Slow Cooker Five Spice Asian Pork Roast with Roasted Slaw

The weather around these parts have been down right nasty. We've had wind storms, hail storms and a lot of rain. The temperature the last couple of days has also been out of wack with what we usually experience this time of year. Both boys have come home complaining of being cold and wanting baths just before dinner to take off the chill. Yes, it's been that cold.

I had anticipated the weather getting warmer, not colder, and with much glee and excitement, the idea of BBQ's and summer salads dancing in my head, I convinced myself it was time to put the slow cooker away for the season.

Maybe I jinxed myself?

This morning, I took the slow cooker down from its spot above the cupboards for one last hoorah. (I hope!) And I'm actually pretty happy that I did because tonight's dinner was fabulous and the best part about it was I just threw some ingredients together, crossed my fingers, flipped on the start button and went on with my day.

The roasted slaw was an after thought. And it too was a hit. (Why is it when I don't think too much, my meals turn out either a)disasterously or b)fabulously? But I digress.

I added some extra veggies to the pre-packaged coleslaw mix and roasted it the last 30 minutes of cooking everything else. Served it along side the roast, which shredded so beautifully, I might add, along with some rice. Super easy and super delicious. Maybe I could stand a couple more days of rain...

Slow Cooker Five Spice Asian Pork Roast with Roasted Slaw

(Prep Time: 15 minutes/Total Time: 6 hours. Serves 4)
Ingredients:
1 (3 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast
1 cup soy sauce (gluten free if desired)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons sweet red chili sauce (I use Thai Kitchen brand)
2 inches fresh ginger root, grated
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
sea salt and black pepper
1 cup brown rice
1 package coleslaw mix
1 small zucchini, julienned
1 yellow pepper, julienned
2 medium carrots, julienned
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
sea salt
fresh ground pepper

Directions:
In your slow cooker, mix together the soy sauce, chili sauce, brown sugar, five spice powder and ginger.

Season the pork roast generously with sea salt and pepper. Place in the slow cooker and roll around in the sauce a few times to coat. Turn on low and cook 6 hours.

50 minutes before dinner time, set your rice to cook. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

30 minuutes before dinner time, in a large bowl, toss the coleslaw mix, carrots, pepper and zucchini in the grapeseed oil and season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Roast in the over (middle rack) for 25 - 30 minutes, mixing once halfway through cooking.

When ready to serve, remove pork from slow cooker and roughly shredd with a fork. Serve over top rice and roasted slaw.

Cari Snell is a mom, wife and the editor and recipe wrangler of Can I get the Recipe? An online source providing weekly printable recipes, shopping lists, great giveaways and more.


Check out an abundance of family friendly recipes at http://www.canigettherecipe.com/

SUNDAY GIVEAWAY: Shutterfly Simple Path Photo Book

There is nothing like seeing your beloved photos in a bound photo book. Taking the time, however, to sit down and create it, is usually an undertaking that requires committing the time and creative energy to the endeavor.

Shutterfly has created the perfect option for the busy mom to create a beautiful photo book with Simple Path. It is, well, quite simple. I recently made my own Simple Path book and the entire project took my about 35 minutes.

Here's how it works - You choose the size of the book you want to create (5x7, 7x9, 8x8, 8x11, or 12x12), you choose the photos you want in the book, and then Shutterfly arranges the photos for you and you can print as is, or easily make changes prior to printing. There are 20 different styles to choose from, and you can edit the photos or add captions. The templates allow you to showcase 1-4 photos per page, and you can put up to 400 photos in one book. I guarantee when you are done creating the book you will say: "Really? It's done already?"

This is THE best gift option for the grandmother or grandfather who has everything. It is the ultimate brag book, and the price point makes it affordable to print these books regularly. Perhaps you want to print a book each year to chronicle your child's school year, or a holiday that means a lot to your family.

Here are some photos of the photo book that I made (faster than you can say, "pass the chocolate, please") using Simple Path ...

[the cover]

Shutterfly is going to give one Mama Manifesto reader the opportunity to make their own Simple Path book photo book.

Please leave a comment answering the question below to be entered in this giveaway!

If you could make a Simple Path photo book, would you make it for your own coffee table, or as a gift for someone else?

How to earn additional entries:

1.) Become a follower on our blog (publicly) and leave another comment (or let us know if you already are).

2.) Subscribe to the Mama Memo by clicking here and leave another comment (or let us know if you already are).

3.) Blog about this giveaway- with a link back to here. Post YOUR blog entry first and then the comment.

