Week 11/3/25
11/3 and 11/4 Camp, 11/8 Night Out, 11/15 Stone Soup Supper and Lantern Walk (everyone welcome!) + Chicken and Rice Recipe
Good morning,
We have been so excited to welcome these chilly mornings! While it has been Fall for a few weeks now, it is nice to feel the seasons change from the bland Texas heat. This is a great time to swap the extra clothes in cubbies/backpacks/cars to accommodate the fluctuating temperatures. We like to encourage our drop off friends to layer their clothes so they can decide how much warmth they need.
With the stone soup supper and lantern walk approaching, we will be making our annual lantern craft with the children. This is a tradition we have kept alive and love welcoming shorter days after the solstice with a glowing, gleaming lantern. For this activity we ask that the children bring in a recycled glass jar, preferably 8-16oz. in size.
Save these November dates:
11/2 Daylight Savings!
11/3 and 11/4 Mon/Tues NO SCHOOL LISD-We are open and accepting a limited number of Cook~Play~Create campers 8:30am-3:30pm
11/8 Sat Night Out 5-8:30pm
11/15 Sat-Stone Soup Supper + Lantern Walk 4:30pm-6:30pm Buy your ticket here, $50 ticket/family (serves 4-6) Read more below!
HHFC Closed for Fall Break/Thanksgiving Friday 11/21-Friday 11/28
Have a great week,
Leslie, Olivia, and Iris
This Week at the School…
a few words from Olivia
Monarch butterflies are making their way to warmer climates for the winter; we have been seeing them enjoy our zinnia flowers throughout the day. Alongside the butterflies, we see huge bumble bees- pollinators everywhere!
The children painted coffee filters then twisted a pipe cleaner around them to make their own monarchs, who enjoyed some time in the garden drying before being taken home.
Friends worked together to build a bridge to cross the “lava”!
Monday NO SCHOOL LISD
Drop-in care 8:30am-12:30pm, 12:30-3:30pm morning snack, lunch (12:45pm), and afternoon snack provided
Cook~Play~Create Camp 8:30am-3:30pm
Tuesday NO SCHOOL LISD/ELECTION DAY
Drop-in care 8:30am-12:30pm, 12:30-3:30pm morning snack, lunch (12:45pm), and afternoon snack provided
Cook~Play~Create Camp 8:30am-3:30pm
Afternoon Enrichment 3:30-5:30pm-Tinkering/The Way Things Work
Wednesday
Bread Orders Close at 9:00am for Thursday/Friday/Saturday Pick-up and Delivery 11:30am-6:00pm)
Stay + Play 9:00am-12:00pm and Drop-in care 8:30am-12:30pm, 12:30-3:30pm
Thursday
Bakery Orders Ready for Pick-up and Delivery (11:30am-6:00pm)
Drop-in care 8:30am-12:30pm, 12:30-3:30pm
Afternoon Enrichment 3:30-5:30pm-Art and Handwork Studio
Friday
Bakery Orders Ready for Pick-up and Delivery (11:30am-6:00pm)
Stay + Play 9:00am-12:00pm and Drop-in care 8:30am-12:30pm
Saturday
Bakery Orders for Pick-up and Delivery
11/8 Sat Night Out 5-8:30pm
See what we’re up to at school: Instagram Facebook
This Week at the Bakery…
a few words from Iris
Children enrolled in any Heart and Hands classes, camps and Stay and Play 11/1-11/14 will be making their own lanterns to bring along (or use at home if you can’t make the event)!
We will be collecting canned food and pantry items all November as well as donating 50% of all ticket sales to Brighter Days Food Pantry. They continue to be a shining light in our community, providing food for over 200 families, or 400 people weekly.
Buy your ticket here, $50 ticket/family (serves 4-6)
Bakery Updates:
What’s New?
Our November specials menu is here!
Pain Nutritional Aux Grains (Baguette and Batard’s Available)- baked slowly with whole grains and seeds, this loaf delivers deep flavor, natural nutrition, and a tender crumb
Light Rye Sourdough Tin Loaf- a blend of rye and bread flours, this light sourdough rye is naturally fermented with a touch of sweetness from local honey
Spiced Pecan Rolls- layered with aromatic spices and candied pecans for a cozy, caramelized sweetness
Sourdough Stuffing Kit- hearty, hand-cubed sourdough bread with an aromatic herb blend for a delicious homemade stuffing
November SNAP Donations
And here’s how you can help: visit our Hotplate and click on any of our bakery preordering events. You can contribute $5 or $10 to help cover our ingredient costs and support this effort to bring fresh bread to families in need.
Each Saturday morning by 10am, families facing food insecurity are welcome to pickup a loaf- no questions asked! We hope this small gesture offers some comfort and support during these challenging times.
Breaducation: Storing and Shelf Life of Bread
We can all agree- fresh bread is the best! The challenge is that it can go stale quickly, often within a day or two. For our everyday loaves and staples, we recommend slicing the bread after the first day and freezing it to preserve freshness. When ready to enjoy, simply thaw slices at room temperature for a few minutes or warm them in a toaster or toaster oven. If you prefer to microwave, do so sparingly- overheating can make bread tough.
For cinnamon or spiced rolls, warm in the oven at 170-200F for about 5 minutes, just enough to soften without melting the icing. Breads and rolls will keep well in the freezer for 2-3 months. For tea cakes and pumpkin loaves, simply thaw and serve.
Pre-Orders
Wednesday 9:00am pre-orders close for this week Th/F/Sat
Reserve self-serve items ANYTIME here!
