First, I want to thank EVERYONE who so generously participated in my recipe contest.  I truly appreciate your sharing of recipes - so many of them sounded wonderful.

The winner of the recipe contest is: Andie for Rachel Ray’s Rata-stoup-ie recipe.   THANKS! It sounds really good. And easy.  And healthy.  And veggie.  And Kael-safe.  Runner-up is Rebecca for the Tortilla Soup recipe - I love avocado, and chips - mmm.  Now I just need a kitchen herb garden.  You win a packet of personalized note cards OR thank you cards.  You may pick from the designs here.  Any of the designs can either be personalized with a name or simply say “thank you”.  Just let me know what you would like either in the comments or via e-mail.

The winner of the book bonus (well there are two):  Michelle (via e-mail, thanks!) for 1001 Low-Fat Vegetarian Recipes and Susan for Vegan Lunch Box, plus  the Vegan Lunchbox site which has some amazing links on it.  THANKS SO MUCH!  I will likely buy both of those books, and I plan to frequent the site, plus visit some of the links on there, especially the Laptop Lunches site (been feeling like I’ve been using too many sandwich bags lately, and want to make a change for the better). I will e-mail you and we can discuss your prize.

I guess I need to head out to “Half Price Books” and see if they have either of those books… Now, if I could only remember to take the reusable shopping bags with me…

Note on the graphic - that is a piece of whole wheat spaghetti - and I did NOT pose it that way - I discovered it dried that way, on the stove (leave it to the typography junkie to find a letter in it), so I grabbed the camera, and added the text in Photoshop.  Any food adventures/creativity of your own??? Please share!

THE CHALLENGE:
I am suffering from a cooking rut - definitely NOT very creative in everyday cooking.  I desperately need some good, new-to-us entree recipes to mix into the rotation.

THE GUIDELINES (I didn’t call it a challenge for nothing):

• Simple & easy - I usually don’t like to spend more than 20-30 minutes for everyday meals (if it’s in the oven or crock pot and I don’t have to stand over it, it’s ok if it takes a little longer)
• Preferably vegetarian entrees - I don’t eat a lot of meat, and have plenty of recipes for meat dishes
• NO dairy  - My son is allergic - if cheese is optional, it’s ok.  I can usually substitute for milk & butter with no problems
• NO peanuts, corn or oats (also allergic) - I can substitute for corn starch in most recipes
• I prefer to avoid white flour - sometimes I can substitute for whole grains, but other times it just won’t work :: I love spelt
• You may post the recipes in the comments section, or post a link to a website with the recipe (which you’ve hopefully tried), or e-mail me
• DUE DATE - OCTOBER 25 - I know that’s not a lot of time.  Did I mention I’m desperate?

A COUPLE OF NOTES: Remember, I have four children and a husband to feed - and sometimes extra people, so the recipes need to be family-friendly: easy to make or adapt for 6+ people.  My kids will eat a variety of vegetables.  If I have never heard of the vegetables and/or other ingredients I am less likely to make it.  I am familiar with different flours, grains and many alternative health food ingredients, but not as many vegetables - I am willing to try as long as they’re not hard to find or require me driving for 20+ minutes to health food store.  My family will only eat so much rice and beans.

YOUR PRIZE:
To the winner, I will send a package of personalized notecards or thank you cards or a mixed pack (you choose) .  If they sound really yummy, I may choose more than one.

BONUS:
I think I might have to buy a vegan cookbook - it would meet the no-dairy, no meat thing.  Anyone know of a good one with simple, family friendly recipes which aren’t all made of white flour?  If you rise to this challenge and I buy your book recommendation, we’ll work out something special for your prize.

Thanks everyone!  You are welcome to pass this challenge along to friends/family.

Fun menu graphic from image generator at  RedKid.net

Yikes - over a month? What happened? I guess it was a combination of procrastination, nothing much to post about, and the frenzy of “back-to-school”. I had this way-too-long monologue about the out-of-control school-supply requirements out here, but I figured it doesn’t all need to be said. It is sufficient to say, that I have spent well over $200 on school supplies for 4 children - that doesn’t include backpacks and uniforms… and I’m beginning to wonder where our educational tax dollars are being spent.

What has that got to do with creativity? Not much, except that as of Tuesday, ALL my children are now in school (be patient, this IS going somewhere). I love my children dearly, but I am also loving having more of the day to myself… yay! My day now starts at 5:30 am, so I can do my Morning Pages before the chaos ensues at 6am. And I’m glad that I’ve been able to work-in some exercise time before the last two board the bus about 8:33 or so (Middle school starts 1 hour before elementary school).

So, what’s that got to do with it??? Well, I spent a lot of today and yesterday looking at art supplies on the internet - and I will very soon, after deciding which colors NOT to buy (sniff), make a purchase and hopefully (cross fingers) make myself schedule some weekly time for painting. Yes! Yes, Yes! That is one of the goals. I am purchasing encaustic supplies because the medium intrigues me so! I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited about a particular medium. I also need to purchase some sculpting/clay/wax tools for fun textural effects. (If you know anyone who is looking to sell old clay tools or even old dental instruments, please let me know.)

On to the subject at hand - Creativity Begets Creativity - literally… (sorry, maybe I should have done this in two separate posts)

This one is a freehand by Ethan (11), one of my budding artists - good job, in my opinion. He is slightly obsessed with all things knight, sword, bow & arrow, Robin Hood, castle, dragon - that type of stuff. And, Oran follows suit pretty well. It will be interesting to see how they diverge as they grow older…

This one is by Oran (9). According to Ethan, Oran did NOT trace it, but followed the directions in the drawing book. Good job, I think.

But, I LOVE this one… it was put together by Ethan and Hana, and possibly some help from Kael & Oran… Our good friends, the Schofields (note the name), came over one night for some Rock Band… Before they got here, the kids put this together:

I think it’s hilarious. It is supposed to say “SkullField” - they thought of this on their own. It is a rock band, complete with pyro-technics and an audience. I wish I had another angle of this so you could see better. One of the groupies in the front row is holding a sign - I forget what it said.

Haha! Funny, huh? It’s made mostly with pieces from a Lego “Castle” chess set, and probably a few pieces from other random Lego sets. We love Lego.

I have awesome kids.

Creativity Question: Do you allow your imagination any playtime?

I know as adults, we tend to focus on the practical, the ever-mounting tasks at hand, that pile of laundry, those bills, the project for work…. etc. It is difficult to hang those worries in the coat closet, shut the door, and let our imaginations wander. How do kids do it? They are so free of worry. They don’t care if it’s the silliest idea in the world, or if it’s not physically possible, they’ll imagine it. They aren’t weighed down with words like, “practical”, “reasonable” or “impossible”. I love it. There is much to learn from them.

Personally, I am working on this - I need to allow myself some completely impractical and time-wasting creative exploration - and free my imagination for a little while. Creativity begets creativity, after all.