4.) Add the Mama Manifesto button to your sidebar.

5.) Follow us on Twitter AND Tweet about this giveaway. TWEET- "Giveaway- win a Simple Path photo book from @shutterfly from @MamaManifesto. Enter at mamamanifesto.com"

6.) Become a fan of Mama Manifesto on Facebook by clicking the button on the left!


[this giveaway will be closed on Saturday at 11 PM; the winner will be announced next Sunday!]



And now for the winner of last week's giveaway:
(((Stephanie Cole)))


Congratulations! Shoot us an email by 6/6 to mamagiveaways(at)gmail(dot)com with your prize in the subject line, and we will hook you up! Keep checking back for more great giveaways!

This Song Sums It Up

A mother's love.

This mother's love.

I'll raise your pretty, and give you fabulous

A few days ago, I posted my pretty Trader Joe's sparkling lemonade bottle vases. These bottles are just too pretty to throw away, don't you think.

As I was looking at the vases, I started thinking that they would be fun to decorate with a little scrapbooking paper and mod podge.

Here is the fabulous result ...

It was an incredibly simple project. These would be ideal hostess gifts (take one to the host with a pretty flower inside, or use twigs like I did). I think these would also be adorable as decoration for a party.

I took some shipping tags from Office Depot and added a few of my favorite bible verses to them and tied the tags to the twigs for a little added flair. You could customize the tags in so many ways - for a birthday celebration, a baby shower, a wedding shower, etc.

Natural Sun Protection

Summer is approaching, and many of us are preparing to slather our kids with sunscreen before we head out. There has been lots of recent news about sunscreen and the harsh chemicals it can contain.  But the best way to protect our kids is by reducing their exposure to the sun and covering up that skin.

Now this is an easy one for boys. Most stores carry cute rash guards that cover their chests and arms, and it's not difficult to find below-the-knee trunks for our little guys. But what about our daughters? I've been more and more dismayed as I shop for full-coverage swimsuit options for my fair-skinned little girl. It seems like most retailers are sending the message that our daughters should have a majority of their skin bare and exposed to the elements. I got so fed up after a trip to a few store only carrying teeny bikini's that I finally broke down and bought my daughter a long-sleeved swim set from the boy's department. But why not offer this in pink?

Mama Manifesto wants to give a shout-out to the following stores for offering full-coverage swim options for both genders:

Sun Protection Zone is a great find for kids of all sizes. They offer full-coverage swimsuits from 3 months and up, in bright, vibrant colors. I love that I can put their all-in-one suit on my baby, cover her heard with a hat, and not have to worry about slathering her with chemicals. All of their products are SPF 50+.

 Snapper Rock UV50+ swim-wear was developed when a mom couldn't' find any sun protective clothing that wasn't red, white, blue and yellow.  Their one piece sun-suits and bucket hats have been a huge hit with moms, as well as board shorts and matching rash tops, and swim sets for girls.

Talk Back: Do you remember when you first fell in love ...

... with reading?

I completely underestimated the joy I would feel to hear my child say, "Please, Mom, just one more chapter."

Do you remember your favorite books from childhood? Real books. The ones that you would hide under the blanket reading with a flashlight. The ones that would tempt you to fake being sick so you could stay home and read (sorry, Mom, yes, I was faking).

I have the most nostalgic and pure childhood memories of reading Anne of Green Gables and The Secret Garden. Oh the joy of a good book.

refreshing summer mocktail

During our Mother's Day dinner a few weeks ago, I was so jealous of my sister's cocktail, that I asked the bartender for the virgin version. I don't drink even when I'm not pregnant, so I was excited to find something cocktail-like, that actually lacked fake, processed sugary mixers. This fresh kiwi-vanilla spritzer was so refreshing, I knew I'd copy it at home. And I have... several times. You need just four ingredients:

1 whole kiwi,* skin-on, cut into large chunks

vanilla bean simple syrup (equal parts sugar & water, boiled & cooled, with a scraped vanilla bean added)

plain or lime, unsweetened sparkling water

ice

*Kiwis are one of those Super Fruits we should be eating several times a week if possible! Extremely rich in free radical-neutralizing vitamin C (more than an equivalent amount of orange), kiwi also offers folate, potassium, fiber, carotenoids, polyphenols, chlorophyll, glutathione and pectin. In addition, kiwis are an unusual source of Vitamin E, and are antioxidant all stars!

muddle kiwi chunks in the bottom of a glass

add ice

top off with sparkling water

drizzle with vanilla syrup, to taste

stir

That's it! Once you make a batch of the simple syrup, it'll last in the fridge for a couple weeks... then you're just a muddle away from the perfect afternoon pick-me-up.

