Wonder-ful: Strawberry Lemonade

I'm by no means a social media guru.  I'm more like your grandmother trying to navigate through most forms of social media.  I'm just barely getting the hang of it. 

A couple months ago I saw a pretty picture of kids in lights on instagram.  Because I knew the ....grammer?  poster?  whatever you call the person who took and posted the picture was in San Diego, I clicked through to find out where it was.

It was a pop-up museum called "Wonderspaces."  In general, I find that most of these pop-up museums are just a way to take your money so you can take pictures and post them to social media.  And I'm not willing to fork over money to take pictures.  (See?  Not social media savvy) But these exhibits, while definitely beautiful and instagram-worthy, were also really interesting pieces of art.  And I knew Thatboy would love it.  He loves modern art, and especially shiny things.

There were a couple virtual reality exhibits, which Thatbaby couldn't deal with.  But there were other interactive exhibits like a room with plants that were hooked up to some stereo system so your touch triggered different sounds.  And this one where you could write "To Do" notes.

Thatkid's favorite exhibit was squid soup, which is the same exhibit that caught my eye initially.

Another interactive exhibit was body paint, where movement was captured by color splashing across a screen.

Thatbaby's favorite exhibit was "Into the Breath."  While they loved looking at the giant balloon shaped exhibit, they loved even more going inside.  It was like a bounce house without the bounce.  The idea was a space where you can just enjoy and appreciate the quiet.  And Thatbaby did...for about 2 minutes, which is pretty good for a 3 year old.

"The Border" symbolized the edge of dreams and waking.  Thatbaby loved it.  It was like a kid's fantasy come to life. 

And because all kids love balloons...

The kids loved the space - although Thatbaby had a serious 3 year old meltdown and had to take a break for a while (which you'd never guess from these photos, but I wasn't going to take photos of him screaming and crying.)

When we got home, we got the little guy down for a nap.  He was MUCH happier when he awoke.  And ready to make one of his favorite drinks.  My kids love lemonade, and in the summer I love homemade lemonade.  Thatbaby asked if we could make strawberry lemonade, and so I was happy to comply.  Lemonade is easy enough for even a 3 year old to make - with some supervision. 

Strawberry Lemonade

1 1/2 cups strawberries

5 lemons

1 cup sugar

3 cups water

1. Trim strawberries and cut them in half.

2. Combine strawberries and the juice of 1/2 a lemon in a blender and puree until smooth.

3. Press puree through a sieve into a pitcher to remove strawberry seeds.

4. Juice the remaining lemons.  (If you're working with a small child, keep that sieve handy.  It'll catch those lemon seeds)

5. Combine lemon juice, sugar, and water in the pitcher with the strawberry puree.  Stir until sugar dissolves.  Serve over ice.

Crave Wednesday: Chocolate Turtle Brownie Sundaes

Yesterday I woke up to cold weather and I was so confused. Not just because it's April, although that should be reason enough, but because last week was unseasonably warm. 96° warm.  How on Earth do  we go from 96° to 47°? In April?

We took advantage of that warm weather though, and now that winter has returned I'm especially glad  we did.

We had an unexpectedly quiet weekend, with no plans except for a baseball game. We spent Saturday around the house, catching up on the cleaning and housework that piled up while we were traveling.

Sunday however, I took advantage of our lack of plans...and made plans!

Last year we skipped our annual trip to the Flower Fields, opting instead to drive to the desert and see the desert blooms. This year we have no super bloom and so we returned to our regularly scheduled flowers.

I forgot how much I love the Flower Fields. They're so bright and colorful, but being surrounded by acres of flowers also gives me such a feeling of peace.

The boys also loved running around the flowers.  Thatkid kept asking me to take his picture, or a picture with him and his brother, getting annoyed when Thatbaby goofed around and didn't take the pictures seriously.

The Flower Fields have a special passport for the kids to get stamps from the different areas so we went to ask the areas - the poinsettas, orchids, we wandered through the sweet pea maze for a long time, and ended up at Santa's playground where the boys spent quite a long time. Because, playground. Playground, flowers, maze, there's really something for everyone.  And even though it's always crowded, it feels like my little secret.

