Mangia Mamma's Five Favorites

As I said in my last post, I have been so happy to be writing more lately. Today I'm starting on a new venture- linking to another blog along with a bunch of others. Grace of Camp Patton is today's guest host as this is usually found at Moxie Wife, but Hallie is enjoying baby Charlie. So, deep breath, here goes ~ pencil drumroll on the desk... 

Mangia Mamma’s Five Favorites

1)  Marian Home Altar 

Okay, it sits on the microwave in the kitchen, but it's really quite nice. Joshua brought home the statue from the Marceau's when he stayed for Thanksgiving a few years ago. He had repainted it and gave it to me. We call her Our Lady of the Kitchen. My friend, Ruth, brought flowers to our cabin girls coffee night, so I brought a couple home. They add a beautiful touch to the altar, especially as May is Mary's month. Every Catholic family should make a place for a Marian altar in their home- 

even if it's in the kitchen!

2) Fencing with my kids

We've been involved in fencing for about 8 years now, and it never ceases to amaze me how much fun it is to do this with my kids. This last weekend we headed up to Metro Tacoma Fencing Club with a great group of SCF fencers for a really great tournament. Not only did my kids do really well- David won gold in foil with Mary taking bronze in foil and silver in épée- it was just so enjoyable to hang out with them!

3)Homemade Granola

One of my happy food memories is eating Quaker Natural  at Grandma and Grandpa Pitalo's when Dawn and I would spend the night as kids. It was so good even though I have recently found out, not so good for you. Thankfully, I have some great recipes for homemade granola that I think it as good at the one from Quaker. The easiest is pictured here- found in the Fix, Feast and Freeze cookbook. The kids love to eat it with milk, and it's so yummy with yogurt and a little marmalade spooned on top!

4) Our Keurig Coffee Maker

Two Christmases ago, Cari gave her dad and I a Keurig coffee maker. I wasn't all that excited at first thinking of it as perhaps a uni-tasker which is something I don't want in the kitchen. However, after having it this long, I can say it is truly a wonderful appliance. I not only can make a great cup of coffee, but it gives us water for whatever we need for both drinking and cooking. We also have a great little filter that Cari got for us in which I can place whatever coffee I have to make a delicious cup!

5)Freshly Baked Bread

 Ever since I was little, I have always loved the smell of bread right out of the oven. When the kids were little, I had a bread machine that I used about once a week to make some bread, but it wasn't quite the same as pulling out a fresh loaf from the oven. Last spring while spending the night my friend Debbie's house, she shared her fabulous homemade bread with Mary and me. This got me to thinking that I could take the time to bake bread for my family instead of getting store-bought thus having the smell of freshly baked bread at home as well as saving us money. Since then I have baked almost every week. My typical schedule allows me to bake bread using Grandpa Aziz' recipe on Monday mornings which is not only great for my family, but it makes for unbelievable (and cheap) therapy!

There you have it~ my first Five Favorites. Be sure to head over to Camp Patton and check out all the Five Favorites from bloggers all over!