Simple Walnut and Grapefruit Salad

Each winter we enjoy the fruits of a Spritzer tradition: a case of ruby red grapefruit sent to us by my father.

Luckily we are a family of grapefruit lovers, like my father and grandfather before us, so we savor and enjoy the gentle and loving task of eating our way through approximately 45 grapefruits.

Nevertheless, we can only eat so many grapefruits cut in half and scooped out each morning or we’d never get through the case.

Here’s a delightful and easy salad I found online that we’ve made and enjoyed several times this month. Enjoy!

Walnut and Grapefruit Salad
Recipe adapted from the Washington Post version from Aliza Green’s book Starting with Ingredients

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup walnut oil (may substitute 1/2 cup walnut oil and 1/2 cup vegetable oil)
1/3 cup sherry vinegar or rice wine vinegar
Hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco (optional – we haven’t tried this yet!)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper (lots of it!)
2 ruby red grapefruit
12 ounces mixed salad greens
4 ounces (1 cup) walnuts, lightly toasted*
3 to 4 scallions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced crosswise

Directions:

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, a dash of hot pepper sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

Using a sharp paring knife, segment the grapefruit in whatever manner you feel most comfortable, cutting away the peel, pith and membrane around the grapefruit sections and leaving as much of the fruit as possible. My preferred method involves cutting the grapefruit in half before running the knife along each grapefruit segment, which I then scoop out and set aside. (The original recipe outlines another way.) Reserve and discard (or drink!) grapefruit juice.

In a large bowl, toss the greens with about 1/2 cup of the dressing. Divide among individual plates. Arrange the grapefruit sections, walnuts and scallions on top of the greens. Serve immediately; pass the remaining dressing at the table.

* NOTE: To toast nuts: Spread them on a baking sheet and place in a 350-degree oven, shaking the sheet occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. Watch carefully; nuts burn quickly.

Arts and Craft Supplies Organization – Supplies Storage Inspiration

We’ve been working on organizing our arts and craft supplies. Today I am focusing on different ways to store our everyday, frequently used arts and craft supplies.

I originally thought we would organize our most frequently used art supplies on a lazy Susan like this one from The Crafters File Box:

Then I remembered that we most frequently make art at the kitchen table where, frankly, there isn’t room for this particular project.

Besides, I want something that I can easily move from the kitchen table for meals.

Perhaps something more like this writing caddy from Playful Learning:

I found other similar caddies online at Magic Cabin and Birch Leaf Designs. While I prefer the idea of making one ourselves, I may break down and buy one of these wooden ones.

I love the industrial look and thrifty-nature (plus eco-groovy benefit) of reusing aluminium cans to store supplies (though I’m less enamored with storing them against the wall above our kitchen table):

I’ve found that I like the idea of individual bins or compartments for each art medium (pencils, crayons, markers, glue pens). I like the idea of them being adhered to something so they can’t fall over or be easily dumped upside down (ahem).

So my current, do-it-yourself plan is to glue bins (or reuse empty aluminum cans) to a tray that I can easily pick up and move away from the table.

Yes, we won’t be able to swing it around like we could have with a lazy Susan, but reaching over the tray or rotating it ourselves should work just fine for us. We also already have all the art supplies to fill the caddy, so it doesn’t make sense to buy the already outfitted Playful Learning wooden caddy or the smaller wooden ones where our supplies just may not fit.

I’m excited about my plan. Now, to make it…

The PURPLE Present

David and I wanted to get her a guitar for her birthday. She loves to recreate her music class at home, playing David’s guitar that’s way too big for her. We felt she needed one more her own size.

She picked out this guitar herself. It’s a real child-sized (yet inexpensive) guitar that she can grow into rather than a toy one with poor sound.

To make it more child-friendly, we tuned the guitar to a G chord, so it really sounds great when she plays it. (Assuming, of course, that she doesn’t keep trying to tune it herself. I admit that right now it’s a little bit less in tune than it was originally. Ahem.)

The perfect, purple, birthday present! She loves it!

Year Three in Her Own Words

A look back over the past year…

January:

“Daddy! Are you?!” for Daddy, where are you?

Falling over and catches herself. Says “good catch!” to herself.

All rabbits are “Peter rabbits!” and so are bats, evidently.

“The Leyba’s coconut water!” evidently means the Leyba’s are drinking coconut water

David took a sip of cider and Miss Leyba said “Good job, Dad!”

To dog: “BACK! STAY BACK!” (with hand up for ‘stop’) then she walks over to pat him and he’s thrilled. ON HER OWN TERMS, right?!

Shouting, “Surprise!” and throwing her arms up above her head. Then adding, “It’s fun!”

February:

Rocking her baby doll, saying “Shh shh shh! Time to sleep! Close your eyes!” Repeated over and over again. Sounds very familiar…

She drops something and asks us “Are you okay?” even if we are halfway across room. “Be careful!”

