State-by-State Baking :: Banana Berry Pancakes with Real Vermont Maple Syrup

The state of Vermont was the 14th State to join the Union. For this state, the girls read M is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages.

Vermont Notebooking Pages

by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

Even though we made "johnnycakes" for Rhode Island, we just had to make more panckes for Vermont!  How could we not, when it meant we could justify ordering some REAL Vermont Maple Syrup?!?   I grew up only eating real maple syrup on our pancakes and apparently I've turned into my mother - carefully guarding that liquid gold and insisting on pouring it for everyone!  For years I would cringe every time I would see my Mrs. Butterworth's lovin' husband pour way too much maple syrup on his own pancakes... He now prefers maple syrup too, and helps (conserve) pour it for the kiddos! ;)

"M is for Maple Syrup,

a yummy treat that farmers stir up.

In winter, they tap the sugar maple tree,
for sap to make maple syrup for you and me!"

  ~ M is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet

We usually just buy our maple syrup at Costco (Kirkland Brand) but for this state we decided to try something new and order some real VERMONT maple syrup.   After our taste test, everyone agreed that the Vermont syrup (we tried the Hidden Springs Grade B) was the best - full of flavor simply amazing!  

"Vermont farmers boil sap collected from sugar maple trees in buildings called sugarhouses until the sap is the consistency and sweetness of syrup.  About 40 quarts of sap are needed to make 1 quart of maple syrup."  ~ The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts from All 50 States

Banana Berry Pancakes 
with Real Vermont Maple Syrup

adapted from The United States Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 small ripe bananas
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 cup fresh strawberries (or frozen sliced strawberries, thawed and drained)
• butter (or cooking spray) 
• Vermont maple syrup

Note:  We ended up making a double batch - the girls each made their own!  One batch wouldn't have been nearly enough for our family!

Directions:

Combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and sugar in a large mixing bowl. 

 Stir until well mixed.

  

Break the bananas into small pieces and blend at high speed until smooth.  Add the milk, eggs, and vanilla to the bananas in the blender. Blend again on high speed until smooth.  Pour the banana mixture into the bowl with the flour. Stir gently until just moistened. 

Add oil and stir. Fold in strawberries. 

Grease pre-heated griddle with butter or cooking spray.   Place 1 heaping tablespoon of pancake batter on griddle for each pancake.  Cook for about 2 minutes or until the surface of the pancake is bubbly. 

Flip the pancakes and cook for about 1 1/2 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Serve hot with Vermont Maple Syrup! 

Resources we used for this State Study:

M is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet

M is for Maple Syrup Teacher's Guide (pdf)

Vermont's Notebooking Page from United States Maps

United States Coloring Book (Dover)

State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)

The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Vermont

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Vermont

" Capital comes with the letter C.

Here laws are made to keep us free.
On the banks of two rivers, sitting pretty,
Montpelier is our capital city."

  ~ M is for Maple Syrup: A Vermont Alphabet

.: Vermont by Captain :.

.: Vermont by Rascal :.

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.

State-by-State Baking :: Kentucky Fried Chicken

It was summertime by the time we got around to "baking" something for Kentucky, the 15th state in our State-by-State Study... Since Hubby was out of town at the time, and we had spent the day in town, we decided to just keep it simple and pick up some Kentucky Fried Chicken for a late lunch/early dinner.   Other than having some of the chicken at potlucks over the years, my kids didn't remember the last time we had ordered to-go at Kentucky Fried Chicken.  I actually think it was way back when Captain was a baby.  Anyhow, they really enjoyed the treat!

"K is just one letter
but it may make you think of three.
Think original recipe or extra crispy 
and you'll think KFC."

  ~ B is for Bluegrass: A Kentucky Alphabet

Kentucky Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

Resources we used for this State Study:

B is for Bluegrass: A Kentucky Alphabet

B is for Bluegrass Teacher's Guide (pdf)

Kentucky's Notebooking Page from United States Maps

United States Coloring Book (Dover)

State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)

The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Kentucky

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Kentucky

"B is for Bluegrass,

across broad fields it's seen
and though it looks the color blue
up close the grass is green."

  ~ B is for Bluegrass: A Kentucky Alphabet


.: Kentucky by Captain :.

.: Kentucky by Rascal :.

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.

State-by-State Baking :: Rhode Island Johnnycakes

Earlier this year (during our last school year), for the state of Rhode Island, the 13th State to join the Union, the girls read R is for Rhode Island Red: A Rhode Island Alphabet and then completed their Notebook Pages.

Rhode Island Notebooking Pages
by Twinkle Toes (L) and Chiquita (R)

We have also been studying American History so we decided to make Johnnycakes for this state, inspired by The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States:

"Pilgrim women were the first to make a Rhode Island dish called johnnycakes, which are fried cornmeal cakes, something like pancakes.  They were originally called "journey cakes" because they were small and easily portable."