SUNDAY GIVEAWAY: KidsCraft Playhouse

Anytime we have received a large package in the mail, my kids have very quickly staked their claim on the box. They have made ships, treasure boxes, forts, presents, caves, and clubhouses out of the larger boxes we've received (our UPS delivery fella has saved the day for me many times!). KidsCraft Playhouses has taken this idea and kicked it up a notch by creating the cardboard "Creation Cottage" or Space Shuttle that already has the doors and windows cut out for you.

You simply have to assemble the cottage as if you are putting together a large puzzle, and then set your kids free to do what they do best -- play! My kids got to test out this cottage and I have loved seeing the imaginative play it has inspired. This "cottage", which is made out of recycled paper (thank you very much, KidsCraft!), has morphed into a fort, a clubhouse, a store, a castle, a school classroom, a tent, a motor home, a crazy game where you score points by throwing balls through the windows and chimney, and back into a cottage again. I think the best aspect of it is that it is designed as an empty canvas for the imagination, not only in what the cottage becomes, but also for kids to color it, paint it, and write all over it. The hardest part for me was not taking over "the design of the cottage exterior". I so badly wanted to "help" the kids with their color scheme, but every time I ventured near it with my markers, my daughter would smile and say, "This is a kids' fort - no adults allowed."

I guess we all need our own little space.

KidsCraft Playhouses is giving away either a "Creation Cottage" or "Shuttle Imagination" to one mama reader (they will only ship to a USA address), so please enter to win by visiting www.kidscraftusa.com and then leaving a comment here with one interesting thing you see on the KidsCraft website.

How to earn additional entries:

1.) Become a follower on our blog (publicly) and leave another comment (or let us know if you already are).

2.) Subscribe to the Mama Memo by clicking here and leave another comment (or let us know if you already are).

3.) Blog about this giveaway- with a link back to here. Post YOUR blog entry first and then the comment.

4.) Add the Mama Manifesto button to your sidebar.

5.) Follow us on Twitter AND Tweet about this giveaway. TWEET- "Giveaway- enter to win a playhouse from KidsCraft Playhouses @MamaManifesto. mamamanifesto.com"

6.) Become a fan of Mama Manifesto on Facebook by clicking the button on the left!

7.) Become a fan of KidsCraft Playhouses on Facebook by going here.


8.) Follow KidsCraft Playhouses on Twitter: http://twitter.com/kidscraftusa

[this giveaway will be closed on Saturday at 11 PM; the winner will be announced next Sunday!]



And now for the winners of last week's giveaway:
(((leenburke)))
(((onedayitwillbeallright)))
(((JodieM)))

Congratulations! Shoot us an email by 5/30 to mamagiveaways(at)gmail(dot)com with your prize in the subject line, and we will hook you up! Keep checking back for more great giveaways!

Mama Love

... Every mother will somehow relate to this post on "having it all" by Kelle Hampton at Enjoying the Small Things. And while you're there, you must read the moving birth story of her beautiful baby girl, Nella... with a box of tissues.

... Hoping to beat summertime boredom this year? Aren't we all?! Mique at 30 days just kicked off 'Funner in the Summer', where she'll be featuring fun kids' activities, recipes, and tutorials from other clever moms each Tuesday and Thursday!


... My third-grade daughter has recently been dealing with some girlfriend drama at school, which leaves me thinking... "Already?!" Yep. Already, indeed. I just found Girl Politics by Nancy Rue at my church's bookstore, which looks like a great, interactive read for young girls, with a very important message. And she loves it so far!

"Friends, cliques, and really mean chicks... How to deal with relationships and be the young woman God created you to be- just be yourself!"

mama love: swimming edition

... I am loving that summer is getting closer by the minute. I LOVE summer. Everything about it makes me happy. I love the vacation mode and lazy mornings. I love the heat because I am one of those people that is perpetually cold in the slightest breeze. I love the fashion - breezy summertime tank tops and skirts and flip flops make me smile.

Since having kids I have had a love/hate relationship with being around water (pools, lakes, beach, etc.). I witnessed a small child drowning first hand when I was in elementary school and it has always stayed with me. We had a sweet little neighbor boy who was terrified of water. His fear of water gave his parents just a little too much confidence. They thought - "he will never jump in on his own" because they were constantly having to coax him in and he was terrified the whole time he was in the water. But, one day he felt a little more confident and this 4 year old little boy decided to jump in to grab his ball that was floating just out of reach. He had been jumping in with his life vest that day and landing on his floating ball. This time he did not have a vest and no one was around. What we heard from our backyard will stay with me forever. His father's screams for help were manic, laced with panic, and the kind of sound that would make every parent's blood curdle. My little neighbor was fished out of the water, but brain dead.

