S'mores cookies

I entered these cookies into a baking contest at my company's picnic this summer and while they didn't win, they were a clear favorite with the younger picnickers. It's a very simple recipe, with only about eight main ingredients: graham crackers, butter, sugar, an egg, flour, marshmallows, and Hershey's kisses. 

This great recipe came from http://www.sixsistersstuff.com/. 

S'mores Cookies Recipe:

(Makes 2 dozen cookies)

Ingredients:

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

1-1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter (room temp)

1/2 c. light brown sugar

1/3 c. granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

20 large marshmallows, cut in half

Approx. 40 chocolate kisses

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  

2. In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside. 

3. In another bowl, beat the butter and sugars together until creamy and smooth. 

4. Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix until combined.  

5. Add the dry ingredients slowly and mix until just combined.  

6. Drop rounded tablespoons of dough onto a baking sheet, 1-2" apart. 

7. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until edges are just getting golden brown. 

8. Remove from oven and gently press a half marshmallow, sticky side down, onto each cookie.  Let cool completely.  

9. When all cookies are cooled down, preheat broiler.  Place cookies back on baking sheets and broil for 1-2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them so they don't char. 

10. When marshmallows are golden brown, remove from the broiler and place a chocolate kiss on top of each cookie.

Eating with picky kids and gout-man

Before kids, Monkeyrotica and I did go to more exotic restaurants and consume with more abandon than we do now, but with young ones in tow, we started limiting our outings to eateries with childrens' menus. Dash is willing to try several more sophisticated meals that require multiple utensils and have spices added, but Rosie is still very flavor- and texture-averse when it comes to dining. Now that Monk is living with gout, even he has been forced to limit his palette. Since his first attack around the summer of 2011, we've learned quite a lot about what foods trigger his gout.

Gout is similar to arthritis and attacks joints, most often at the base of the big toe. It causes intense pain and swelling; when Monk's first attack happened, he thought he'd broken his foot.

What Causes Gout? From NIH.gov:

"Gout is caused by the buildup of too much uric acid in the body. Uric acid comes from the breakdown of substances called purines. Purines are found in all of your body’s tissues. They are also in many foods, such as liver, dried beans and peas, and anchovies. Normally, uric acid dissolves in the blood. It passes through the kidneys and out of the body in urine. But uric acid can build up in the blood when:

• The body increases the amount of uric acid it makes.
• The kidneys do not get rid of enough uric acid.
• A person eats too many foods high in purines."

 

For Monk, the gout-friendly foods he's learned to eat more of are:

• fresh, unrefined, and unprocessed foods. Include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, soy, beans, seeds, nuts, olive oil, and cold-water fish (salmon, tuna, and halibut)
• unsweetened cherries (canned, fresh, or frozen); cherries lower uric acid levels and can prevent gout attack
• blueberries, blackberries, and other deeply pigmented berries are also helpful as is pineapple
• lemon water, apple cider vinegar

Gout-aggravating, high-purine trigger foods that he needs to avoid:

• organ meats like kidneys, liver, and sweetbreads
• red meat
• oily fish like sardines, anchovies, and herring
• certain vegetables, including asparagus, artichokes, spinach, and cauliflower
• lentils
• mushrooms

Some foods have medium-to-low levels of purines in them, but because they are foods that we tend to eat in larger quantities, Monk needs to severely curb his intake when he eats shrimp (only 2-3 shrimp, then full stop) or chicken breast meat (only 1 small breast, no more). I'm sure there's more that I've forgotten, but that's quite a bit for us to handle! Good thing there are cherries and medication that he can take.

He's been managing his symptoms very well, despite a few occasions where he knew he wanted to eat trigger foods despite the consequences and he planned ahead by taking preventative measures for it. Life's no fun if you can't break the rules once in a while.

Balancing your child's school lunch

Anyone who knows me or who has read earlier articles on this blog knows that I struggle with feeding my picky children healthy foods. I've tried various ways, some even deemed ingenious, to get my kids involved in choosing healthier options and balancing their portions. My kids have seen a nutritionist on a few occasions and I've educated myself a great deal on the protein, fat, and carbohydrate ratios in many foods. The majority of the foods we buy are raw, unprocessed, and contain whole grains; vegetables and fruits are primarily served raw, and we make attempts to prepare meals to keep vitamin content intact, with minimal added salt or sugars. After Monkey was diagnosed with gout a few years ago, I needed to become even smarter about his trigger foods and learn what proteins to avoid in foods on his behalf.

