I love breakfast...
Monday, June 14, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Summer Vacation and Fava Beans
Apart from Thursday and Friday being reserved for math training, my summer vacation has started! I took most of the day off on Friday and realized how difficult it is for me to get back into the "being at home" Maddy. I took a nap and just hung out at the house all day. I'm sure I'll clean the house eventually, but I'm soaking up the not having to do anything-ness while I still can.
I'm excited to cook good, healthy food, and I'm excited to spend lots of time with Elisabeth. This should be a pretty good summer (despite having a difficult time with allergies)
So on to pictures:
Remember those 2.5lbs of fava beans we got in our CSA box on Tuesday? Well, I finally got around to making something with them today. I had 3 recipe suggestions to use with them. 1. was to eat them like edamame...we decided we could do that any time, so we went for a Mediterranean dish, and a favas with lemon and yogurt.
Here's when I was shelling them. The pod was unlike anything I've experienced before...it was fuzzy inside. These beans were giant! It reminded me of the giant level on Super Mario Bros. The farm suggested scoring the surface of the pod so that popping them out of their skin would be easier.
I had to blanch them for 3 minutes then put them in ice water.
This is what they looked like with their shell off. They tasted similar to peas/lima beans
h
This was the fava beans with lemon and yogurt. It has sauteed garlic, onions and fava beans. Then the "dressing" was lemon juice, oil, salt and yogurt. Drew really enjoyed it and he thought it was similar to having a baked potato. I felt it was missing something and wasn't overly impressed.
This was the "Mediterranean" dish - it was fava beans, garlic, onions fresh parsley and tomato sauce...I just added rice so we'd have something else to eat. The recipe said to use diced tomatoes, but I didn't have any, so I used some pasta sauce. If we were to do this again, I would probably wait and use tomatoes because like all pasta sauce, everything tastes like the sauce.
If I were to do that one again, besides the tomatoes rather than pasta sauce, I might cut up the beans, or even toss it with some spaghetti. Elisabeth liked it though!
l
She's getting pretty good with a spoon! I found out that the delicious champagne mangoes stick well to those spoons- she can flail her arms and it still says stuck until it gets in her mouth! Impressive!
STRAWBERRIES!!! She ate both of those strawberries! I was impressed!
Daddy showing baby how it's done...
We've been working on just having binkies at nap times. I had left the room to do whatever I was doing and it got quiet. I went in her room to check to see why it had gotten quiet. She had gone to her crib, taken TWO pacifiers out + her blankie and somehow managed to get to the other side of the room. Doesn't she look guilty!? hahahahaha Love her!
I'm excited to cook good, healthy food, and I'm excited to spend lots of time with Elisabeth. This should be a pretty good summer (despite having a difficult time with allergies)
So on to pictures:
Remember those 2.5lbs of fava beans we got in our CSA box on Tuesday? Well, I finally got around to making something with them today. I had 3 recipe suggestions to use with them. 1. was to eat them like edamame...we decided we could do that any time, so we went for a Mediterranean dish, and a favas with lemon and yogurt.
Here's when I was shelling them. The pod was unlike anything I've experienced before...it was fuzzy inside. These beans were giant! It reminded me of the giant level on Super Mario Bros. The farm suggested scoring the surface of the pod so that popping them out of their skin would be easier.
I had to blanch them for 3 minutes then put them in ice water.
This is what they looked like with their shell off. They tasted similar to peas/lima beans
h
This was the fava beans with lemon and yogurt. It has sauteed garlic, onions and fava beans. Then the "dressing" was lemon juice, oil, salt and yogurt. Drew really enjoyed it and he thought it was similar to having a baked potato. I felt it was missing something and wasn't overly impressed.
This was the "Mediterranean" dish - it was fava beans, garlic, onions fresh parsley and tomato sauce...I just added rice so we'd have something else to eat. The recipe said to use diced tomatoes, but I didn't have any, so I used some pasta sauce. If we were to do this again, I would probably wait and use tomatoes because like all pasta sauce, everything tastes like the sauce.
If I were to do that one again, besides the tomatoes rather than pasta sauce, I might cut up the beans, or even toss it with some spaghetti. Elisabeth liked it though!
l
She's getting pretty good with a spoon! I found out that the delicious champagne mangoes stick well to those spoons- she can flail her arms and it still says stuck until it gets in her mouth! Impressive!
STRAWBERRIES!!! She ate both of those strawberries! I was impressed!
Daddy showing baby how it's done...
We've been working on just having binkies at nap times. I had left the room to do whatever I was doing and it got quiet. I went in her room to check to see why it had gotten quiet. She had gone to her crib, taken TWO pacifiers out + her blankie and somehow managed to get to the other side of the room. Doesn't she look guilty!? hahahahaha Love her!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Cutie Patootie!
Smile!
