Bonjour! Ciao! Hola! Have you been checking the National Chapter and participating in Cultural Awareness Month? In our Multicultural Mommies forum, we’re talking about foreign languages and discovering fun facts about different cultures. Join the celebration, and add some new words and phrases to your linguistic repertoire!

Do you have something to add to the conversation? Share your knowledge with other moms who are learning a language with their children. Go global with TMN as we highlight the many languages and cultures that make our world wonderful!

I think the hardest part of any diet (for me) is having to cut back on carbs. I don't know if it is because I am Italian or just a foodie in general but I love bread. Spread with butter, dipped in oil, with nutella, to scrape up sauce...no matter how you slice or serve it-it is good. A few weeks ago I posted a favorite recipe of mine for easy homemade artisan bread. Here is another great recipe for everyday sandwich bread I originally got from this post over at SouleMama. This is a bread maker recipe but she does have an oven version too.

WHO Bread (Wheat, Honey, Oat)
(makes 1.5 lb loaf, set to 'basic' with medium crust)

1 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons honey (I used Raw Honey and it worked great!)
2 tablespoons butter @ room temperature (I have also used Earth Balance Natural Spread)
1 tsp salt
3 cups of flour (I've also used all white, all wheat, or a mix all with success)
1/2 cup rolled oats (quick oats was what I had)
1 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one package)

Follow the directions with your machine and voila! Yummy-home made bread without all the extra additives.

This "See it Again" blog post from March of 2009, has some great advice about giving your little ones chores around the house. While 18 months might seem young, children at this age can accomplish many basic tasks on their own. Keep reading for more ideas: Preschoolers and Chores.

What kind of delicious foods are you looking forward to this spring/summer? You can participate in Wordless Wednesday HERE and HERE.

I am a huge fan of granola. I love it in yogurt, over fruit, in peanut butter sandwiches, and on ice cream. What I don't love is how the ones you buy at the store are usually loaded with high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, or artificial sweeteners and ingredients.

One evening, after an unsuccessful search at the store for something decent that didn't cost an arm and a leg, I scoured the web determined to find a healthy recipe I could make at home. I found the winner "Guilt Free Granola" at the Tasty Plan blog. This recipe is so easy to make with simple ingredients and delicious results. The only change I made was to omit the almonds (because I didn't have any) and increase the oats to three cups to compensate. This one is a keeper!

Ingredients:
-3 cups of old fashioned rolled oats
-½ cup orange juice
-½ cup maple syrup
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-1 teaspoon almond extract
-½ teaspoon cinnamon

Additional optional ingredients:
Dried fruits
Nuts or seeds

1. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees.
2. Mix oats, orange juice and maple syrup in a large bowl.
3. Add the extracts and cinnamon.
4. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for 45-60 minutes, or until crisp.

If adding dried fruits, Tasty Plan recommends incorporating them into the granola after it has cooked, and then baking for five more minutes.

You've all undoubtedly seen the tutorial about cleaning your stove grates with ammonia. If not, check out this fantastic link: Cleaning Stove Burners & Grates Using Ammonia. It REALLY is like magic. No more scrubbing, swearing, or trying 2000 different cleaning chemicals to try and get that sticky grease off your grates. You pour ammonia into the bag, insert your grates, wait 12 hours and easily wipe off the scum. On BuffaloMommies several of us joked how we wish we could fit our entire stove into a plastic bag with ammonia so we could get them clean. Well guess what girls...I came up with a solution!!!

No...I did not find a bag large enough to fit my stove. I've got something much easier. This is how dirty my stove was:



I tried Barkeepers Friend, Windex, and even a Magic Eraser sponge to try and scrub that stuff off. Nothing was working. So....I poured a little bit of ammonia in the recessed areas (less than 1/4 cup) and then....covered both burner areas with PRESS AND SEAL wrap! Look at this:



(yes-my grates are dirty again, don't worry, they've been cleaned since this photo) But I put the press and seal wrap over the two burner areas, pressed it to the stove and then put the grates over as an extra seal. Then I let them sit over night. Check this out:





And again...when I took the press and seal off, I just rubbed a little green scrubby pad over the stove. In some areas I used a paper towel only. No real effort or applied pressure at all, anywhere! So simple and easy. Go try it!

February is Cultural Awareness Month at The Mommies Network, and we're thinking globally! Share a love for foreign language and different cultures with your child in our Multicultural Mommies forum on our National Chapter. Each week, we'll feature several languages and cultural tidbits. You may also participate and strengthen your language lingo in a special webinar. Additionally, our sponsor will provide information on how you can continue your language-learning experience after the month is over.

