she’s a little bit evil, a little bit funny

That’s just ketchup on her face. Really.

Today’s post is the result of friends telling me that I need to write down the funny kid stories so that I can remember them in the future. 

Wednesday night the small squeaky kid came bursting into the house in tears, exclaiming that she didn’t want to be outside anymore. I asked her why. 

“Because the cat ran away!” More tears. 

Why did the cat run away? 

“He didn’t like the trampoline!” Lots of tears. 

I really wish I had a picture of that. 

The cat came back. The very next day.

spring fever

We’ve had temperatures above 20C and sun for 4 days in a row. Life is good.

The kids are a little crazy and the dog can’t stop pacing. The other night all of the frogs woke up at once and started yelling. We couldn’t hear ourselves think for frog music.

I hope it doesn’t go away.

Beatles for breakfast this morning:

gone granola – easy and quick coconut oil granola

I’ve made granola. The dad is now afraid that I’m going to stop shaving my armpits and legs and start wearing Birks. He forgets that I already wear Birkenstocks (but not with socks) and apparently hasn’t noticed the gaps between shaving at times. Hey, it’s winter. It’s not a lifestyle choice so much as laziness.

The reason I made the granola – I’ve been reading about the health benefits of coconut oil and all of its uses. I’m all for anything that might make me healthier, but have been unable to think of a good way to get this stuff into me. We’ve successfully tried using it as a cooking oil, but I don’t cook with oil daily. I read that some people eat it with a spoon (it’s solid at room temperature). But.. ugh. I even tried stirring it into a cup of coffee (seemed to be a favourite way of ingesting it for many). I just got oil-slicked coffee and greasy lips. The dad looked at my coffee mug and correctly guessed that I wouldn’t be doing that again. Then he tried to kiss me goodnight and his lips slid across the room.

So, I looked up a few granola recipes, knowing that I can use oil in them and I can usually be convinced that granola and some yoghurt make a good breakfast.  I smashed together 3 recipes to get this one. This recipe makes a small batch, so I would suggest doubling it if you’d like enough for a week or so. I also don’t see any reason why this couldn’t be made with another kind of oil. I was just looking for a vehicle to hide the coconut oil in. The oil itself is tasteless and inoffensive. It needs to be melted first to use in the recipe.

just before going into the oven

Healthy Coconut Oil Granola

• 2 cups oatmeal
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup seeds (I used flax seed, pumpkin and sunflower)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp coconut oil

Preheat oven to 300F. Heat honey until its thinned and melt coconut oil. Add with vanilla into the dry ingredients and mix well. Spread onto well greased baking sheet (or use a silicone sheet like I did) and bake for 15 minutes. Stir, bake for another 5 minutes, stir again and bake for another 5 minutes until golden brown.

Once it has cooled, add in any dried fruit that you would like. I used about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries.

**Warning – it smells really good while it’s baking. You will need to eat some when it cools.

Linking to Frugally Sustainable, Simple Lives Thursday, At The Picket Fence, Farmgirl Friday, Cozy Home Scenes