What are those big ugly green things? Well my friends, those are cucumbers!..wait, you mean down in front? OHHhhh, those are fava beans. I've never eaten a fava bean before, but when we cook them up, I'll let you know how it goes! We got Italian parsley, basil (which does best like a bouquet of flowers apparently!), lettuce mix, cucumbers, some fancy garlic I can't remember the name of, fava beans, zucchini, raspberries and strawberries! Yum, yum, yum! If this has done anything, it has definitely increased our vegetable intake, in which I'm grateful for!
This is how our nights go the past few nights. I put E to bed, she sits in her pile of blankets for a while, gets up, walks over to her fishy music, plays with her dollies and screams. I put her down, she sits up, hangs in her blankets, etc., for a good hour. Oh my.... please someone tell me the novelty of sitting up gets old???
If you look closely, you can see the water stream about to hit her face. She can drink out of a cup, just not well sometimes :D
Here, here's your stinkin' mail!
(I ate it a bit first though mama)
You like that pose with the pinecone? She thought it up all on her own. What a goof! I love it!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
My Loves
I have been jonesin' for one of these for quite a while now. LL Bean was having a sale, and I just couldn't say no.
My beautiful BOB out of it's box, screaming to be put together!
HIIIIIIIII
I would like to go for another ride maaaamm!
We've been out a couple of times, and by golly, I don't know how I ever lived without it. I *HIGHLY* recommend a jogging stroller. Why didn't anyone INSIST on me getting one of these before I had a baby and wasted money on a regular stroller. This thing is fantabulous!
chocolate coooookies! Yum, yum, yum!!!
Guess what guys? I learned how to sit up AND stand up in my crib all in the same day. Therefore, I do not sleep. (the last 2 days, there has been maybe a 45 min nap each day) *sigh* (this picture was taken at about 9:30 at night........this child normally goes to bed at 7pm!)
mmmm chocolate! (we had to try the chocolate strawberries!)
So, this doesn't look particularly appetizing, BUT it was delicious. We cut up spring onions and radishes- cooked them (~12 mins) (next time I won't slice them so thinly- darn that mandolin doing such an amazing job)- then caramelized them with balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp), then tossed it with some spaghetti, salt and pepper. It was really good. I highly suggest trying to cook your radishes next time you have some- a whole new dimension to them! And! having a pasta dish that wasn't with red or white sauce was kind of a fun change as well.
(these are the instructions I used)
Slice spring onions and radish roots thinly. Sauté in olive oil (with a little salt) over medium-high heat until they are soft and start to brown-I used two spring onions and a whole bunch of radishes, and it took about 12 minutes. Stir enough to keep from sticking, or add a bit more oil. Once the roots are soft and starting to caramelize, add about 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar to the pan, watch closely and keep stirring for about 3 more minutes as the balsamic vinegar glazes the roots. Add to a bowl of hot pasta. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or more balsamic vinegar. You won't recognize that you're eating radishes!
This would serve 3-4 people. More if you have other side dishes.
I also told a couple people that I would post our fennel potato salad recipe - I'm sorry I forgot to take pictures- but really, it just looked like potato salad.
1 fennel bulb
~1.5 lbs potatoes (we used french fingerling potatoes)
your favorite potato salad dressing (I used mayo, mustard, paprika, celery seed, parsley)
These are the instructions I used:
HARVEST BOX POTATO SALAD: Slice, then dice one fennel bulb. Combine with some sliced sweet onions and boiled potatoes from your Harvest Box, and dress with either a mayonnaise-based dressing, or your favorite oil & vinegar dressing. Add a little hard-boiled egg or cooked beans for a complete dinner.
We put kidney beans and 4 hard boiled eggs in it and put it on top of some lettuce- it was delicious. I was weary of the fennel, but it was a really nice addition to the flavoring. I would definitely use it again! - it would serve 4 for dinner or ~8-10 for a side dish
Next up: Roasted Fennel!
My beautiful BOB out of it's box, screaming to be put together!
HIIIIIIIII
I would like to go for another ride maaaamm!
We've been out a couple of times, and by golly, I don't know how I ever lived without it. I *HIGHLY* recommend a jogging stroller. Why didn't anyone INSIST on me getting one of these before I had a baby and wasted money on a regular stroller. This thing is fantabulous!
chocolate coooookies! Yum, yum, yum!!!
Guess what guys? I learned how to sit up AND stand up in my crib all in the same day. Therefore, I do not sleep. (the last 2 days, there has been maybe a 45 min nap each day) *sigh* (this picture was taken at about 9:30 at night........this child normally goes to bed at 7pm!)
mmmm chocolate! (we had to try the chocolate strawberries!)
So, this doesn't look particularly appetizing, BUT it was delicious. We cut up spring onions and radishes- cooked them (~12 mins) (next time I won't slice them so thinly- darn that mandolin doing such an amazing job)- then caramelized them with balsamic vinegar (1 tbsp), then tossed it with some spaghetti, salt and pepper. It was really good. I highly suggest trying to cook your radishes next time you have some- a whole new dimension to them! And! having a pasta dish that wasn't with red or white sauce was kind of a fun change as well.