So, now, as a parent, I am incredibly cautious around water with my children. I know that it takes the briefest moment for life to change. I have had a couple of moments, vigilant as I am around water, where my children have gotten swept out too far, or fallen in accidentally, and there is nothing like knowing just a few minutes longer and life would have changed forever.

We were incredibly fortunate to meet one of the greatest swim coaches I have ever witnessed who taught our children how to swim last summer. When I heard about him, he was described as "the super nanny meets a great sports coach." It is a funny description, but really fits Coach Steve Brown, from Skool of Fish so well. He is British, so he has a great accent that makes everything sound better. He has a very firm demeanor with kids that shows them that he cares, and he supports them, but it is clear from the get go that he is serious about them learning how to swim. One of the things that I noticed immediately is that he is incredibly intentional about actually coaching the kids on how to think about safety in the water while they are swimming. This is something we should all be doing as we are with our kids in water. Before he would have them jump in he would ask them where they were going to swim to after they jump in and where the closest place was to swim to. Most kids jump and just start swimming forward. If you are in a large pool and are not a super strong swimmer, that could be quite an undertaking and could result in getting about mid way across the pool and in a panic because you are too fatigued to make it to the side. He is intentional and firm. Many kids are apprehensive with learning to swim and Coach Steve is not a warm and fuzzy, "Hey, lets splash our toes and float on our backs for a while as we sing songs about how fun the water is" kind of guy. No, he means business and helps the kids face their fear head on by showing them that they can learn to swim, sometimes through tears, but always with a healthy doze of encouragement.
If you live in the Orange County area, he is so worthy of a hearty recommendation. If you are out of the area, I would strongly encourage you to invest in swim lessons with a solid teacher who takes it very seriously. Coach Steve was incredibly gracious to share his thoughts on swimming so that we all have a good coach's perspective.

How long you have been swimming?
Initially, I was very much a pain in my mother's backside. Around the age of 3 I would ask to go to the pool with the intention of getting in, only to start crying and playing up as soon as my feet hit the water. My mom had some fairly bad back issues at the time and could barely walk in a straight line, so after about the 5th time she had my dad pick me up and dump me under the water. From that day on my fear of water was gone (and with a lot of work on all sides with learning how) I was good to go, we joined a local swim team in England when I was 4 and I had my first race just before my 5th birthday.
My older brother and I spent the next 15 years moving through the age groups of the swim team, and managed to attain a fairly high level at the County, State and a fleeting visit to the national level during our teenage years.
Aged 18, the more fun side of life such as....well you know, became inviting, so I gave up competitive swimming. I stayed active through surfing and swimming for pleasure. After moving to the States in 2001, I went back to school in L.A. to get my degree and joined the college swim team, aged 31. There I was - back at school 16 years after the last time, swimming against guys 10 years younger than me, I did OK and nearly got back to the times of old. Nearly.

How long have you been coaching?
Coaching, Life Guarding and teaching swimming all came from spending 5 nights a week at the pool training, so the natural step was to start working before and after practice, so I guess I gave my first lessons in 1985, aged 15. (Now I have said it out loud, I feel really old.) I have been coaching in the U.S. since I got here in 2001.

Why you are so passionate about helping kids learn to swim?
Two main reasons, one selfish and one logical.
Logical first, one of my first coaches gave me piece of advice that went "Swimming fast is good, swimming at all is better" to a 10 year old that kind of stuck with me, it took me a few years to figure it out, and he would say it over and over again. Once I did get it, it was one of those moments when the light bulb appears above your head, I liked that. I liked the idea that even though we were swimming for competitive reasons, we should be grateful that we can swim at all.
Selfishly, I was a hyper kid, and without the perseverance of my parents in taking my brother and I swimming everyday, I would have been more of handful than I was. Swimming gave me discipline, direction, responsibility and eventually satisfaction. All of which led to me being very busy with something that gave back to me both physically and in building self confidence, and also made me think about things in a way that lessons at school did not.
One water sport led to another and in my early teen years I started Surfing locally in England, having the confidence to look after myself in the ocean helped minimize the stress that put on my mum, as you can well imagine.Surfing led me to traveling, a lot. So far I have surfed on 6 of the worlds 7 continents and ridden waves in 44 different countries. That itself has been a blessing, all stemming from swimming, and in fact, one of the reasons I moved to America was to surf in warm water year round.

