Barefoot Books- LadyD: Book Sharing Monday

Showing posts with label Book Sharing Monday. Show all posts

Roasted Tomato Soup

Perhaps the weather is changing a bit where you live and a nice bowl of homemade soup sounds good to you. I have always enjoyed making a variety of soups with our fresh, garden vegetables and then putting some in the freezer for a rainy day this coming winter. Tomato soup is on the menu! Baked in my blue pan, served in a blue bowl, atop a blue place mat for Blue Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday

I start out with a pan of chopped tomatoes, all different kinds, like Beefsteak and Big Boy. I then add some herbs and spices, plus a few lemon slices. Pour on the olive oil, of course.

With the basil, oregano and lemon added, you'll find a full aroma filling your kitchen entirely. I leave the skins on which makes it easy and goes quickly with the preparation.

We're ready for the next step. Simmering onions and garlic in white wine with your roasted tomatoes is a must. Savor those yummy smells!

Keep the blender close by because you'll definitely want to puree the sauteed tomatoes.

Last step is to put it all in a stock pot and simmer away! I must make an honest confession here. Having cooked for a large family all my life, I continue to do so even when there's just the two of us, hubby and I. Then again, I'm always prepared for having lots of food when my grandchildren stop by and that makes me happy.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Cilantro

2 pounds Tomatoes, quartered
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1 Tbl. chopped fresh Thyme
2 tsp. grated Lemon Peel
Sea Salt
1 Leek, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Tbl. Coriander Seeds, toasted and crushed
2/3 cup White Wine
4 oz. White Bread, crusts removed and crumbled
3 1/4 c. Vegetable Stock
1 Tbl. Lemon Juice

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the tomatoes in one layer on a large baking sheet. Drizzle 4 tablespoons olive oil over and sprinkle the thyme, lemon peel and some sea salt over. Roast for 30 minutes until the tomatoes are charred and very mushy.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan and fry the leek, garlic, and coriander seeds for 5 minutes. Add the wine and boil for 3 minutes. Add the bread, tomatoes and stock. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Puree, then return to a clean pan to reheat. Blend the remaining oil, fresh cilantro and lemon juice together and drizzle over the soup. Serves 4.

Children’s Books About Food

Here are a few picture books that gently encourage kids to try foods that are good for you. These great food-themed books entertain and teach kids about fruits and veggies. Do you have a favorite food-themed book?

Eating the Alphabet by Lois Ehlert.
This beautifully illustrated alphabet book introduces kids to new fruits and vegetables. Ages 2+

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert.
Describes growing vegetables and using the vegetables to make vegetable soup. Growing Vegetable Soup includes a delicious vegetable soup recipe that can be made with veggies from your local farmers’ market if you do not have time to grow all of the vegetables yourself. Ages 2+

And one more,

I Will Never Not Ever Eat a Tomato (Charlie and Lola)

Warmly,

“You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.” — C. S. Lewis

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Blue Monday: Del Mar Fair

Photos for Blue Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday

I went to the Del Mar Fair before the 4th of July. Not too crowded in the early a.m. hours. Of course, I spent lots of time with the arts and photography exhibits. I couldn't resist photo shots with animals. There was lots to see and hear. The sights and smells were exhilarating at the Fair. So much blue and yellow everywhere.

Do you have a favorite food that you just love to eat at the Fair?

Mine would be Gyros and Souvlaki.

Souvlaki is not difficult to make. This recipe calls for chunks of lamb. Beef or pork can also be used.

Shopping List:

lamb
oliveoil
lemon

Instructions:

1. Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper.
2. Marinate the meat in the olive-oil mixture for one hour in the refrigerator.
3. Thread the meat onto wood or metal skewers.
4. Grill the meat over an outdoor or indoor grill or in a broiler until it is brown inside and out. If using an indoor grill, use wood skewers that have been soaked in water.
5. Put the meat on plates and serve with tzatziki.

