Mother's Day (Fishing on a Goat), Homemade Flour Tortillas, & Rainbow Day!

Good Morning!

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and I hope all of the moms out there had a lovely day!  Mother's Day is always a mixed bag for me...there are so many emotions and feelings.  Being the mother of 4 isn't easy, but then neither is being the mother of one, two, or three.  As exhausting as every day is, at the end of it, I thank God for that additional day that I was given.  I'm very blessed.  :)

Every year, as Mother's Day approaches, "What do you want to do?" becomes the biggest question.  It is important for me to do something special with my family on Mother's Day.  My kids made a list of ideas for my special day.  Though we couldn't do them all (like fishing on a GOAT), we managed to do a few.  :)

  Here is what my Mother's Day looked like:

Saturday...A wonderful lunch at Mustard Seed

Upstairs from the grocery, there is a beautiful full service restaurant & bar.

Where the kids enjoyed ice cold coconut milk, grass-fed & antibiotic/hormone free burgers, & fruit.  

and we enjoyed this delicious portobello sandwich, called The Highlander, with slaw.

It was a lovely meal, one that the whole family enjoyed!  

After lunch, it was off to....the Hartzler Family Dairy Ice Cream Shoppe!  This was no small trip, mind you, since Hartzler's is about 2 hours away from home!  Crazy!  It was Mother's Day, though, and knowing how much I love Hartzler's my husband thought this was just the thing. 

There are plenty of tables outside, and a swing set for the kiddos on those warm summer days!

Strawberry, YUM!

Checkers, using the caps from the milk bottles!  Genius!

Clearly enjoying that ice cream!

His flavor...Monkey Business!  

 After our very indulgent (not chemical free) treat, we went to the movies.  :)  We had a great day together, but were exhausted by the end of it!  

Sunday...for the other mothers in our lives, & a vase of lilacs, homemade cards, and a pair of Nike Comfort flip flops for me.  :) 

We had a birthday or two to celebrate, and a few mothers/grandmothers/great-grandmothers to honor.  The whole family got together to celebrate Granny's 80th birthday.

Since the menu at the birthday party was Mexican, I knew that it wouldn't be too difficult for us to adhere to our food lifestyle.  Since the main dish was tacos, my biggest issue was going to be the tortillas.  So, I decided to make my own.  

I used the recipe from Lisa at 100 Days of Real Food, but made a few changes.  Lisa's recipe is below.  

The changes that I made are as follows:  

-I used 1/2 unbleached all purpose & 1/2 whole wheat flour. (Using this mix, I needed less water)

-I used nonGMO canola oil, and I think I could get away with using less oil next time.

-I rolled mine into a log shape, but since I wanted these for soft tacos, I wanted my tortillas to be smaller.  I cut my log into 24 pieces. 

-I didn't flatten them and let them sit.  I don't  think it would have made much of a difference, perhaps because I used my tortilla press, instead of rolling them out.  I placed each ball on the tortilla press, rotating after each press, until they were the size and thickness that I wanted.  There was no need to oil the press, or cover it in plastic wrap.

These were delicious, and we topped them with homemade refried beans, tomato, lettuce, cheese, & sour cream.  

Whole-Wheat Tortillas

SERVES: 12 TORTILLAS

 

ADAPTED FROM ANSON MILLS

INGREDIENTS

• 2½ cups whole-wheat flour (I used King Arthur’s white whole-wheat flour)
• ½ cup oil (I used avocado oil)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.

I bet you thought I forgot to post today's school lunches.  I didn't forget the lunches, but I did forget the pic.  It was a crazy morning with so many things going on, so I completely forgot about it!  It's Spirit Week (which requires a donation to participate) & Book Fair, which added to my already packed morning.  I did take a pic of this, though...today is Rainbow Day!

She was supposed to wear as many colors as possible...orange capris w/printed leggings underneath, striped knee socks, pink shoes, red camisole (can't see w/vest buttoned up), blue cardigan, green vest, yellow ribbon around wrist, and a flower in her ponytail.  Mission accomplished!  

Though there is no pic, here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

1/2 sandwich (GH honey whole wheat, lettuce, tomato, homemade organic hummus, & organic cucumber), organic veggie crackers, organic carrot sticks w/ organic pb n j, grapes, and a Greek yogurt tube.

Have a great day! 

:)

I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life.  ~Abraham Lincoln