Welcome Spring!

It is now officially spring, and we are really enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been having lately. I love just strolling around the neighborhood to look at all the colors!

Tofuna Salad

This "tofuna" tofu-salad was in one of the sandwiches I made for Gayatri's birthday party. It was probably a bigger hit with the adults than with the kids, who mostly went for the PB & J, but our kids gladly had it for lunch the next day. This is such an easy recipe, and it lasts several days in the fridge. Perfect for spring and summer picnic sandwiches!

1 lb tofu, pressed
2 stalks celery
1/2 cup vegan mayo
1 tsp ground celery seed
salt & pepper to taste

In a medium bowl, mix the mayo and seasonings. Dice the celery and tofu, and add to the bowl. The best way to mix it is to just use your (well-cleaned!) hand, partially breaking up the tofu in the process. Add more seasonings if needed.

Alice In Wonderland Tea Party!

 





Sunday was Gayatri's big day: seven years old! She had recently read the book by Lewis Carroll, so when I saw an idea for an Alice in Wonderland tea party in a magazine, I knew she would love it! She invited about 10 friends over, and that's about as many as our house can handle. We made garlands out of playing cards, and Gayatri used some of the left over ones to make place cards. Aunt Suzy came to visit from New York. She made a caterpillar to hang on the wall for a "pin the hands and feet on the caterpillar" game. There was also a game of "flamingo croquet" ( with a garden flamingo from the dollar bins at Target - gotta love living in a country where you don't even need to search to find such a thing).

I prepared different kinds of tea-sandwiches: tofu-salad, veggie-ham, and peanut butter & jelly, served with grapes and chamomile tea (Gayatri's choice). Chocolate and vanilla/strawberry cupcakes (but wouldn't it have been fun to have this cake!). After the party was over, most of the kids ended up staying to watch Alice in Wonderland together. 

Backyard Picnic

These past few days the weather here has been sunny and warm like a nice day in June back home. The girls got out their box of summer clothes and have been playing outside a lot. Bike rides, sidewalk chalk, fun times! Yesterday we brought our lunch out to the backyard for a little picnic. We had lettuce and tofurky wraps with strawberry milkshake. For a not-too-sweet milkshake, simply blend 1 cup frozen strawberries, 1 ripe banana and 3-4 cups almond milk. Yum!

Fun With Pandit!

Today was a beautiful day with unseasonably warm weather, so Pandit decided to take us all out on a little adventure. He wanted to show us the Wissahickon Creek, his new favorite place in the world (as if we didn't know of it already!).

He took us on the trail just by the water. We had a hard time keeping up.

He couldn't wait to show us all the geese.

We had such a fun time (especially Rasi). Thank you Pandit!

Quick Update

It's been busy over here. Earlier in the week we had houseguest for a few days. We survived, and are now preparing for a someone's 7th birthday. Can you guess the theme of the party? 

Made It Herself Scarf!

The girls took a knitting class at the local library. It was taught by the children's librarian (whom they already know very well!). They met three times and got to keep all their materials. Best of all, the class was free! It really puzzles me that not more people showed up for it. All in all there were about 6 kids there, two of which were my own. Since we don't have a lot of money to spend on activities for the kids, I am always on the lookout for free things to do, and fortunately in Philly there are lots of them! Some work out better than others, but this one was definitely a hit! I had taught the girls a little bit of knitting before, but since 1) I only know how to knit the European way, and 2) I am already their teacher of most other things, this was a nice change, and they had a lot of fun. Here is Sarasvati showing off the circle scarf she made!