How does the self-serve option work?
Inventory is verified each morning.
Review inventory via Hotplate, select items +pay, pick-up and go 24/7! You will see a dummy pickup date of 12/31, but that’s just our work-around so that the event stays open.
Select items that are not sold by Tuesday morning will be discounted 50%. Discounted items will be visible in the Hotplate inventory.
See what we’re up to: Instagram Facebook
A few words from Leslie
Reflections on running a heart-centered business, raising a large family, and feeding a school and a family on a budget. Without all of the answers, and sharing both the successes and heartbreaks, maybe there will be some threads that are helpful to you?
Well it happened. SNAP benefits have been turned off for millions of Americans this weekend. No matter your thoughts about who receives them, if there is fraud, etc. I have been thinking about the most vulnerable in our country all weekend. So sad.
I thought maybe I’d take a few minutes to talk with you about food, food quality, food scarcity, and gratitude as we enter two busy months.
If you’ve ever seen the movie “Are We Done Yet?”, you’ll know about Chuck, an annoying, yet loveable, character who wears a million hats. He has done just about everything there is to do in life. In the movie, he is a doula, a general contractor, and a city inspector at least. He played for the Lakers, was an Olympic speed walker, and is married to a country star.
I feel a bit like Chuck today telling you that when I was a massage therapist/personal chef with a business called “Dinner Thyme” back in the late 90s here in Austin, one of my clients was Anne Rainbow. Annie shared that she was a wealthy debutante from San Antonio who was the black sheep of her family. Obviously, she had changed her name. She’d lived in every hip part of the United States, and she was very energy sensitive. She eschewed pest control in her apartment and had some special items that she put under the massage table while I was working. Maybe a large ring of some sort and crystals? I don’t remember. I liked her even if I didn’t fully understand all she was teaching me.
When Annie hired me to cook for her, she told me that she could tell if someone had cared about the cooking when she ate. If they were happy or sad. She could tell if animals had been respected and raised well when she ate them. As I prepared food for Annie, sometimes using her own recipes, you better believe that I really focused on enjoying the work and adding loving thoughts. When she tasted the first soup I made her, she was happy, I was relieved, and I saved this experience in my life’s Rolodex…
Fast forward several years to a Lifeways North America training session at the Austin Waldorf School, or maybe Casa de Luz. I remember a student asking what the Director thought about the times when we find ourselves having fast food or something quick and of lesser nutritional value for dinner, despite other aspirations. This was sort of a risky question. Everyone held their breath. (Note: the group mostly consisted of very well-intentioned mothers feeding their children as much organic food as possible and forgetting to feed themselves. Like me!). The Director said something to the effect of “light a candle and bless it”—bless the fact that you are gathered together and have something to eat. And maybe lovingly place everything onto a plate? I think she said that, too.
And now to today. There is a popular social media personality in southern California who does a long series of posts featuring “peasant food” from around the world. The dishes look delicious, but I have trouble with the insensitivity and lack of awareness of this very wealthy, very worldly person. How lucky anyone would be to eat these dishes, often made with tougher cuts of meat and simple seasonal vegetables! Cheap items. Pantry staples. We’d all be healthier if we ate “peasant food”, and many of our neighbors who are eating their own cultural foods are just that.
Next week, we’ll read the story of “Stone Soup”, then gather together November 15 to enjoy a humble meal together. We’ll collect items for the food pantry, donate half of ticket sales, and walk in the night with our lanterns. I hope you’ll join us!
So how does all of this relate to our work with the children?
We eat family style.
We bless our food.
We use real napkins, dishes, and cutlery.
Our food is simple, seasonal.
Our food is prepared with love, curiosity, and excitement by children and their teachers. (Infusing it with good energy-thank you, Annie!)
And lastly, children love to eat…”peasant food”. Especially outside, and after a strenuous morning.
I hope that anyone doing their best to cobble a meal together from the humble ingredients they’ve purchased or received from a pantry knows that they can make something nourishing and beautiful. They can bless it. If they have children, I hope they know that the mere act of gathering and preparing a meal is love.
With that, I’ll re-share a simple meal my boys’ love. It’s great for busy times, and I’ve included Instant Pot instructions.
The Castaneda Boys Favorite Rice (yellow rice w/ chicken)
4 Tablespoons salted butter
2 cups basmati rice
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
4 cups (32 oz) chicken broth (homemade, packaged, or 4 bouillon cubes + 4 cups water)
1/2 cup water
3 cups cooked diced or shredded chicken (approximately 1 pound leftover roast chicken or diced/cooked chicken breast)
1 teaspoon sea salt
Directions:
Heat a large saucepan over low heat.
Add the butter, rice, black pepper, turmeric, and poultry seasoning. Stir the rice and spice mixture continuously for 2 minutes to lightly toast the rice and warm the spices.
Add the broth, water, chicken and salt to the saucepan. Stir to combine well.
Taste the broth—add a bit more salt if needed (if the broth isn’t well salted).
Bring the rice to a boil, then immediately drop the heat to the lowest setting (simmer or low) and cover the pan with a tight fitting lid.
Cook 15 minutes—do not lift the lid or stir the rice while it is cooking.
Remove the rice from the burner.
Rest the rice, covered, for 5-10 minutes.
Remove the lid and fluff the rice with a fork before serving.
Great with a salad, steamed vegetable, or veggies and dip on the side.
INSTANT POT: Place all ingredients in the Instant Pot and cook on the rice setting.