In your own words -- what is your philosophy regarding your style of teaching kids (in other words - why do you coach the way you do, versus, pool noodles, floaties, etc.)?
I use the phrase "Old School English Headmaster Style" a lot when I talk to parents for the first time. By that I mean I am not there to babysit your child, they are there to learn, sometimes even if they do not want to. All through our lives situations will arrive at our doorstep and human nature allows people to react in several ways. You can shy away and ignore it, or confront it, deal with it and move on. My old Headmaster was very much of the belief of the latter.
My technique is simple - it is a class just like any firm structured school class. I am not in the water trying to please the parents through making their child happy. By that I mean I will not work on the child's schedule, I do not negotiate with the child, I install discipline, manners and self confidence immediately. It is my time, the parents money and often the child's safety that we are dealing with, and the child will learn no matter what their level of swimming or age.
It is a difference between life and death, especially for children under 5 in California. With over 1.1 million swimming pools in California, and 75% of them in Southern California, that makes for a LOT of opportunity for accidents to happen. According to the California Department of Developmental Services, drowning is the number one cause of unintentional death among children between one and four years of age. Children are up to 14 times more likely to die in an accident in a swimming pool at a home, than in an automobile accident. That fact scares me, considering that California is the biggest car market in the world!!!!!
I teach children to swim without the help of any aids at all, because should a child fall into a pool by accident, they would not have any of these aids. Period.
The first thing they will do is look up for help, panic because they are upright due to the safety vest they are used to wearing, or scared because they do not have their googles on and they have water in their eyes. I teach the child to think for themselves without any of these "crutches", swim to the side in a flat, controlled manor that then gives them a chance to turn a negative situation into a positive outcome.

Here is a website Coach Steve has recommended:

http://www.safekids.org/safety-basics/safety-spotlight/pool-water-safety/

I have to say that the first couple of days of lessons with "The Coach Steve Method" were a bit difficult for me to sit through with a smile on my face. I knew that he was in control, and good at what he does. -That was clear from the first moment in the water. It was just difficult for me to watch my daughter face her fear of getting water in her eyes. She cried hard through the first few lessons. But, bottom line - I wanted her to be able to LIVE should she fall into water out of my supervision.

Within a few days, she was swimming, and by the final day (day 10), she was jumping into the water and swimming to safety on her own, with a huge smile on her face. Coach Steve has the kids say, "I did it!" after every new step they learn. You literally see their confidence blooming like a flower as the days go by. We are now on a swim team in our community and this is a sport that my daughter loves and is really flourishing in. We are so thankful for the great start we got with Coach Steve. His signature phrase is "Ready, Steady, GO!" and we are also thankful that this little bit of language has stayed with our family. (It makes us feel slightly British, especially when we use our accents we've learned from Charlie & Lola!)

Have an amazing summer with your family! But, please do think about safety and take the important step to make sure your children are water safe. I never want another family to experience what our dear neighbors experienced with their child.

pretty

this makes me happy

I used old salt shakers and bottles for flower arrangements at our wedding. I've been collecting them ever since.

These French Market Sparkling Lemonade bottles from Trader Joe's are just too pretty to throw away. So, we enjoy the tasty beverage (I like to add a splash of it to my water), and then save the bottles to re-use as vases.

That painting in the background is one of the things I would grab if ever there was a fire. It is by the ever so talented Andrea Luna Reece.

Before.

After.

Nesting Eye Candy

Feast your eyes on all this amazing "nesting" goodness ...

I want to wash dishes in this kitchen. It is the creation of Kara Paslay, and her blog is filled with Do It Yourself ideas and inspiration. Like this. And this. If you look really closely at the kitchen knobs, you will see that they are all different. She needed to do the design on a budget and chose to get her knobs at the Habitat for Humanity store...the result is an eclectic mix of funky knobs that so work for me.

I cannot even begin to describe in words what these pictures makes me feel. This kitchen is the perfect balance of funky with a fresh, clean look. I want to have a long meal at that table, and I want to bake cookies in that kitchen. It is Ashley Anne's kitchen, and her blog is Under the Sycamore Tree. It is one of my daily clicks and I always have a little more spring in my step after visiting. I live where there is very little land, so our houses are stacked on top of each other. I absolutely live vicariously through her family and their romping around the yard. She is an amazing photographer and shares tips with her readers, which is very kind of her I think.

This is her daughter's nursery...

Yeah, I know - it is prettier than most of our master bedrooms. Love it!