I can't imagine how I would feel if my kids' school sent home a note like the one below, and attached a monetary fine for not including one arbitrary item, in this Canadian mom's case: grains. What if my kids had eaten more than their daily allotment of grains in their breakfast cereal that morning and I was compensating that overage by leaving it out of their lunch? I would be outraged if a school had force-fed them fatty and processed-grain heavy Ritz crackers!

From the Weighty Matters blog out of Canada:

From Yoni Freedhoff's blog entry:

"Apparently if a child's lunch is deemed 'unbalanced,' where 'balance' refers to ensuring that a lunch conforms to the proportions of food groups as laid out by Canada's awful Food Guide, then that child's lunch is 'supplemented,' and their parent is fined.

Blog reader Kristen Bartkiw received just such a fine.

She sent her children to daycare with with lunches containing leftover homemade roast beef and potatoes, carrots, an orange and some milk.

She did not send along any 'grains.'

As a consequence the school provided her children with, I kid you not, supplemental Ritz Crackers, and her with a $10 fine."

Outrageous and crazy! I know some of us aren't as informed as others regarding proper nutrition, but what if you didn't have the money (or didn't get/have access to the store that week) to provide all food groups, or if your child has serious allergies, or if you have valid, personal reasons for not providing certain foods that are none of the government's business? If I were fined for providing a non-compliant, but healthy lunch I would be rightfully livid.

Dash's 8th Birthday Party

While making plans for Rosie's party, I am reminded that I forgot to post photos from Dash's 8th birthay party (I did this last year, too didn't I?). No matter, it makes for a great additional November post!

Happy 8-year-old Dash

Here's a photo of the birthday boy on the day of his 8th birthday! He's wearing a shirt that he was particularly fond of — one of his birthday gifts. We had about 50 guests this year, equally divided between adults and kids.

Before the hunt, all the guests had plenty to eat, including pizza, ribs, and Monkey's special grilled chicken wings. Many of our usual favorite guests arrived to celebrate!

Pre-scavenger hunt Dash and Carter, eating dinner

Michael and Matthew, eating pizza

Brent and Chris, two of our favorite party guests

The theme for his 8th birthday party was "scavenger hunt." We had a list of items that the kids were to find in the yard, with additional prizes for winners. It was a bit of a blur, but I think brothers Alex and Adam were the winners.

Gina holding Aoife (Brent & Chris's baby girl)

Along with the hunt, there was also a moonbounce; coupled with a warm June day, there were a lot of sweaty boys by the time we offered Dash's special donut tower.

Trevor, eating pizza

Alex, winner of the scavenger hunt (with his brother,
Adam, far right), sporting his medal!

Singing the "Happy Birthday Song"

Blowing out candles over the donut tower
— hope your wish came true, Dash!

 

Nick and his delicious forbidden donut!

Two generations of String/Twines!
Nick, Dom, and Alex are Monk's nephews and Dash's 1st cousins.

Many of our guests asked several times over the course of the party, "Where's Rosie?" She was holed-up in her room with a few of her friends the entire time. Only the rarest glimpse was caught of her, sneaking out to get a drink or use the bathroom. She had a good time, nevertheless!

So very thankful...

I'm thankful that I slept in today, but was woken up gently by a 6-year-old bouncing on the mattress near my feet.

I'm thankful that Monkeyrotica brought me delicious coffee in bed and made the four of us a lovely breakfast.

I'm thankful that my family helped me to maintain order in the house this week so that it wasn't too difficult to prepare for our dinner guests.

I'm incredibly thankful for a quick-thinking husband who, when given an obstacle like, say, A POWER OUTAGE ON THANKSGIVING right after the turkey went into the oven, has a plan B ready to go and put the turkey in the smoker without missing a beat. He was planning to cook the beans and peas on the camp stove, but thankfully (!) the power came back on.

I'm thankful that my sister and parents live so close to us and can visit regularly without hardship. I'm incredibly thankful that they let my children know that they love them in so many ways, all the time.

