Month: October 2020

Halloween in the Time of COVID-19

Halloween is the one holiday this year that looks pretty much the same to us, since our celebrations are always minimal at best. But I still wanted to make the day special, so I went to some extra effort with our meals.

We started the day with pumpkin spice cinnamon rolls. Yes, they were from a can, but they were still a treat!

I chose all of the elements of our dinner from our Harry Potter cookbook. We had braised lamb, Brussels sprouts, boiled potatoes, mashed parsnips, and butterbeer.

Dessert also came from the Harry Potter cookbook…a chocolate gateau.

We spent the day watching movies (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, because it’s about candy, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone), and It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown, plus we listened to my favorite Halloween episode of The Baby Snooks Show. And of course, Animal Crossing: New Horizons was played!

Another holiday in the time of COVID-19 has come and gone, but the big ones are still on the horizon!

Quote of the Day

I love M*A*S*H‘s nurse Kellye Yamato!

“For your information, I happen to have a fantastic sense of humor, a bubbly personality, and I am warm and sensitive like you wouldn’t believe. I also sing and play guitar and I am learning to tap dance. And on top of all that, I happen to be cute as hell!”

Tasty Tuesday–Potato-Parsnip Soup

I’m always on the lookout for a new soup recipe, and when I saw one for a potato-parsnip variety, I was intrigued, because I both really like potato soup and the flavor of parsnips. I made a few changes so it would suit us a little better, and in the end, it was a huge hit (and also a very pretty meal!)!

  • 2 lbs. baking potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 large onion, cut into chunks
  • 6 cloves garlic, smashed
  • 3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 Tbsp. paprika
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 32 oz. chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 c. whole milk
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • Crème fraîche or Mexican crema, bacon bits, and chopped chives for garnish

Preheat oven to 425.

Toss potatoes, parsnips, onion, and garlic with olive oil, paprika, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast in oven for about 40 minutes.

Combine vegetables with broth in large stock pot. Simmer for 30 minutes.

Puree in blender or with immersion blender until smooth.

Return to pot and combine with milk and cream and add salt and pepper to taste; heat though without boiling.

Garnish as desired.

Quote of the Day

They were talking about ribs in this episode of M*A*S*H, but this pretty much describes how I feel about Portillo’s!

“I’d walk to Chicago on my knees in the snow for a takeout order.” Joseph Stern as Master Sgt. Tarola in M*A*S*H

2020-21 School Year–Week Ten

Hymn of the Week–“Thy Strong Word” (Lutheran Service Book #578)

I can’t believe we’ve finished 10 weeks of school already!

Derivatives made an appearance in Turkey’s and Bunny’s calculus lesson this week…I guess we’re really in it now! They started a chapter on the muscular system in advanced biology. They read about Pavlov’s dogs in psychology.

Ladybug put all of the information she learned about slope, equations, and graphing together to solve some fun word problems about roller coasters in algebra. She and Chickadee read about the emperors of Brazil as well as Abdulhamid the Red in history. In science, she learned about phase changes.

Chickadee worked on arranging fractions from largest to smallest in math. She learned about the muscles that enable birds to fly in science. She’s really enjoying Mr. Popper’s Penguins! Her narrations and dictations in writing were about Pippi Longstocking.

Here’s a look at one of the more clever things Ladybug and Chickadee did in their election lapbooks this week…there’s a wheel that spins to rain glitter confetti down on the candidate family!

Next week, we’ve looking forward to spending some time on the Reformation!