And, for some more photo inspiration, you have to visit Meg Duerksen's blog Whatever. If you ever wanted an old house that you get to restore and tweak into your own amazing space, this is the blog for you. She is an incredible photographer as well, so her photos are amazing and inspiring in the same way that walking through Anthropologie is. Scroll through photos of her home here. But, be forewarned. It will make you want to paint, go flea marketing, hit the garage sales, and you will feel compelled to bake cake. Trust me, you will.

This is one of my favorites.

Happy clicking.

kids on race

This was a fascinating report on CNN, and a good reminder that as parents, we need to be creating a consistent dialogue with our children about racial acceptance, as well as making sure we seek and model diversity in our own relationships.

TALK BACK: the power of praise

I had one of those out of body, super surreal moments last week where I literally heard my voice coming out of my mouth and at the same time thought, "I would not want to be my child right now."

The kids were racing through the house playing and fighting and laughing and crying and I heard myself repeatedly reprimanding them for the negative activity. Much of the reprimanding was valid - it is never a good idea for kids to try to balance ceramic plates on their heads (yes, they wanted to do that).

But, I had this moment where I realized I needed to step up my game and quickly begin to balance the redirecting of the negative behavior with a healthy dose of praise for the positive behavior that the kids exhibit as well. I have to remind myself to look for the positive or I will get into the "reactive mode" of just correcting negative behavior. It is always amazing for me to see how far a little praise goes in stirring up the good behavior.

So, we have busted out our "Happy Heart Charts" and Drew and I are watching for specific behavior for both of our kids (the behaviors we needed to work on with them) and every time we catch them doing something positive in this regard, we have them put a sticker on their chart. They have both chosen a cupcake party with a few buddies as a reward, so we are talking a lot about how fun that will be.

Just this little thing has really changed the dynamic in our home. I see my kids looking for ways to be helpful, and actively trying to bless each other with kindness. I know there is some ulterior motivation in their actions, but my hope is that if they practice making better choices (regardless of the motivation) for 2 weeks, maybe it will stick. It is also a good behavior shaper for me - I need to have eyes to see the good in these kiddos more often, and a mouth that speaks that praise loudly! [Perhaps Mama needs her own "Happy Heart Chart" that gets her a spa day when she fills it up.]

What do you do in your home to create an environment of praise and positive reinforcement?

Chocolate Cobbler

{photo by MissAmy, from The Tasty Kitchen}

Warning : this recipe is not light. It is not "healthy".

But...

It will comfort you like a big hug, and probably continue hugging your hips long after it has been metabolized. But, alas, we all need a few of these recipes in our repertoire. For those dinners that you just want something warm, gooey, and chocolatey - here is the most heavenly chocolate dessert I have ever seen. It comes from the Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen.

I suggest you go for a nice long walk so that you can make this dessert and enjoy it guilt free with someone you love. To print this recipe, go here.

And, in true "pioneer woman" style, please do wear your best farm chick apron while making this dessert.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup All-purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 7 Tablespoons Cocoa Powder, Divided
• 1-¼ cup Sugar, Divided
• ½ cups Milk
• ⅓ cups Melted Butter
• 1-½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Light Brown Sugar, Packed
• 1-½ cup Hot Tap Water

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

First stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar. Reserve the remaining cocoa and sugar.

Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture into an ungreased 8-inch baking dish. I prefer my small oval Corning Ware glass dish.

In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (it should be 1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.

Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!

Bake for about 40 minutes or until the center is set.

Let stand for a few minutes if you can hold yourself back. Serve with homemade ice cream using the gooey sauce to spoon over all.

No Marshmellow Here Rice Crisp Bars

Everyone loves rice crispy bars. They are a wonderfully portable snack and very versatile. Add a few nuts and handful of dried fruits and there even more delicious. But, I have never liked the fact that you have to use a whopping bag full of marshmellows to make them. Too much sugar and other stuff I rather not have my kids eat.

But now, there's a new rice cripy bar in town.

I've mentioned Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet before. It's a truly wonderful cookbook for anyone, even non-vegans, who want to add a little more meatless, egg-less and dairy-less cooking into their life. And her rice crispy treats are no exception.

I fiddled a bit with her measurements and ingredients so that I could put together a recipe that used almond butter instead of peanut butter, gluten free rice cereal so our nanny could eat them and a whole jar of brown rice syrup. (I never do like having a little syrup left in the jar.) And the results? Fantastic! My kids love them and I do too. And no marshmellow required. Nice!