(these are the instructions I used)
Slice spring onions and radish roots thinly. Sauté in olive oil (with a little salt) over medium-high heat until they are soft and start to brown-I used two spring onions and a whole bunch of radishes, and it took about 12 minutes. Stir enough to keep from sticking, or add a bit more oil. Once the roots are soft and starting to caramelize, add about 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar to the pan, watch closely and keep stirring for about 3 more minutes as the balsamic vinegar glazes the roots. Add to a bowl of hot pasta. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or more balsamic vinegar. You won't recognize that you're eating radishes!
This would serve 3-4 people. More if you have other side dishes.
I also told a couple people that I would post our fennel potato salad recipe - I'm sorry I forgot to take pictures- but really, it just looked like potato salad.
1 fennel bulb
~1.5 lbs potatoes (we used french fingerling potatoes)
your favorite potato salad dressing (I used mayo, mustard, paprika, celery seed, parsley)
These are the instructions I used:
HARVEST BOX POTATO SALAD: Slice, then dice one fennel bulb. Combine with some sliced sweet onions and boiled potatoes from your Harvest Box, and dress with either a mayonnaise-based dressing, or your favorite oil & vinegar dressing. Add a little hard-boiled egg or cooked beans for a complete dinner.
We put kidney beans and 4 hard boiled eggs in it and put it on top of some lettuce- it was delicious. I was weary of the fennel, but it was a really nice addition to the flavoring. I would definitely use it again! - it would serve 4 for dinner or ~8-10 for a side dish
Next up: Roasted Fennel!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Long Weekends and CSA's
On Memorial Day, we took a little walk over in the Baskett Slough just about 5 minutes from our house. We had never even BEEN over there until last fall to check it out. Monday was our first walk through though. There are a few longer hikes, but we were trying out a new hiking backpack, and adding 25lbs on your back takes a lot more out of you than I realized! So anyway, we got about 5 feet from a deer just munchin on some greens, we saw a bi-plane up in the sky and saw some really neat birds. One of them was mostly black/brown? but when it opened up it's wings, it was BRIGHT yellow underneath- so neat!
So other than that, our weekend was pretty low key, which was nice.
We bought E a bunch of toys for her birthday. One of them was this sit and stand push along toy. Since we have hardwood floors, it was hard for her to gain control of it. We ended up putting some weights inside of it just to give her some stability. Now she's been practically running through the house (until she hits a wall and needs to be turned around- hahahaha!)
E with her walker
For family that is too lame to come visit us, our house is about 5 minutes past a couple of those mounds.
It was blowy at the top with a child that was trying to grab the camera!
Our deer friend--we walked by quickly so my head shots aren't great.
The plane in the sky - it was really low
all done! (I also found a hat that she can't figure out how to get off yet!! maybe her head won't fry in the Caribbean!)
ooh! I almost forgot about this- good thing I uploaded pictures before I started typing! We signed up for the Denison Farms CSA this year to try it out and see if it was a good deal. I wish I had taken a picture before I pruned and washed everything, it was GORGEOUS! They left the carrot and radish tops on- which would have made for some really fun pictures. We also had already eaten half the strawberries and raspberries by the time I was able to get to them to take a picture. So anyway, we got lettuce, fennel, carrots, new potatoes, radishes (which are amazingly spicy when they're freshly picked!), cucumber, green onions, raspberries and strawberries. We definitely got a deal on what this would have cost at the grocery store (stupid LifeSource is ridiculously expensive) and I'm happy we did it. They gave us some fun recipes to use with our fennel and even our radishes that I'm excited to try out. I'll hopefully remember to take a picture next week before cutting off all the green to show how pretty it was!
So other than that, our weekend was pretty low key, which was nice.
We bought E a bunch of toys for her birthday. One of them was this sit and stand push along toy. Since we have hardwood floors, it was hard for her to gain control of it. We ended up putting some weights inside of it just to give her some stability. Now she's been practically running through the house (until she hits a wall and needs to be turned around- hahahaha!)
E with her walker
For family that is too lame to come visit us, our house is about 5 minutes past a couple of those mounds.
It was blowy at the top with a child that was trying to grab the camera!
Our deer friend--we walked by quickly so my head shots aren't great.
The plane in the sky - it was really low
all done! (I also found a hat that she can't figure out how to get off yet!! maybe her head won't fry in the Caribbean!)
ooh! I almost forgot about this- good thing I uploaded pictures before I started typing! We signed up for the Denison Farms CSA this year to try it out and see if it was a good deal. I wish I had taken a picture before I pruned and washed everything, it was GORGEOUS! They left the carrot and radish tops on- which would have made for some really fun pictures. We also had already eaten half the strawberries and raspberries by the time I was able to get to them to take a picture. So anyway, we got lettuce, fennel, carrots, new potatoes, radishes (which are amazingly spicy when they're freshly picked!), cucumber, green onions, raspberries and strawberries. We definitely got a deal on what this would have cost at the grocery store (stupid LifeSource is ridiculously expensive) and I'm happy we did it. They gave us some fun recipes to use with our fennel and even our radishes that I'm excited to try out. I'll hopefully remember to take a picture next week before cutting off all the green to show how pretty it was!
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