

Dodgers

I already told you about my family’s love for baseball and how I married into a love of the Dodgers, but I felt they deserved a post of their own, especially now that Brody just went to his first Dodgers game! My parents have a partial season ticket package for the Padres, and they generously gave us their tickets to a Padres/Dodgers game a couple of weeks ago.

We had a great time and for the first time, Gigi sat in her own seat and really seemed to watch the game.

She’s been to probably close to thirty baseball games, but I think this year is the first year is she is really starting to get it. This week she asked her daddy when a commercial came on during a game if it was “the end of the inning.” I think David may have let out a romantic little {sigh} of happiness at that.

If you ask her what color something blue is, chances are her answer will be Dodger Blue. She’s already such a daddy’s girl and I love it.

Being a Dodger fan is fun because they have such a long history, and the Bennett family has a long history with them, too. After all, David’s dad has been a fan since they moved to L.A. in 1958. We love going to Dodger Stadium, although we may not make it up there this year as it is quite a trek. One of the most fun things to do as a fan is going to Spring Training which happens the month before the season starts. We visited the Dodgers in Florida their last year there, and now have seen them in Arizona the last two years.

My romantic hubby even got me some Dodgers earrings for Mother’s Day.

Dealing with Behavior Issues

gidget — Wed, 19 May 2010 21:22:19 +0000

The last couple of months have been challenging with Gigi, to say the least, when it comes to her behavior. The word “no” was never really an issue during the twos but she has been using that word very liberally as she approached and turned three.

I just wanted to share a couple of the ways we’ve been dealing with some of this. Sometimes these things work great, other times I want to pull my hair out by 2pm. Mostly I just try to remember to pray a lot and remind Gigi of her Bible verses she has memorized (like Colossians 3:20 and Philippians 2:14).

A chore/responsibility chart:
I downloaded this from (where else?) Simple Mom. I love the way she designed. it. I cut out the chores that fit well for our family and then slid the chart into a plastic pocket {the kind you’d put in a binder} so that I can use a transparency (wet-erase) marker to give her stars. As per Tsh’s explanation, we give her a nickel for each star and she splits her money into three banks/jars (saving, spending & giving).

We also have a special row on the chart for days with no accidents. If she gets seven happy faces there, she gets a special treat. I’m trying really hard to not always have food be her treat (for example, a couple weeks ago, she got to spend the night at her Yaya & Papa’s house.)

Quiet Play Time/Room Time:

We started doing this faithfully everyday a couple of weeks ago and it has been a lifesaver. Every afternoon she goes in her room and plays while I get a few things done and maybe even write a blog post (like now!). It started out rough. I mean, really rough. But gradually the tantrums got smaller and less frequent and now it has become just a regular part of our day (Thank you, Lord!).

An hour is definitely not enough time, but it’s better than the nothing I’d been getting since she dropped a nap. I used to fight her and still try to put her down and now that she knows it’s not required nap time, she has actually {jaw drop} crawled up on her bed and gone to sleep on her own, or just fallen asleep in her chair a couple of times. Wonders will never cease.

Oh, and I owe LeapPad my life, or at least my sanity.

(Now if I could only get her to clean up the first time I ask!)

The last thing is something more recent and it actually has to do with me. I’ve decided to give myself (flexible) parameters for computer stuff. I am aiming to shut the laptop (except for recipes basically) from the hours of 9-2 roughly. I use it in the morning over breakfast and then don’t open it up again until her roomtime.

I still have internet and email on my phone for little checks here and there, but I think when I am present with her, Gigi’s behavior is better (go figure!). It’s been two days, and maybe coincidentally, she’s been much better behaved during the day.

Oh, and I also try to be a fun mom. That helps some, too.

What do you do to deal with ornery toddler/preschooler behavior?

Three-Year Old Chiquita

gidget — Mon, 10 May 2010 04:35:48 +0000

We’ve had a busy week of celebrating one special little girl…

{fabric flower by Cut Sew Repeat}

{no-sugar carrot cupcake recipe from Progressive Pioneer}

Tia’s Baby Shower

gidget — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 15:37:04 +0000

I had such a fun time planning and helping host a baby shower for my sweet sister-in-law. She and my brother are expecting their baby, Micah, in May.

Alex and Angelina are into a pretty modern style– no pastels and teddy bears for these hipsters– and Angelina, also known as Tia in our family, is not a big fan of shower games (thank goodness, because neither am I!) so we went for a simple and modern plan. I think it turned out fabulous and fun!

I started with this…

and thanks to some inspiration from a new favorite, a friend-of-a-friend blogger, I ended up with this: a shower decoration that can double as a mobile for the baby’s room…

thanks to my best baker friend Joy, I made these delicious cupcakes {strawberry instead of raspberry}…

We had simple activity station for the guests {2 guessing games (number of m&m’s in the bottle and “how many onesies will she receive?” and some envelopes where guests could write their address for thank yous)}…

And a great time was had by all, including the beautiful mama-to-be had!

Siblings

gidget — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 21:24:11 +0000

I couldn’t be more thrilled for our Chiquita to finally have a sibling…
she’s already a big helper and seems to be maturing before our eyes.

Announcing Our New Bundle of Joy

gidget — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 18:22:43 +0000

Meet Brody. He came home with us on April 10, 2010.

We are overcome with gratitude.

I’ll be taking a little break from blogging to soak it all up… wouldn’t you?

More later…

xoxo, the family of FOUR