No Marshmellow Here Rice Crisp Bars

Adapted from Alicia Silverstone's A Kind Diet
(Prep Time: 10 minutes/Total Time: 20 minutes plus cooling time)

Ingredients:

8 - 9 cups rice cereal (I used Nature's Path gluten free)

1 jar brown rice syrup

3/4 cup almond butter

pinch sea salt

1 cup chocolate chips, placed in the freezer until needed

Directions:

Lightly grease a 9x12 baking pan with cooking spray, margarine or butter. Set aside.

Pour 8 cups of the rice cereal into a very large bowl. Set aside.

In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, mix the almond butter and brown rice syrup together with the salt. Stir until gooey and well blended.

Pour syrup mixture over cereal and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined. If it looks a bit too gooey, add a bit more rice cereal. Let cool a bit (so the chocolate chips don't melt.)

Spread half the mixture into the pan then sprinkle half the chocolate chips. Mix. Repeat with remaining cereal and chocolate chips.

Lightly wet hands and press the cereal mixture down well until flat and smooth. Place in the fridge 10 minutes to cool then cut into squares and enjoy!

Cari Snell is a mom, wife and the editor and recipe wrangler of Can I get the Recipe? An online source providing weekly printable recipes, shopping lists, great giveaways and more.

Check out an abundance of family friendly recipes at http://www.canigettherecipe.com/

SUNDAY GIVEAWAY: Hint Water

The idea behind Hint is simple: pure water, nature's original refreshment, accented with a hint of natural flavor.

No sugar, no artificial sweeteners: Hint is a refreshing alternative to sodas, juice, and other sweetened drinks, and it tastes great!

Sound good? It tastes even better, and is available in many delicious flavors including Blackberry, Watermelon, Cucumber, Pomegranate-Tangerine, Mango-Grapefruit, Strawberry-Kiwi, and Raspberry-Lime.

[Cucumber is my fave!]

You can purchase Hint via their website, or at your local Whole Foods.

This week we are giving away 5 bottles of water to three winners! To be entered, please answer the following question(s):

Do you find yourself drinking enough water throughout the day? Have any tricks for keeping you and your kids well-hydrated in the heat of the summer?

How to earn additional entries:

1.) Become a follower on our blog (publicly) and leave another comment (or let us know if you already are).

2.) Subscribe to the Mama Memo by clicking here and leave another comment (or let us know if you already are).

3.) Blog about this giveaway- with a link back to here. Post YOUR blog entry first and then the comment.

4.) Add the Mama Manifesto button to your sidebar.

5.) Follow us on Twitter AND Tweet about this giveaway. TWEET- "Giveaway- enter to be one of three to win Hint Water products from @MamaManifesto. mamamanifesto.com"

6.) Become a fan of Mama Manifesto on Facebook by clicking the button on the left!


[this giveaway will be closed on Saturday at 11 PM; the winner will be announced next Sunday!]



And now for the winner of last week's giveaway:
(((jamieivey)))

Congratulations! Shoot us an email by 5/23 to mamagiveaways(at)gmail(dot)com with your prize in the subject line, and we will hook you up! Keep checking back for more great giveaways!

Mama Love

... Skin Deep is a great safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products. Browse over 50,000 items- search by product, ingredient, or company- for a hazard rating ranging from 0-10, including ingredient descriptions, specific toxicity concerns, and online shopping guides. As we are beginning to spend more and more time outdoors, it's perfect timing to check out their section on Sun Protection... very eye-opening!

... We love Environmental Working Group's 2010 Shopper's Guide to pesticides in our produce. Download a copy and keep it in your purse for a quick reference to the "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean Fifteen"- a simple way to choose which fruits and veggies are most important to buy organic.

... Keep is or toss it? Still Tasty is a unique foods shelf life guide, featuring information and storage tips on thousands of items. I am a huge over-analyzer of food safety, so this is my go-to database whenever I have the slightest doubt about something that has been hanging out in my fridge for few days.

swagger wagon

As someone who recently succumbed to the minivan (a Sienna), I can't resist sharing this video.  Could it be that this ad campaign might re-brand the minivan as a bastion of ironic coolness?  Like the mustache, or Member's Only jackets, or listening to Erasure?  Could my minivan actually be giving me street cred?

What do you mamas think?

Sowing Seeds

I am not typically very excited about email forwards. The jokes get old. The political banter is often misinformed or simply laced with bitterness. The pleas to help find lost children are almost always hoaxes. And, my least favorite - the "spiritually inspired" forwards that end with a command to forward to everyone you know if you are not ashamed to show that you love God, or a promise that in exchange for forwarding your prayers about money will be answered in 10 minutes.

