Breakfast Quesidillas


We love having friends over for Saturday morning breakfast...but actually getting out of bed early on a Saturday to make breakfast isn't my favorite thing. So usually I do alot of make ahead breakfasty kinda things. Today it was 'build your own quesidillas'. I cooked bacon last night, crumbled it this morning ~ put out a bunch of fillings (cheese, jalapenos, diced yellow peppers, salsa, etc...) and scrambled some eggs and voila...breakfast for a crowd in under 15 minutes.

Strawberries

Strawberries have been fairly cheap lately at the grocery store. And of course, it is strawberry planting season in most areas of the US ~ so what better than a little strawberry post?
I'll share a little of what I've been doing with my strawberries...will you share some of your favorite strawberry ideas too?


A basic plain greek yogurt and strawberry parfait



Goat Cheese, Honey and Strawberry Tart. Super simple. Just make your favorite tart or pie shell (Canaan also recommends vanilla wafers for this too). Mix goat cheese and honey - the more honey the sweeter, the less honey the more tart flavor you will have. Spread the goat cheese mix in the baked shell. Top with sliced strawberries and top with another drizzle of honey.


A friend used saltines instead of pie crust and named it "poor boy version". A little sweet, tangy and salt! (love the food photo, Ally!)

"Hoopla Doesn't Pay The Bills"


I was talking with a good friend of mine this week and we were discussing this whole marshmallow thing. I told her that as exciting as all this hoopla has been, at the end of the month we still have bills to pay.
Its been a strange thing, really. Although we (as in Mike and I...mostly Mike) are putting in backbreaking hours to get the orders out (while Canaan and Ezra are at school so we can still have family time in the evenings) we have never considered the idea of taking any of Canaan's business money to help pay our bills. It just doesn't seem right. Although given the amount of time Mike has been investing in this growing company of Canaan's, he hasn't had much time for job hunting. Over the years this has really been Canaan's venture. He has been the one to put lots of hours into his company and as I have mentioned before, he has been involved in every aspect from the beginning. But school, tennis and playtime outdoors are much more important right now for our little 8 year old so he has slid into a CEO role quite well these past few weeks. He comes to The Homestead after school to oversee the progress and help for a bit to label the bags, help box up orders and the funnest part of all...taking them to the post office to send to our sweet customers.
The response that The Suze Orman Show received after the segment aired was enough to schedule a follow up segment we will tape in mid- April. The emails that have come in to Canaan and the company have been so amazing. So encouraging and so inspiring. We are very blessed that his entrepreneurial spirit has touched so many and encouraged many to step out and go for their dreams...no matter their age.
As you can see we are still working out all of this as we go along. Any great business advice for partnering with an 8 year old CEO of a son?

Spring Chicks


We spent the better part of the weekend outdoors. There was a bit of snow on Friday but by Saturday we were basking in 50 degree temperatures. It was a nice break from marshmallow fluff. We did a bit of yardwork, but most of the time was spent on the hammock wrapped up with the boys in a quilt or taking little walks to the creek beyond our house.
I missed our chickens this weekend. They are no longer with us due to their untimely death at the hands (or rather the teeth) of the neighborhood racoon, remember?
The coop is still here which is a sad reminder of my sweet hens and those yummy eggs they gave.
I would love to buy new chicks this spring but we may hold off another year due to our marshmallow schedule....and our hopes to someday sell our current house for something a bit different.
Anyhow, thats our weekend in a nutshell. Hammocks, sun, quilts and oh, I almost forgot; Ezra's yummy pancakes.

Takin' it Easy


Ezra is unphased by it all. Lounging in the hammock, diva sunglasses on, munching on graham crackers and reading books~ he is undoubtedly unphased. Unphased by his big brothers national TV show appearance. Unphased by the hundreds upon hundreds of orders that have since followed...and continue to pour in. Unphased by the noise of the printer 24 hours a day printing off shipping labels. Unphased by the absence of daddy who is spending his days making marshmallows at The Homestead.
To him, Otto and Canaan (who is back to "normal" at school each day) life hasn't changed much. Which is a good thing. Life for Dad and Mom right now is crazy...and fun..and...well crazy (in the best sort of way).
And if you missed the segment and would like to see it you can find the entire show here. Canaan's segment is around the 33 minute mark.

Scenes From The Homestead...



(Our view out the back door of The Homestead)



(The best form of confinement for a crawling, mischevious one.)


(Local TV Crews out to talk about The Marshmallows Company today)


Life is a flurry of activity lately. If you get CNBC, be sure to watch Canaan on The Suze Orman Show tomorrow night at 9pm. We are so proud of our little guy...


We received final confirmation on Canaan's appearance on the show today. An entire 7 minute segment! Wowzers. That's a big chunk of time. We had only anticipated a couple of minutes at best. We're thrilled, proud, thankful and blessed.

The Marshmallows Company new website is up and is a-ma-zing. Our uber talented friend, Freedom, designed it for us. If you need some out-of-the-box web design done, she is your gal. You can see it here