May The Fourth Be With You - Star Wars Day

May the Fourth is Star Wars Day.  We are big Star Wars fans. (Which may be the understatement of the year.) Therefore, logic dictates that we will be celebrating.   Star Wars is a worldwide institution with countless fans and it has it's own day to celebrate all it's glory.  There are various ways you can get your geek on to commemorate the occasion.

You can:

1. Watch all 6 movies (this one's obvious, but important nonetheless)
2. Have a lightsaber battle throughout your neighborhood (bonus points if you can get passerbys involved)
3. Go to a bar/restaurant with a live band and convince them to play the song from the Cantina bar
4. Have a Wookie calling contest from the tallest hill you can find
5. Head to Card Kingdom and try one of the several Star Wars themed games
6. Have a creative party and craft yourself some awesome Star Wars tchotchkes (head over to StarWars.com for some great ideas)
7. Get a Star Wars themed tattoo (only for advanced Fans)
8. Host a dramatic reading of one of the many Star Wars novels
9. Take some time to create your own Star Wars fan film (See ours here or check out some awesome ones here)
10. Be Vader for a day and tell your kids you are their father (or mother) in a loud and raspy voice as much as you can

Whatever you do, Have Fun!    And May the Force be with you!

Scream For Ice Cream - Free Scoop Day @ Cupcake Royale

Wednesday May 1st is Free Scoop Day!  Go to your local Cupcake Royale and get your ice cream needs met...For FREE!!!

Spare Gutter + Soil = Recycled Planter - Create A Custom Window Box

Historically our house has had a love/hate relationship with gardens.  We love to garden and hate it when our plants die.  This year the 4-year-old has made it his mission to change that.  He has been the driving force behind our renewed gardening efforts.  He has selected the plants, set a watering schedule and loving placed random toys in the planters.   We needed more planting room in a limited space so we created our own planter from a recycled gutter.  First we drilled some drain holes along the bottom of the gutter about 18" apart.  After cleaning the gutter, we filled it with soil and planted some lettuce and basil. A couple of zip ties to attach it to the railing and our planter was done.  Our balcony is beginning to look like an oasis thanks to our little green thumbed gardener. 

Revel In Stories of Derring Do - Free Comic Book Day

Everyone dreams of being a superhero.  Even if it's just a little bit.  And as super powers tend to involve things such as radiation, mutation and/or death of a loved one, I've stopped trying to get them.  The next best thing is living vicariously through the people who have them.  That's where Free Comic Book Day comes in.  Free Comic Book Day is the first Saturday of May (this year is May 4th) in which comic book companies give out special comic books through your local comic book store to introduce you to new heroes and story lines. It's a great way to explore and expand you comic book knowledge.  And possibly find new powers to dream of. http://www.freecomicbookday.com/StoreLocator

Walk Into Fantasy - Fremont Troll

There are not many places where you can come face-to-face with mythological creatures.  And there are even fewer chances in the city.  Which is why the Fremont Troll is such a magical creature.  Built in 1990 to protect and transform the area under the Aurora Bridge, the troll has become a Seattle icon.  The Troll is holds a full size VW Beetle under his hand and holds court at the top of his own street, Troll Ave. This is one of our favorite stops on neighborhood hikes, with the 4 year old proclaiming him "Friend Troll" and the 11 year old figuring out how to put his head in the Troll's nose.

Homemade Mozzarella - I Will Create Food!

In my mind the image of cheese making is a long and tedious process.  I couldn't be more wrong.  In about 30 minutes we made our own fresh mozzarella and it was fun to boot!  It's a fairly easy process that requires a bit of preparation first.
First off you will need to find rennet.  Rennet is a group of enzymes that can be animal or plant based.  If you live in the Seattle area we found ours at The Cellar Homebrew on Greenwood Ave or you can order it from a variety of sources including Amazon and New England Cheese Making Supply Company.  It's pretty inexpensive and will make many batches of cheese.  

You will also need Citric Acid which you can buy at most cake decorating shops or online.

You will need:
1 gallon of milk - NOT ultra-pasteurized (it should say on the label whether it is or not)  You can use any type of milk (whole, skim, 2%) but the lower the fat content the less cheese you get in the end.
Rennet
Citric Acid
Salt (to taste)
Stainless Steel pot
Thermometer 

Begin by prepping your citric acid and rennet.  Dissolve 1 1/2 teaspoons  of citric acid into 1/2 cup cold water.  Also mix 1/4 teaspoon liquid rennet, or 1/4 tablet of rennet, into 1/4 cup of cold water.

 

Pour your milk into a large stainless steel pot and start gently heating it to 55 degrees. At 55 degrees add the citric acid and stir thoroughly.  

Continue heating the milk until it gets to 90 degrees.  At 90 degrees add the rennet, mixing in an up/down motion.  Cover and continue heating until it gets to a little over 100 degrees.  

You should see the cheese curds forming(don't over stir it as it breaks up the curds into smaller bits...we learned the hard way)  Scoop out all of the curds you can into a large microwaveable bowl

Now gently press out as much whey as possible. Once the whey is pressed out, pop it into the microwave for 1 minute.  Take it out and press some more whey out. Gently knead the cheese to get it evenly heated.  Put it back into the microwave for another 30 seconds and knead it again.  One more time at 30 seconds and kneading. 

 On this last kneading add salt to taste while kneading to evenly distribute it though the cheese.

Once the cheese has a taffy like consistency it's done.  You can braid it, cut it into strips for cheese sticks, roll it into little balls...

Which ever you decide, toss it into an ice water bath to quickly cool it off and put it into a tightly sealed container or wrap it with plastic wrap to store it.  It will last for about a week, but it probably won't be around that long.

Celebrate with Sub Pop!

 

Sub Pop Records is turning 25 and they want you, yes you, to come to their party!  Sub Pop is a Seattle institution that has given you some amazing music through the years with bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden,  The Postal Service, Iron and Wine, Sleater-Kinney and The Shins, so give the love back to them and wish them a happy birthday!  Did I mention that it's free!!!!  http://silverjubilee.subpop.com/info

Roasted Brussels Sprouts - I Will Create Food!

Brussels Sprouts are a tough sell to kids.  Ask any parent.  There is something about them that turn people off in droves even if they've never had them.  We are working on changing that perception in our house.  I personally am not a fan of the steaming method so I went searching for a better way to get my family to eat them.  Roasting is the key.  It's quick, easy and tastes awesome!

You will need:
1-1 1/2 pound of Brussels Sprouts
2 tbsp of olive oil
salt and pepper
1 tbsp butter or margarine (optional)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

 First give your sprouts a good rinse.

Next trim off the very bottom and remove any yellow or browning leaves.

Like so.

Add your olive oil (I usually eyeball it)

Season to taste.

Spread them on a cookie sheet.  I put down foil to prevent them from sticking to the pan.
Toss them on the middle rack of the oven and roast them for 30-40 minutes.  Check them every 10 minutes or so and give the pan a shake to allow them to brown evenly.

They should have a nice brown/dark brown to the outer leaf.  After roasting, you can toss them with a little butter/margarine if you'd like, either way they will taste awesome!