July 17, 2009

hand printing

Ever since Cooper was born I’ve wanted to do that cliche handprint thing…You know- putting his hand in clay so I can look at it one day and see how small his lil fingers were. I’ve been MEANING to get around to it- I even have a kit!

But life just gets in the way. I think of how much he moves his fingers and hands and cringe. Man, that would make such a mess. I’ll do it one day…

Then it dawned on me….. I already have his hand prints somewhere!! On our mirror!

Every morning we all hang out in bed and he climbs up to the mirror and slaps his lil (big) mitts on it. Every time I look at those prints my heart melts. I don’t need one of those hand print kits to make me happy. I just need to look at this picture and remember our current morning ritual. He stands up on our headboard, looks at himself in the mirror and then at us. The smiles begin. And he’s soo proud that it shows.

The old childless me would have immediately wiped the mirror clean every day. But now I leave those prints up for weeks….

It’s the little things that fill me up with soo much hope and love. I am so glad he is in our life.

recipes, Uncategorized

July 16, 2009

Quick Chicken Stir Fry

note to self: make this again

I am not sure all the steps that went into this…as I was trying to

1. feed bebe
2. clean up kitchen
3. unload dishwasher (ugggh dread!)
4. unpack bag from work

So here’s a short list of what’s involved:

Chicken:
Boneless thighs marniated in Trader Joe’s Soyaki overnight
(it’s their version of the Soy Vay Teriakyi sauce that’s super good)

I grilled it on the grill– about 5 mins per side.

My Stir Fry included:
-1 large red onion
-1/2 head cabbage
-2 green onions
-1 clove garlic chopped
-handful of green beans chopped
-handful of shredded carrots
-a few dashes of vegetable oil
-splash of soyaki
-splash of Sriracha (momma likes heat)
-2 beaten eggs scrambled in the mix

all topped on some brown rice.

mmmm burps soo good

around the home, Uncategorized

July 14, 2009

RIPEN RIPEN RIPEN!!!

I know a watched pot never boils…..

BUT there are a few of these Early Girls that are SOOO close to ripening. I hope that when I get home from work, I can devour one.

Cooper is pretty impatient too….

recipes, Uncategorized

July 8, 2009

Vegetable Minestrone

Hubby with cold+
Fridge full of veggies+
Fresh beans from neighbor=
Veggie Minestrone!!

So now that we’ve figured out that equation, here’s what I am eating for lunch today:

Here are the veggies to chop:

Watch it simmer in the pot:

I am enjoying a bowl of it while my baby naps!

The best part about this soup is that it is easy adaptable. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand.

Enjoy with a crusty piece of bread! And know that you knocked down a HUGE chunk of your vegetable requirement for the day!

Summer Vegetable Soup

-1 large onion chopped
-1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
-32 oz. container chicken stock
-3 zucchini chopped
-1 1/2 cup shredded carrots (that’s what I had on hand- you can chop up like 2 carrots or so)
-1 16oz. can cannellini beans
-1 cup chopped green beans
-3 large cloves garlic smashed
-1/2 cup macaroni (short elbows)
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 tablespoon curry powder
-1 dash of cayenne pepper
-salt & pepper to taste
-a quick glug of red wine vinegar

TO DO:

Saute onion & garlic in the olive oil in a large soup pot until translucent on medium high heat. Add chicken stock, curry powder & cayenne pepper. Add vegetables and bring to a boil. Add macaroni and continue to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add beans. If the soup looks too thick- with not enough broth, add a bit of water to thin it out. Taste to see if it needs salt & pepper. 5 minutes before you are done, add that glug of the red wine vinegar. It will add a nice little tang to the soup. The whole process should take less than 40 mins.

Enjoy!

recipes, Uncategorized

July 7, 2009

Chocolate Sherbet

A glimpse inside my brain:

“Ok I am making baby food, cooking dinner, fighting off hungry cats, cleaning up my mess in the kitchen, feeding Cooper–what else can I do?? Well here’s a post of a Chocolate Sherbet recipe…hmmm…I have all the ingredients….I’ve already made a mess in the kitchen- WHY NOT MAKE SOME SHERBET IN ADDITION TO EVERYTHING ELSE I’M MAKING?! Come on Tracy! The mess will be worth it!!!”

So yes, I did just that. Because I decided to make it at 7pm last night, we didn’t get to enjoy it until today. It was worth the wait! The chocolate is DECADENT and rich.

The lack of heavy cream or a custard based ice cream makes it very very light. It doesn’t make you feel weighed down and guilty- like WHAT DID I JUST DO TO MYSELF. It’s more like “Oh! That was delightful. That jolt of chocolate is just what I needed.”

I used a small cookie scoop to fill my little dish. It was a perfect amount of chocolate.

It will give you that fix you are looking for.

My goal this summer is to have a banana split party– this was just a prelude. The banana slices on top gave me a lil glimpse of what’s in store for me when I take that dive into bananasplitsville.

You can find the recipe here. Thank you David! You are a genius.

around the home, Uncategorized

July 7, 2009

snacking on sungolds

I quickly wanted to share a snack with you… sungolds! I think the main reason for growing these tomatoes was the snacking potential. I mean, what better way to give yourself a boost when you are working out in the garden?? I don’t know if these will ever make it inside. They are too delish to resist. Perfectly sweet with a slight tang… I am going to continue to snack away on them…..