I'm thankful that we were able to have such plenty on our table this Thanksgiving, all healthy food made from scratch with love.

Monkeyrotica cooked the turkey using a Julia Child recipe that reduces the cook-time by deboning and stuffing the turkey thighs.

My plate: slices of turkey meat, stuffing, sauteed green beans, Brussels sprout slaw, roasted red potato, and a little homemade gravy.

Dash: always moving, always playful and so sweet. He's the most imaginative little guy; I'm never sure what is going to come out of his mouth next. He's so very much his own wonderful six-year-old boy and I'm glad he's my son.

Rosie: adorable, affectionate, and inquisitive. She's becoming such a wonderful person, caring deeply about her friends, helping around the house, doing her schoolwork without too much prodding. She does the "I'm-the-cutest-kitten-in-the-world-with-sad-eyes-how-could-you-deny-me" look so well! I'm so thankful for her hugs and her love. I feel lucky every day to have a daughter like Rosie.

I'm thankful for all my friends, who are out there having their own Thanksgivings. I send you love, warmth, and hope, and a wish to see you all soon. I have thanks and an embrace to give you in person.

XOXOX, Nylonthread

Dash's 6th birthday, Party people

Along with yesterday's photos of the food, here are some fabulously well-framed and lit photos taken by our friend Mark Zimin at Dash's birthday party back in July. Someone ought to hire him to photograph and/or DJ their wedding. He's that good.

Gina, her son Brian, and me in the kitchen

Monkeyrotica, Dash (Let me tell you something...), and Finn in the backyard

Janna, ready to conquer any comers

Brent found Dash's raygun!

Me, adding candles to Dash's birthday donut tower

Singing "Happy Birthday," a lesson in delayed gratification

Finally, the donuts!

Andrei and other children in the foreground, Ken, Kelly & I in the middle ground

Elizabeth and Weegee make friends.

Seeing our guests on their way, party's over! Bye, Geoff, see you soon.

Summer Party: The calm before the BBQ storm

Monkeyrotica really enjoys barbecuing for friends and when he sets his mind to cooking for a group, he does it right and full out. These images are from right before we called "soup's on" to our guests, a wonderful, unsullied spread of summer barbecue deliciousness.

Monkey smoked ribs and pulled pork shoulder; in front of Dash is a tray of vinegar slaw and to his right are a couple of Ledo pizzas for the kids (or adults) who didn't want smoked meats.

I sliced a watermelon to use as a bowl for fruit salad (notice the monkey-shaped salad tongs!).

Red beans and rice were a vegetarian side for friends who weren't eating meat altogether.

Mmmm, pulled pork. Bags of Martin's potato rolls were waiting to be filled with this lovely stuff.

And, not to be forgotten, the brisket. Man, that party was wonderful! All the kids had fun splashing with sprinklers in the backyard, and all the adults ate till we were uncomfortable and washed it down with a selection of beverages, all cool and refreshing. What was for dessert? Krispy Kreme doughnuts, of course!

Dash blowing out birthday candles. Photo courtesy Mark Zimin

It was Dash's choice for his birthday after all! Dash turned six back in June and I didn't post any of the photos from his party back then. I'll post more of them tomorrow. My photographer friend, Mark Zimin, took the pics and they all turned out beautifully!

Baking a rainbow cake, part 1 of 2

Rosie's bowling party is tomorrow (as is Dash's karate promotion test) so I needed to get the cake started tonight. It's closing in on midnight and I just got the layers in the fridge a few minutes ago! The red, orange, and yellow layers are looking nice!

Green and blue layers turned out great, but indigo's looking pretty gray. The red food coloring must have had some orange in it... Oh well, it'll be on the bottom and nobody will pay it much attention. Wish me luck with the icing tomorrow! Rosie wants sky-blue icing with clouds drawn in.

The Vices that Made Virginia, Celebrating

Monkeyrotica and I went to the second annual The Vices That Made Virginia, a sold-out annual event supporting sustainable food and agriculture for our second year. We had really enjoyed last year's experience, with great food, amazing wine and spirits, and fantastic people, so when we found out they were repeating the event, signed up immediately. The cherry on top to the soirée was the event's date: Monkey's birthday. We headed out, ready to enjoy ourselves. Taking a lesson learned from last year's cold and muddy experience at Woodlawn Plantation, I layered up my clothes, sported my galoshes, and managed to be perfectly, appropriately dressed.