“One moment. I’m working!”

Takes a sip of water, shouts, “Yum, yum, yum!” It isn’t that delicious.

Quickly memorizing, singing, and adapting the songs from Mamma Mia? “Honey, honey, how I wonder!” (instead of ‘how I want you!’)

March:

What do you want for dinner? “Food! Um… Ice cream cone!”

Informed me that she wants to go to Costco tonight. “Just a quick trip, Mom!”

Our two year old performs “So Long, Farewell” from Sound of Music each night before she heads up the stairs to bed. Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night!

April:

Any type of leafy green is called “salad.” Wilted and cooked vegetables included.

A little voice from the living room: “Care, Care, come here!” (Yes, David frequently calls me Care.)

May:


(On using a clear cup) “No, thank you! I need a purple cup.” (David found a purple one) “That’s fine.”

First words out of her mouth this morning while she was still asleep: “No!!!! Penguins!!!!!” Absolutely no idea.

Do you want some avocado? “No, thank you, Dad, I’m reading.”

June:

What does a fire truck say? “Fire, please!”

Reading “Are You My Mother” with David and now referring to him as her “Daddy Mother.”

July:

“Let’s go in the car! C-R-A!” Soooo close with that spelling…

“Oh no! Oh me, oh my!” Direct quote.

“I want to wear my new bra to [get] ice cream. Wait, it’s too big.” That would be because it belongs to mom.

Toddler has been using tweezers to remove pretend splinters in her feet. “I feel better! I don’t have to walk on my tip toes anymore!” Phew!

My daughter to the big kids at the playground, “I’m almost three years old… I turn three in a month.” Yeah, more like six months! :)

August:

Calling a yard stick a “garden stick”… hey, we call the garden “the yard” all the time too!

My daughter’s imaginary friend? Winnie-the-Pooh, of course! Evidently he fits in the palm of her hand. “He’ll get bigger! He’s growing.”

“My tummy led me home! I’m not Pooh-bear! I’m [Miss Leyba]!”

September:

“Do you like honey? Good. Me too.” (She’s eating honey on toast. Our compromise when she asked for a smackerel of honey.)

“I can’t fly. I don’t have wings. I will grow some!”

“Don’t go to work, silly David. Stay home with us!”

David says, “This is hard work.” Daughter replies, “Do you want Mama to do it?”

Toddler says, “I want a cookie!” I suggest a banana instead. She replies,”Um, okay.” Can’t believe my ears. This will never happen again.

David says, “Please be careful with my (@BrandonSandrson) book.” Toddler’s response? “Okay, I’ll try not to pull out any pages.”

October:

“Namaste, Daddy! Namaste, Mommy! Namaste, Lucy!” Someone loves her yoga class.

Nonstop chatter about our Colorado Trip. Investigating her winter clothing situation, “Do you think Uncle Lee will like this hat?”

Breakfast request, “potatoes and eggs AND pizza!!”

Evidently knows what M-O-V-I-E spells. My bad.

My daughter just announced that she wants a “Moon Penguin” tattoo. Luckily, “It’s okay if it washes off!” Phew!

Toddler did not go for dinner. I guess zucchini pizza (“I love it!”) sounds way different than it tastes (“Hmm. I’m going to play!)…

November:

About her doll: “Her middle name is Emily, but her full name is Lucy.” The Little Bear phase continues.

Emphatically, “He’s my Daddy. He belongs to ME!”

Surprised to find my daughter completely dressed herself this morning. Today’s outfit? Leopard print pants! My girl has style.

December:

Playing freeze dance: “Mama, freeze it! Freeze it!” So much for a surprise break in the music.

Singing a heartfelt song about a rutabaga.

At the gas station: “When I grow up, I am going to get gas every night!” She LOVES watching the meters showing how much gas we’re buying.

January:

“Daddy is crazy ’cause he goes to yoga in the dark. It’s so early!”

“Mommy, you are my sweetheart!”

We’ve had a great year.

Birthday Party Fun

An outdoor birthday party in January?! Was it too much to hope for?!

Thankfully the weather cooperated: 70 degrees, sunny and beautiful! We could not have wished for better weather for a winter birthday party!

We ate a delicious, kid-friendly lunch:


Clementines, cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, edamame, blueberries, raspberries, cucumbers and carrots with humus, babybel cheese, and chedder bunny snacks for the kidoes; grapefruit and walnut salad with a cheese platter for the parents.

We sang to the birthday girl:

She sang to herself too! (It’s a favorite song, after all!)

We decorated cupcakes:


Cake is serious business.

We scootered and rode bikes up and down the lane:




Happy birthday girl!

I could not have wished for a more perfect, fun party for my daughter! We all had a wonderful time!

(Of course, it helps that my closest friends are the mamas of my daughter’s closest friends. Makes for a great gathering for everyone.)

Happy birthday, sweetie!