We used a recipe from Felicity's Cookbook:  A Peek at Dining in the Past with Meals you can Cook Today.  The girls had just completed a Felicity Lap Book after all!   

"I is for Independent Man.
Look up and see Independent Man
standing way up high,
watching over all Rhode Island
with clear and trusty eye."

  ~  R is for Rhode Island Red: A Rhode Island Alphabet 

Johnnycakes

adapted from Felicity's Cookbook

Ingredients:

• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• Butter to grease skillet
• Favorite syrup

Directions:

1. Bring the water and the butter to a boil.
2. While that happens mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
3. Pour the boiling water and butter into the mixing bowl. Add the milk and stir the batter until it is well mixed.
4. Grease the skillet with butter and heat over medium-low heat.
5. Drop 6 spoonfuls of batter into the pan. Let the cakes cook about 5 minutes, until they are golden brown. 
6. Use the spatula to turn over the cakes.  Cook for another 5 minutes, or so, until they are golden brown.
7. Serve with syrup. 

Flipping Pancakes for the First Time - Very exciting! 

Okay, fine... I'll put the camera down! ;) 

Resources we used for this State Study:

R is for Rhode Island Red: A Rhode Island Alphabet

R is for Rhode Island Teacher's Guide (pdf)

Rhode Island's Notebooking Page from United States Maps

United States Coloring Book (Dover)

State Birds and Flowers Coloring Book (Dover)

The United States Cookbook: Fabulous Foods and Fascinating Facts From All 50 States

Other Posts of Interest: 

State-by-State Scrapbook

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Rhode Island

State-by-State Scrapbook :: Rhode Island

"R is for Rhode Island Red.
The roosters have plenty of meat.
The hens will lay eggs all year.
Known far and wide throughout the land,
Rhode Island Reds came from here."

  ~ R is for Rhode Island :: A Rhode Island Alphabet


.: Rhode Island by Captain :.





.: Rhode Island by Rascal :.

"O is for Ocean State,

One thing can be said for sure
as you look around -
All throughout the Ocean State
water can be found."

  ~ R is for Rhode Island :: A Rhode Island Alphabet

*The links to the worksheets used for these notebook pages can be found here, and here is the link to all of our State-by-State Study posts.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life. ~

{pretty}

{happy}

Rose was so cute opening her little Name-day gift... "It's a Saint-uh!" she said, as soon as she was able to peek past the tissue paper.  "It's St. Therese-uh!"  (This cute little Pixie of ours adds "uh" to the end of just about every sentence-uh.)

{funny}

Translation:  Dear Mom and Dad, Happy Anniversary!  I love you so much. 13 years of you two married. We all love you. Good night you two.  Sleep well.  Love, "Chiquita"  (age 7)

Yes, I may outweigh my husband at the moment... But not by that much! It look's like that crazy bride is shaking the groom!  lol  Hmmmm...  I think she was inspired by this picture:

Still... I just love all the (unique) cards that our kids make us on special occasions, and sometimes just because.   Such treasures! 

{real}

Bud loved checking out the gift we gave Snuggles on his Name-day.  It was actually a birthday gift that had been forgotten in my closet!  A starry sky works for the feast of St. Michael, right?

Visit Like Mother, Like Daughter for more pictures of contentment

My Daybook :: On the Traditional Feast of St. Thérèse

Outside my window...
The weather has been gorgeous this week, it has been cooling down some at night and the leaves have started to change colors.   I just hung our fall wreath on the front door and picked up a few little pumpkins to use as decorations.   Hopefully we can make a trip to the pumpkin patch soon!

I am thinking...        
about how nice it is to have a new iMac! (It ended up being our anniversary gift to each other, along with dinner out.)  It has made blogging so much easier and way less time consuming.  Blogging had become quite a chore, since it was taking forever to work with photos - the old computer was freezing every time I'd try and use PicMonkey to add the copyright to pictures, and half the time when I was online at all.   It wasn't in the plan to purchase a new computer quite yet, but with the back-to-school specials for educators, and the interest free financing, I decided to just order one.   Hubby had taken the laptop with him on that fire assignment after all! ;)  

I am thankful... 
for my husband!  And that he didn't kill me when he called home from fire camp a couple weeks ago and I said he should "try and find access to wi-fi so we can Skype... Now that I have a computer that works around here!"  He responded, "Yeah! That would be great!  Wait... What did you just say?!?"   Yes, I have been so very blessed with such an awesome (and forgiving!) husband.  :)

Learning all the time... 
The last few weeks have been busy for sure!  In addition to our regular studies and the Alphabet Path, we've also attended two field trips!  Last week we went on a field trip to a "farm" (more on that later, maybe) and yesterday we went to the Planetarium.

Celebrating the liturgical year... 
Like Charlotte, we have had a week of very simple, yet sweet, celebrations for the saints! A Cake for the feast of St. Michael  (though I was able to make our traditional Michaelmas Dinner on Sunday), Rose Cupcakes for St. Therese, Angel Treats for the Holy Guardian Angels, and maybe some Wolf Paw Cookies or Friendly Beasts Crunch for tomorrow's feast of St. Francis.