An Arcadia t-shirt for sale at VTMV

When we arrived, we were a little early and the main tent hadn't opened yet, but the space was already thronging with people. What was the deal? I overheard someone talking about getting their tickets through Living Social, an online site for crowdsourced discounts, and understood immediately how and why the overall scene was much different from last year. Last year's group of people were primarily associated with the food industry, or the sustainable ag community, or just really into the restaurants/wineries/distilleries that were being featured. The overall effect for the previous event was a group of afficionados who felt privileged to be at an "Event Celebrating the Cause." This year, it was more like being at a tourist attraction. The Living Social ticket included an early arrival with a pre-event, cut-the-line bus pass for an additional fee. That explained that.

We got in line for drinks, then walked over to check out the handrolled-cigar area with my cranberry champagne in hand to catch a glimpse of the artisans at work. I think Monkey was able to see what was going on, but there were too many people blocking the low table, and I couldn't see a darned thing, so I hung in back until he showed up with his treasured new cigar in hand. We tried to head back outside, but were stuck. There were a clump of morons who were standing around, lighting their cigars right in front of THE FREAKING DOORWAY, oblivious to all the people on either side of them who were either trying to enter or leave the building. We pushed through, but I couldn't help ranting to Monkey about what idiots they were, and how despite getting shoved, they were all still in the same clump, being idiots, and I started feeling a lot better. Maybe it was the champagne or just that I let off some steam, but this is when I started to have a good time.

Portrait of Nylonthread and Monkeyrotica at Woodlawn Plantation

We skulked over to the main tent as the clock was closing in on 4 p.m., when the event was scheduled to open. Monkey knew (and the Living Social crowd likely did not) that the most scrumptiously delicious, large, and fresh (local, sustainable) oysters would be waiting at the back of the tent. We made a beeline for it. I scarfed down about a half dozen of the lovely oysters while he put away close to three dozen of the plump and briny delicacies. Nearby, there was a table set with Oysters Bienville, a salad of julienned brussels sprouts with maple-roasted pecans, and a selection of roasted root vegetables, all of which I sampled. All were wonderful and I couldn't help but think how lucky I was to be surrounded my so many fabulously prepared foods. The tent was filling with people as I squeezed my way past tables of food: pork shoulder, cheese ravioli, thinly sliced cured hams, and stopped at the shrimp and grits. The cook from Tallula was wonderful to watch — an artist with his presentations and adorably smiley and sweet to boot. As soon as he brought out a tray of small bowls each with shrimp lovingly arranged on a grit cake, cream sauce, then dressed it with basil oil and micro-greens, all the bowls were gone within 15 seconds. Monkey and I were squeezed next to his table and became entranced by this, so we timed it.
 

Tallula Eat Bar's shrimp and grits, just plated

I love this photo. I was waiting for just the right moment, after the cook finished plating all the dishes and before they were gone and almost missed it! See the grabbing fingers?

Sipping butternut squash bisque

We left the crowded tent to catch some air (read: Monkey got his cigar on) and the remaining shafts of sunlight for the day. We estimated the crowd count totals: 800? 1,000 people? A waiter handed me a small cup of butternut squash bisque and I savored every creamy drop. There was a photo booth, stocked with period costumes and wigs for silly people have record of themselves being silly. The staff were putting out space heaters around the tables where every third guest was smoking a cigar. Replenished, we headed back in to brave the longest line: pulled pork with apple-herbed coleslaw. People were queued up from the front of the tent to the back. We were feeling patient, so found the tail-end and stood. After finally making our way to the table, we enjoyed our servings. The pork was nice, but lacking in smoke flavor (however, there were smoked pig heads adjacently displayed — bait and switch?). Perhaps because of the large crowd, they weren't able to prepare for the large quantities with a smoker the way they did last year and went for oven roasting instead. Still tasty, and the slaw was a perfect accompaniment.