I'll let you in on another secret, I'm pretty good in the kitchen, but  I can't figure out brownies. Or rather, how long to cook them. They're either too dry, or not quite done. The solution?  Top them with ice cream. Ice cream adds moisture to dry brownies, and those slightly underdone ones? Super fudgey always works with ice cream.

Chocolate Turtle Brownie Sundaes (From Cooking Light)

Fudge Sauce (see below)

3 Tbsp butter

1 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 egg

1 egg white

2 Tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 Tbsp fat free milk

10 small soft caramel candies

2 Tbsp coarsely chopped pecans

4 cups vanilla low fat frozen yogurt

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Coat bottom of an 8-inch square metal holding pan with cooking spray.  Combine butter and chocolate in a large microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 1 minute.  Stir until melted.
2. Add egg and egg white, stirring with a whisk.
3. Stir in 2 Tbsp water and vanilla.
4. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, and baking powder.  
5. Stir flour mixture into chocolate mixture.  Spread half of batter in bottom of prepared pan.
6. Combine milk and candies in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 1.5 minutes.  Stir until melted.
7. Drizzle caramel over batter in pan.
8. Sprinkle with pecans.
9. Drop remaining batter by tablespoonfuls over pecans.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack.  Cut into `16 squares.
10. Top each brownie with 1/4 cup frozen yogurt and 2 Tbsp fudge sauce.

Fudge Sauce

2 Tbsp butter

2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup sugar

6 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa

1 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup fat free milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Combine butter and chocolate in a saucepan; cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally.
2. Combine sugar and cocoa in a bowl.
3. Add corn syrup and milk, stirring with a whisk until blended.
4. Add cocoa mixture to saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.
5. Stir in vanilla.

Crave Wednesday: Double Chocolate Ice Cream

Going to UCLA for undergrad meant I developed a profound respect for book festivals.  Until 2010, the LA Times Festival of Books, the largest book festival in the country, was held on the UCLA campus.  And it was everything you could want  - authors, readings, a celebration of the written word.  It was the very definition of an "event."

So when I saw that San Diego was going to start its very own festival of books, I was all in.  And last weekend we checked it out.  In its first year, it definitely doesn't have the size or gravitas of the LA Times, but hey - everyone has to start somewhere.

The first part of the festival was "Author's Row" where local authors were there to meet, greet, sell, and sign.  The boys were instantly drawn to Laura Knight, who was there with her book "Spot: The Sea Pup's Survival Guide."  She walked them through the book, showing them both the illustrations, as well as the actual pictures the illustrations were based on.

Although most of the festival was really geared to older readers, the Children's Pavilion had children's authors reading and interacting with the little guys.   Like Salina Yoon, who read several of her stories, and even had some of the audience come up and create their own illustrations.  (And yes, that couple stood right up in the front, so that all the kids had to crowd to side and peer around them.  Which is why there's like 20 kids piled on top of each other on the bottom right of the picture. And they stayed there for several authors.  So sweet and considerate of them, no?)

Thatkid quickly got sick of not being able to see and having to be pressed up against so many hot sticky bodies, so we went for a walk to check out the vendors.  Which is how we came across the San Diego Public library's booth where they were helping the kids make monster bookmarks.  He made one for himself and one for his little brother.

I made a quick stop back at Author's alley to pick up a book of my own.  "101 Movies to See Before You Grow Up" has been in my Amazon cart forever, waiting for Thatkid to be old enough to be part of its target audience. But finding out the author was local, AND there, I decided today was the day.   Suzette Valle couldn't have been nicer as she filled me bag with stickers for my boys, and signed the book for us.  We're really looking forward to introducing the boys to some of these "classics."

We bounced home for some homemade butter pasta and some homemade ice cream.  Both were actually great for a summer night, since the pasta doesn't require heating up the whole house with the oven.  And ice cream?  I mean, I don't need to explain that one, right?  Chocolate ice cream is not really my thing.  I much prefer a good vanilla ice cream.  But chocolate is the flavor of choice for the rest of my family.  In fact, Thatbaby calls all other flavors by their color ("orange ice cream" "blue ice cream") except chocolate.  That one he knows by name.  And requests.  So chocolate it is.