"Our Lord needs from us neither great deeds nor profound thoughts. Neither intelligence nor talents. He cherishes simplicity."

~ St. Thérèse de Lisieux

From the kitchen... 
tons of snacks... The kids always love it when their Daddy saves some of the snacks from his sack meals from fire camp.   After two weeks, and some of his co-workers adding to his stash, he came home with quite the collection!  On Sunday the boys decided to graph what was left, not counting the bag full of "uncrustables" in the fridge.

I am working on... 
plans for this year's All Hallows' Eve Party!  I wasn't going to do it this year...  For some reason the thought of hosting another huge party at our home was just slightly overwhelming.  But, after talking to my husband and the kids (and finding out that my liver troubles are behind me!) I decided we will host it again after all.   How could I not when one of the little boys told his momma that last year's party was "the best night of his entire life" and another mom (who I was planning on hosting a baby shower for next month) said she'd rather I host the party than her shower!  Sigh... It's going to be fun!

I am creating... 
a few accessories for this year's saint costumes.   They all (7 costumes!!!) surprisingly came together extremely easy a couple weeks ago, after a trip to Costco during which we found a perfect (inexpensive) costume for Snuggles who wants to be St. Michael this year!  We just need to make wings for him, but isn't it cute!   I love it!!

Rascal decided he wants to be St. George this year.  For his costume I used my Gymbucks to order this Brave Knight Costume and Shield from Gymboree. (What a steal at just $10.21 for the costume and $3.80 for the shield!!!)

Captain has decided to dress as St. Paul, with the costume inspired by the picture in Picture Book of Saints.  We already had the perfect Robe and Sash, but ordered a gray beard and yellow turban to complete the costume...  So fun!  Twinkle Toes wants to dress as St. Catherine Labouré  using one of my sisters' old costumes from forever ago.  She is going to make a large Miraculous Medal to complete her costume, or maybe just choose one of hers to wear.  Chiquita is still trying to decide between St. Joan of Arc (with our Fleur-di-lis Shield) or Mother Teresa.  Rose is going to dress as St. Therese!  And Bud is going to be St. Francis of Assisi, complete with lots of sweet little animals pinned to his costume.

I am going... 
to run to town in a little bit to pick up my nursing cover.  I left it at the restaurant last night.  Oops.

I am hoping... 
that I can find time to get my hair cut sometime in the next week or two.  It is definitely time!

I am reading... 
The Telmaj, a newly published science fiction book for children, as our daily read-a-loud!  It was recently published by Erin Manning, a Catholic author, and our copy arrived last week.   We are only on chapter three, but I've already caught my boys reading ahead!  Rascal declared that it really needs to be made into an audio book, so that they don't have to keep waiting for me!

I am praying... 
this prayer from The Christian Mother: The Education of Her Children and Her Prayer  in addition to the prayer on our anniversary:

     O holy Guardian Angels, heavenly friends of my children.  I address myself with confidence to you, as the children whom the Lord has confided to me are also looked upon by you with love and care. Implore for me the grace that I may cherish for my children sentiments similar to those which you have for them, and that I may, like you, be anxious above all to educate them for God and for heaven. Oh, that I may be such a mother to my children; that I may never appear unworthy of your love and friendship! Obtain this grace for me.  Amen.  

Pondering these words...
from I Believe in Love:

"A great cross is, very often, the prelude to a great grace, even for an unbeliever.  Suffering ripens the soul, sometimes very quickly.  A great trial can, with one stroke, detach a soul from all that is created; it can be the source of a total conversion."

I am listening...  
to my four oldest read picture books about the saints' who celebrate their feast day's this week to the little ones.  They each choose a day/saint (St. Michael, St. Therese, Guardian Angels, and St. Francis) and corresponding books off of our bookshelves.   Some of the new additions this year include Therese: The Little Flower of Lisieux and Francis: The Poor Man of Assisi, which were both Christmas Gifts from my husband's parents (along with a couple other books from the series).

Around the house... 
lots of sweet little saints - both homemade and from Catholic Folk Toys and St. Luke's Brush!  I also ordered this sweet little St. Therese doll from St. Anne's Pixies to give to our little Rose in honor of her nameday.  She loved it!!

One of my favorite things...  
I love, LOVE, my binder and checklists for this school year, and all the progress we have been making!  It's going to be a great school year!

This week's plans...

• Celebrate the Feast of St. Therese
• Field Trip to the Planetarium
• Park with Friends
• Celebrate the Feast of the Holy Guardian Angels and our 13th Anniversary! 
• Lego Robotics Class for the older boys
• Feast of St. Francis
• Tutor on Thursday Afternoon
• First Friday Mass
• Festival of Cultures

A little peek at my day...

Taken by Captain on our 13th Wedding Anniversary ~ Oct 2, 2012