As we made our way to the front of the tent, we introduced ourselves to and joined a trio of friends at a small table and began making small talk with them when someone nearby yelped, "pies!" A swarm of diners advanced on the dessert table, and like a seething mass, dove in and out with multiple pie slices. The adventurous types at our table (not me! I watched and laughed from the sidelines) arrived with arms full of doubles of each selection for the group: chocolate-bourbon pecan pie, pumpkin pie, and key lime pie. I had one slice each of the key lime and pumpkin. Those sweet and creamy desserts called an end to our outing. We said our goodbyes and headed off to get the kids.

Happy birthday, Monkeyrotica, I hope you enjoyed our evening out! I wouldn't have missed any of its flavors, sour or sweet. Much love to you.

November is always nuts

There's always plenty to write about in November, so there will be plenty of content fodder here this month, no worries! Whether I'll run out of momentum after putting up a post every day (for NaBloPoMo) is another matter.

Monkeyrotica's Birthday, 11/5

This weekend is Monkeyrotica's birthday — same day as Guy Fawkes' Night — and we're celebrating in style. We have tickets to "The Vices that Made Virginia" a sold-out event at Woodlawn Plantation tomorrow night. From their website:

"The Vices That Made Virginia is a rollicking outdoor celebration of the region’s finest farmers and food artisans ... a lively evening of bourbon, bluegrass, oysters, beer, wine and so much more – all designed to showcase the very best of Virginia."

We are going to have a blast!! We went last year and had such a wonderful time, talking, drinking, and eating with a great crowd of people—lots of real characters, too. I'm glad we can make it again. I doubt they'll be burning a Guy Fawkes effigy, but who knows? That would be a spectacle. Note to self: wear warm clothes and shoes I don't care about; it's outdoors and there's mud. Happy Birthday, Monk E.! Also big thanks to my parents who will be watching the kids while we're out.

Rosie's Birthday, 11/13
Right after we have Monkey's birthday, Rosie's is just a week away. She has invited a few close friends to join her at the bowling alley, to bowl in her 9th birthday. The party package includes pizza and soda, which makes me sigh—Rosie won't consume either, and they don't allow outside food in the alley. We'll have to find something else off their menu for her and hope the other kids don't notice. The challenge for me: Rosie wants a rainbow cake. Have you seen these? It's a six-layer cake with ROYGBV in the individual layers, she wants sky-blue icing and rainbow sprinkles. I haven't made one before and I'm planning to bake this one myself. Maybe I should do a trial run before next Saturday... Oh, and I talked my close buddy Staci into throwing her son's party at the same time and place! Since there are usually two parties rented in every slot, at least we'll be next to friends. And our sons can party in the Donovan's lanes while our daughters party in Rosalie's.

Craft night, 11/20
Other things going on? I have a craft night planned for November 20, which friends and I were chatting about on Google Reader before Google killed it (man, I'm bitter, I can't stop talking about it!). I'll have to check in with the interested parties and coordinate via email, invite, or G+. Heck, maybe I'll use the phone, who knows? We were going to knit, as a few of us took a knitting class last year and I might be the only one keeping up with it. We were all going to work on projects and help each other start/finish/fix what we couldn't figure out. The last time I was at my mother-in-law's, she destashed a huge bag of yarn on me, so I can offer some skeins to my friends. The kids were interested, too, so if we are all working, maybe they'll join in and learn something!

A big incentive to having a get-together at my house is that it'll make me clean up, which the place dearly needs. It's just clutter-heaven right now and we need to put crap away, donate, recycle, toss, anything.

Winter dance performance, 12/18 (coming right up!)
I'll also be practicing for the Winter Dance performance for the next month. I take a modern dance class on Thursday nights and we have a much larger group this year, with about nine teenagers and three adults. There's a holiday party every year and the Director, Mrs. H, invites several classes to perform in the studio with a packed audience of parents, siblings and family all sitting on the floor and standing room only. Our class is dancing to a Mannheim Steamroller song again, but this time we have props: a wand with very long streamers attached. They are incredibly fun to dance with. Really, I'm having way too much fun with them in class and Mrs. H has called me out for playing with them too much. Hee! I leave you with a photo of Monkey and me waiting for the dance recital to start from this past summer (I've got my stage makeup on and my costume's hairband).