My concession to me is to stay away from milk chocolate - or even semi sweet, which can be too sweet for me.  Cocoa and bittersweet chocolate make this a dark chocolate ice cream that will please chocolate lovers and chocolate tolerators alike.

Double Chocolate Ice Cream (From Cooking Light)

1 1/3 cups sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

2 1/2 cups 2% reduced fat milk, divided

3 egg yolks

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

2 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate

1. Combine sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan over medium low heat.
2. Add 1/2 cup milk and egg yolks, stirring well.
3. Stir in 2 cups milk.
4. Cook 12 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.
5. Place cream in a medium sized, micowaveable bowl and microwave at High for 1 1/2 minutes or until cream boils.
6. Add chocolate to cream, stirring until smooth.
7. Add cream mixture to pan, stirring until smooth. Place pan in a large bowl of ice and cool completely.
8. Pour mixture into the freezer can of an ice cream maker and process according to instructions.  
9. Spoon ice cream into a freezer safe contained and freeze for 1 hour or until firm.

Crave Wednesday: Chocolate Pudding Pops

Earlier this summer when Thatkid and I were running the San Diego Fair 5k I remarked to him that we were running on the same track the horses run on, and he had no idea what I was talking about.  It had been a couple years since we'd been to the races, Thatbaby hadn't ever been.  And I remember how much Thatkid loved it when we took him when he was little.   So we made plans to make sure to attend this summer.

The first weekend we had free, we headed over to Del Mar.  Thatkid was a little disappointed the fair wasn't there, or more importantly the rides and games weren't there.    We got settled into some seats and the lack of rides and games was quickly overshadowed by the fast running horses.

Just like his brother, Thatbaby loved watching the horses run fast.  And Thatkid loved picking the winner...after the race had ended.

On the weekends, the Del Mar races has a kids area, which is awesome.  Not rides or games, but bounce houses, inflatable slides, face painting, and pony rides.

Thatkid made it his mission to experience every inflatable they had.

Thatkid was a little intimidated at first by the big slides, but there was a smaller one for little guys.  And by the end, he was going down the blue slide just like his big brother.

The line for ponies was a little long, so the boys went and got their faces painted while I waited in line for them.

Thatkid has ridden a pony/horse twice before, but this was Thatbaby's very first time!

Thatkid was so nervous his first time on a pony.  I thought Thatbaby might be the same, but as always he proved to be my oppobaby.  Not scared at all, he jumped right up on that horse and rode like he was born on a salad.

I thought for sure the pony rides would be the highlight of the day.  But on the way back to the car both boys declared their favorite part was watching the races themselves.  Such a successful day!

What made it even more successful was the weather cooperating.  It was cool and overcast, which has been especially unusual for this summer.  It has been a hot summer.  With no signs of cooling down this week.  I even tried to get the kids to play in the sprinkler after school today, but Thatbaby just wanted to stand in his swimsuit and whine.  One thing they are completely embracing is popsicles.  Every moment of the day.  Thatbaby wakes up asking for popsicles.  In fact, over the weekend I found him trying to set up a folding step stool to get to them on the top shelf of our freezer.  Never trust a quiet child.

We make most of the popsicles in our house.  It's easy enough to pour juice or a smoothie into a popsicle mold.   Chocolate pudding pops are a little more labor intensive, because you have to, you know, make pudding.  But pudding pops are such a nostalgic part of my childhood, they have to be made.  I grew up on the J-E-L-L-O variety, but homemade is so much better!

Chocolate Pudding Pops (From Cooking Light)

2 1/2 cups reduced fat milk

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1. Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, egg yolk, and a dash of salt in a medium saucepan over medium high heat, whisking.  Cook 8 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly.  Remove pan from heat.
2. Stir in vanilla and chocolate and stir until smooth.  Transfer to a bowl and place over a bowl filled with ice.  Cover surface of pudding with plastic wrap and cool.
3. Spoon chocolate mixture into 6 popsicle molds.  Top with lids and insert sticks.  Freeze 4 hours.