According to Associated Content, brain research shows that children are at an optimal age for language learning. Although language study is effective at any age, some studies suggest that the human brain is more open to learning a foreign ­­­­­language ­­­from birth to preadolescence. Fortunately, researchers have not found an age in which the language window closes completely, especially in the areas of grammar and vocabulary.

Take advantage of this opportunity to think globally, and join us as we learn about foreign languages and different ways of life during Cultural Awareness Month at TMN!

1. The later you stay up, the earlier your child will wake up the next morning.

2. For a child to become clean, something else must become dirty.

3. Toys multiply to fill any space available.

4. The longer it takes you to make a meal, the less your child will like it.

5. Yours is always the only child who doesn't behave.

6. If the shoe fits...it's expensive.

7. The surest way to get something done is to tell a child not to do it.

8. The gooier the food, the more likely it is to end up on the carpet.

9. Backing the car out fo the driveway causes your child to have to go to the bathroom.

10. The more challenging the child, the more rewarding it is to be a parent...sometimes.

(what other "laws" exist in your home?)

Here is a super easy recipe to make fancy-schmancy artisan bread at home using only a few simple ingredients. When I made up this loaf, I was thinking of a rosemary olive oil bread that Wegmans makes. Try this recipe once and you'll be hooked!








Recipe for Homemade Artisan Bread
(adapted from Make and Takes)
makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
3/4 tablespoon granulated yeast
3/4 tablespoon sea salt
2 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose white flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose wheat flour
cornmeal for baking stone (optional)

(optional ingredients)
about 1/4 cup sunflower seeds plus some for top
2 cloves of garlic chopped into chunks
1-2 tsp fresh or dried rosemary

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, add the flour, yeast, and salt. (if using the optional ingredients, also add the sunflower seeds, rosemary & garlic)
2. Pour in the water and stir a few minutes until combined.
3. Cover the bowl with foil or greased plastic wrap for 2-5 hours.
4. Cover the dough with flour and form it into a ball.
5. Lay the dough onto a baking stone sprinkled with cornmeal or a baking sheet with a baking mat.
6. Let the dough rest for about a half an hour.
7. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees and add a small pan filled with 1 cup of water on a lower rack for a water bath.
8. With a sharp knife, slash three lines or a tic-tac-toe board pattern into the top of the dough. This helps let out some steam while baking. If you don’t slash it the bread will most likely make its own tear during cooking.
9. If you are using sunflower seeds, sprinkle on top. I gave them a little pat to make sure they were sticking.
10. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
11. Place your baked bread on a baking rack to cool.
12. Slice and enjoy!

Spread with nutella, jelly, or butter. Enjoy!

What kind of wacky things have your kids done today? You can participate in Wordless Wednesday HERE and HERE.

Yes, you read that right, I said healthy! Last Friday I was meeting up with some ladies for a My So Called Life marathon and we were all going to bring an appetizer. One of the girls has a bunch of dietary restrictions so I was looking for something that everyone would enjoy that she could also eat. I did a search for cookie dough dip and stumbled across a few with a special ingredient that all pointed to this recipe. What is the special super secret ingredient that makes cookie dough dip healthy? Chickpeas! Hang on, don't go... You really have to give it a try. I was skeptical at first so I had to make a "trial" version. It was so good! I was nice and shared with my kids but I totally could have eaten the whole bowl myself.

Cookie Dough Dip

1 1/4 cup chickpeas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soy milk (or any other kind of milk)
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter (or other nut butter)
3 to 4 heaping tbsp flour*
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup mini or reg. chocolate chips (could use dairy free)

Put everything other than the chocolate chips in a food processor and food-process until as smooth as possible. You don't want lumps of chickpea in your dip. Once it's completely smooth, stir in the chocolate chips. Serve at room temperature but keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Serve with graham crackers, graham cracker sticks, or eat with spoon!

*You can omit the flour. I made a version with the flour and one with out, the one with the flour gives a little bit of a thicker texture. The taste stays the same whether you use it or not.

When I took it to the get-together everyone was eating the dip and no one once questioned what the ingredients were. When I shared what it was made of, no one could believe it. The other great part is you could totally adapt this to suit your needs. It can be made Vegan, nut safe (by using Sunbutter) or extra rich by using ingredients like whole or almond milk or cashew butter. For the second version I took to the party, I sprinkled some chocolate chips and toffee bits on top to make it more decorative. Have fun playing with it!

That means you! BuffaloMommies has several leadership positions open. We are in need of a Hospitality, Finance, and Fundraising Manager. We are also looking for a motivated mama to lead our Biggest Lose-her contest. Not sure how much you can commit? Start off on one of our committees. All of these positions look great on a resume! Check out our Help Wanted forum and consider applying. It's a lot of fun and you are providing a great service to your community.