But, sometimes, something comes over that is provoking and inspired. I received one of those today and I had to share it with you all.

An excerpt from "The Strangest Secret"
by Earl Nightingale

George Bernard Shaw said, "People are always blaming their circumstances for what they are. I don't believe in circumstances. The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."

Well, it's pretty apparent, isn't it? And every person who discovered this believed (for a while) that he was the first one to work it out. We become what we think about.

Conversely, the person who has no goal, who doesn't know where he's going, and whose thoughts must therefore be thoughts of confusion, anxiety and worry - his life becomes one of frustration, fear, anxiety and worry. And if he thinks about nothing... he becomes nothing.

How does it work? Why do we become what we think about? Well, I'll tell you how it works, as far as we know. To do this, I want to tell you about a situation that parallels the human mind.

Suppose a farmer has some land, and it's good, fertile land. The land gives the farmer a choice; he may plant in that land whatever he chooses. The land doesn't care. It's up to the farmer to make the decision.

We're comparing the human mind with the land because the mind, like the land, doesn't care what you plant in it. It will return what you plant, but it doesn't care what you plant.

Now, let's say that the farmer has two seeds in his hand- one is a seed of corn, the other is nightshade, a deadly poison. He digs two little holes in the earth and he plants both seeds-one corn, the other nightshade. He covers up the holes, waters and takes care of the land...and what will happen? Invariably, the land will return what was planted.

As it's written in the Bible, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap."

Remember the land doesn't care. It will return poison in just as wonderful abundance as it will corn. So up come the two plants - one corn, one poison.

The human mind is far more fertile, far more incredible and mysterious than the land, but it works the same way. It doesn't care what we plant...success...or failure. A concrete, worthwhile goal...or confusion, misunderstanding, fear, anxiety and so on. But what we plant must return to us.

You see, the human mind is the last great unexplored continent on earth. It contains riches beyond our wildest dreams. It will return anything we want to plant.

And now two questions:

1. What circumstances in your life are you working to change, with concrete goals and a road map?

I could not help but think of my "goals" for my own fitness to be in a better place. I hear the voices in my head complaining about where I have landed in my fitness routine, and yet, I continue to choose sleep, internet time, reading, or just fatigue over making that shift.

2. What seeds are you spending your time sowing, watering and harvesting? What will be the return for you and your family?

I love the image of our actions (or inaction) being the seeds that we are sowing. I think of my children and how my discipline, nurturing, and direction is going to influence their "garden". The fruit of my parenting hangs on their tree right before my eyes (and before everyone else's too). I want to sow seeds of life, love, grace, patience, creativity, and boundaries that reflect my love.

TALK BACK: Mama's Day?

So, what did you do for Mother's Day?  Was it all that you hoped it would be?  Or can one day ever live up to the hype?

I must confess, I did not have a relaxing lunch.  I love being with my kids, but wrangling four children into a restaurant will probably not be fun for me for about ten years or so.  But later in the day, my husband took the kids to the park while I got to enjoy a quiet house.  Now that's what I'm talking about.

Although, I'm quite sure that some day I will be sitting in a quiet house, longing to have lunch with my four kids.

Somehow I feel compelled to start singing a little song from Fiddler on the Roof.  Join me, won't you?

Sunrise, Sunset
Sunrise, Sunset
Swiftly, fly the years . . .

Tell me about your mother's day.

Good Morning Java

I love me a yummy iced coffee, but I am not a big fan of unloading & reloading the kids to pop into Starbucks or paying $4 for a quick beverage. Can I get a witness?

Solution: Make your own perfect iced coffee at home. Try out the “cold drip” method of making iced coffee. Instead of pouring your hot coffee over ice – diluting the coffee AND making it taste bitter – soak ¾ lb of ground (course is better than fine) coffee in 8 cups of cold filtered or bottled water overnight in the refrigerator. Strain your coffee through a fine sieve, and you will have approx. 24 servings of very strong (and very yummy) coffee that can be stored for up to 2 weeks.

To serve: pour 2 – 3 inches of coffee from bottom, add ice, and then add in milk or water. Stir.
If you enjoy your coffee sweentened, I suggest trying agave – it dissolves very quickly in cold beverages and tastes like honey mixed with brown sugar.

Shortcut tip: turn the extra coffee you have from everyday brewing or from this cold method into ice cubes to use in your iced coffees so that as it melts it does not taste watered down.

What's your favorite coffee beverage?