Sunday Runday: San Diego Fair 5k

For the past five years I've read about Wan's adventures running the Orange County Fair 5k.   The entire thing sounds like so much fun, with detours during the run to take part in fair activities like rides, games, and photo opportunities.

A couple years back I noticed that the San Diego fair was going to be starting a 5k of their own.  But for some reason or other I was never able to run it (silly things like giving birth the week before the race).

This year there was nothing keeping me from running.  It was my year to join in the fun.  When I saw that kids 5 and under could run for free, I asked Thatkid if he wanted to run with me.  He did!

So yesterday morning when he woke up at dawn, I roused myself.  We got dressed and headed over to the fairground.  We picked up my bib and race shirt (Thatkid got to run the race, but didn't get any of the perks.)

We skipped into the empty fair grounds and made our way over to the area they had us all corralled into.  A  fitting term since we started on the horse track!  There were all sorts of tractors and farm equipment.  After seeing other kids climbing all over them, and signs saying "photo opportunity" Thatkid asked if he could sit on a tractor too and I said yes.  Right as I snapped this, security came over and said no one was allowed on the equipment.  Whoops.

Instead we went and took part in the warm up.  Especially when Can't Stop the Feeling started playing and Thatkid broke out in a huge smile since it's his favorite song.

We did eventually line up to get the race started.  They let us go in waves of 300, and we were in the first wave!

Thatkid and I had a talk on the way into the race about pace.  It's not his strong skill.  And a 5k is still a really long race for him.  The last one we did he spent almost the entire time complaining that his legs hurt and asking to be carried.

But this time?  This time he NAILED it.  He kept his pace nice and comfortable, instead of taking off like a rocket the way he often does.

We ran through the area the area that was set up for the International Beer Festival.  But since it was 7:30 am, it wasn't open yet.  Thatkid did mention that he thought his dad would REALLY like this place.

Apparently before the fair is when the cows take their morning showers.  And we ran right past them as they bathed.  The last part of the race had us run through the area where the cows and goats are kept, so these heifers started and ended the race for us.

We ran down the row where all the food vendors were, their shops shuttered, but still featuring their wares and we looked at some of their more interesting offers while Thatkid spent some time thinking about what he wanted his "fair treat" to be this year.

And then we were in the games and rides areas.  Thatkid slowed here, so he could look at every game and ask how it worked.  And admire the stuffed animal prizes.

When we got through all the games and rides, we found ourselves back on the horse track, with less than a mile to go!

This is where Thatkid started getting tired.  We did quite a bit of walking here.  And had a stop at the water station.  And he got a couple of Jelly Belly Sport Beans I had brought with me, just for this occasion. BUT there wasn't a word of complaint! Which is just fine by me!

We crossed through the cows and goats and saw the finish line.  Which was odd, because I just finished showing Thatkid we were at 2.90 miles.  But when you're running with a tired kid, I see no need in quibbling about a race that was a couple meters short.

True to form, Thatkid had saved a little bit of energy for this moment, and he took off toward the finish.  Weaving around, through, and under anyone between him and the finish line.

My overall feeling about this race was positive.  There's a lot to look at on the course and it's always fun to be in a place where the general public isn't.  The miles came really quickly.  But I do think that the race misses the mark a bit.

One of the great things about the Disney races and Zoo races (when they did them), and Sea World races, is the photo opportunities.  And there were  really none during the race, other than the physical race itself.  With the theme this year being "Where the West was Fun" it would have been neat to have some cowboys along the course to take pictures with.  Or cutouts to stick your face in.  Or any other number of opportunities.  Even the Cardiff Kook race this year had a backdrop on the course.

I also was a little disappointed that the San Diego race doesn't have the "Fun detours" that the Orange County race does.  This was a super family friendly event, and I know that families would have really loved to take part in more of the "fair" atmosphere during the race.  Plus, the Orange County race has medals.  Which to me aren't terribly important, but I know Thatkid was disappointed in having nothing from the race - no shirt, no medal.  He was pretty easily cheered up with a pitstop on the way home for smoothies.

Despite the drawbacks, it was a really enjoyable morning.  And both Thatkid and I could see ourselves running this one again!