Serves 4

Barefoot Books Singalong

Driving My Tractor PB w CDEX (A Barefoot Singalong)

This is such a cool book. It's very popular where I live with all the ranchers, farmers and growers; a paperback book with cd for $9.99

Chug along with a farmer and his tractor on this multi-season animal adventure! A busy farmer picks up fifteen animals along his route, but when his trailer hits a stone, chaos ensues. This colorful book combines simple counting instruction with humor, repetition and rhythm to encourage learning fun.

Happy Blue Monday!

“You can’t get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.” — C. S. Lewis

InLinkz.com

Blue Monday: Boats

Notice the American flag? Wishing you a wonderful 4th of July!

First Photo For Blue Monday and Mellow Yellow Monday

Around the Oceanside Harbor you'll find a variety paddle boats and sailboats. You hear the splashing of the waves, birds squawking overhead, flags flapping in the wind, waves crashing against the harbor and the sound of motor boats. So much life everywhere.

Have you experienced the outdoor marine sounds before, especially the smell of the salty air? I find the ocean so refreshing and relaxing.

Sounds Around Town

If you stop and think about it, we are surrounded by so many different kinds of sounds. Just close your eyes, be real still and listen very closely. What do you hear? I hear people talking and children playing when I arrive at the kindergarten music class where I teach rhythm.

On my way to the school, I hear the sounds of cars, construction workers and tractors in the fields nearby. While I'm inside the classroom with the kids, I play the piano and I listen to the music I am creating while the students sing their patriotic songs excitedly.

Our world is full of a variety of different sounds and the sounds are made in many different ways. On the first day of school, I asked the children, " What is music?" I was pleased to hear their responses such as, birds singing, your heart beating and music coming from the radio CD or TV.

A dog barking produces sound, as well as a clock ticking and a door closing. I suppose one could say that water from a faucet produces a rushing sound, too. The sounds described above, are made by movements called vibrations.

I have introduced homemade kazoos to the class since we are learning about sound and music. The tight wax paper that has a thin rubber band around it at the end of the paper-covered toilet paper roll, changes the sound of one's voice. Try it sometime. It's a fun activity. Yes, one can buy plastic kazoos at the dollar store now a days but I remember placing wax paper over a comb and listening to the altered sound of my voice. When I was a kid, I would place wax paper behind the mallets inside the piano to hear an old player type piano.

Have you ever listed all the sounds that human voices make? Here are just a few I'd like to mention:

1. Talking

2. Singing

3. Shouting

4. Crying

5. Sneezing

6. Coughing

7. Whispering

8. Screaming

9. Humming

10. Blowing

So your voice comes from a part of the throat called the larynx. You'll find inside the larynx that there are flaps called vocal chords. Your vocal chords vibrate when you speak or sing. In addition, your mouth and tongue help to make the sounds we hear. One way to make the sound of music is to sing. So, go ahead and sing out loud!

You hear sound when it enters your ears. The shape of your outer ear collects sound waves. From there, the sound waves travel down a tube to delicate parts of your ear inside your head. While inside, those sound waves cause the eardrum to vibrate and then sound messages are sent to your brain from your eardrum.

Children can make musical sounds by blowing, too. For example, blow across the top of some bottles. By placing different level amounts of colored water in the bottles and then blowing, makes the air inside the bottle vibrate. What you have is a long column of air vibrating to make a low note. Experiment with this a little and you'll find that short columns make high notes.

One can make sounds of music by playing a musical instrument, like hitting drums with sticks. What happens is that the sticks make the skin of the drums and the air inside vibrate that causes the sound.
Many musical instruments have strings stretched over a box or board that make the sound louder. The strings vibrate and make sound. You can strum or pluck strings on a guitar, mandolin or banjo to make vibrating string sounds.

So, you can hit an instrument, such as a drum or tap a triangle or shake maracas, you know, that gourd shaped percussion instrument that is filled with beans or pebbles. Most important of all, as you go through your day, enjoy listening to the various sounds around your town, especially your own unique voice.

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