Picky eaters and creeping outside comfort zones

In our household, Rosie continues to limit her food choices the most. The only two meats she'll eat are white-meat chicken (no skin) and bacon. While she eats several vegetables, for some reason lately she's been eliminating fruits (won't eat bananas and says the canteloupe doesn't taste right—could be an out-of-season thing)? If we let her make the decisions, she would be eating starches all day, every day; her favorites are cereal, pasta, rice, chips, and breads. Thankfully, she will eat several kinds of easy-to-pack nuts and beans. I'm still struggling to assemble lunches for her that she will finish.

I'm counting this as a small victory: the two foods she's added to her favorites list in the past month are sugar snap peas and yaki-nori. While the nori has been reserved as a dinner-only treat, the pea pods are very easy to pack into her lunches. A newly beloved toy purchase (courtesy Monkeyrotica) may have been an inspiration behind the fascination with peapods:

Dash, on the other hand, has developed a taste for daifuku mochi, and wants to eat the tasty Japanese treats with every meal. I'm *not* NOT encouraging this at all, but those darned things are pretty hard to locate in this area. There aren't any Japanese groceries nearby and the ethnically Asian (mostly Korean-run) markets that we do have appear to have biases against Japanese goods and don't carry them. Monkeyrotica and Grandma Ikiko have found the treats in the outskirts of Prince George's County somewhere, and bless them. 

Overall, we are still at parenting-fail mode in terms of cooking one main course at dinner that everyone will eat. It seems to work for some families, but it's not happening here. Dinner last night was delicious lamb-burgers for Monkeyrotica and me, breakfast sausages for Dash, and chicken breast for Rosie. Everyone ate the broccoli, carrots, and french fries, so that was a winner, right?

Tell me about the food struggles you have with your kids in the comments!

Flash Cards for Kid's Lunches

I was reading an article on Asha Dornfest's Parent Hacks blog asking parents to discuss a topic dear to my heart: How to get your child to eat more of her school lunch?

Dash just started Kindergarten and while we don't yet know if he will be too busy socializing to eat his lunch (likely!), we do know that Rosie has brought home many an uneaten lunch. We have taken some steps to keep this from happening, but it's just frustrating as a parent to find that your lovingly packed lunches get ignored or discarded. I was reading through the insightful comments and saw some parents were recommending that your child pack his own lunch. My first reaction was, forget that! My kids are too young/irresponsible/unmotivated and then I stopped myself.

While they might not yet be able to physically pack their lunches, they can certainly get involved! Since Rosie eats about 50 foods total (not including variations on chocolate), we have already been to a nutritionist. I have detailed lists [OCD-alert] of her foods broken down by their nutrient content. I decided that my best option would be to make flash cards with delicious-looking images of the foods on them (because Dash is not reading—yet)!

I took my lists, my graphic design skillz (practically applied—I'm just making usable items here), and made some decisions on how to structure the cards for the kids' use. Then, I stayed late at work to print them out. Pictured is one of three pages from my layout. While the food pyramid at USDA's website is helpful, the group-breakdowns weren't set up for balancing a lunch for kids. There is a lot of information there, go look if you want.

Here's my structure. I set up five categories for the kids to pick one or two each (with guidance that they needed to have at least one from EACH number group), color-coded them, and added where they fell in the USDA Groups set up:

1. main course items, purple; my main course foods have the most protein, come from the USDA's meat/beans/nuts/seeds group and will help to keep my kids' energy levels high.
2. fruits and veggies high in vitamins, red for fruit and green for vegetables; many of these foods are raw, just how my kids like them.
3. side items, orange; are often from the grains group, but might also be a vegetable with a lower vitamin count.
4. snack foods, white; treat items with higher sugar, mostly chocolate-flavored for my kids (#4 will be first to get eliminated if a previous lunch has #1-3 come home uneaten!).
5. drinks, blue; my kids drink white or chocolate milk or water, no juices, so easy pickins here.
   

The kids were super-excited about the cards last night and wanted everything, but remember where this post started? They weren't finishing what they were getting. In fact, Rosie hadn't eaten her main course from the prior day (edamame, which is a favorite), so she didn't get a #4 today. Here's what they picked for today's lunches, with a quick addition of pizza for Dash:



**DISCLAIMER** These cards are for my personal use; I am not selling them and many of the images I used are FPO and not licensed. Were I to sell them, I would either shoot new images or legitimately purchase the photo licenses from the image owners.