a little of this

First ticker tape mini quilt

2011-11-03T08:36:00.001-05:00

I've been recently encouraged to pick up blogging once again. The main reason I stopped was that it wasn't very easy to do from my phone and I never sit down in front of the computer anymore. I've installed a new app to help, we'll see!

I have definitely been doing my share of quilting. If this post works I will continue to show my back log of recent projects.

I barely ever keep a quilt I make- I always give them as gifts. Out of everything I've ever done I think the two big kids each have a quilt and we have the big picnic blanket. That's it! My newest idea is to make a mini quilt using the fabrics from each of my larger, gifted quilts. This was my first attempt.

I recently made a wedding chuppah for my brother and my new sister-in-law. It was a HUGE project that took me months. I will reveal more in my next post. To keep a momento of the quilt. I made a ticker tape mini quilt to hang in our house.

I am usually inspired most by the fabric when I am designing a project. I buy fabric first, then come up with a way to use it. I used a glorious set of fabric called "Gerta" from Troy fabrics.

I'm glad to have SOMETHING of my own to hang on my wall!

NYT biscuits

2011-07-23T09:40:00.001-05:00

Breakfast is the easiest meal in my house. I throw some cereal to T, some yogurt at A and whatever else I can scrounge up for S. Complaints are usually at a minimum for the day. When I go above and beyond the call of duty I feel like a superhero; I'm the best mom (and wife) in the world. This morning I made biscuits from the (new) New York Times recipe. I'm thrilled that it doesn't call for buttermilk, like my other go to biscuit recipe. It's not like I have buttermilk in the house regularly, duh! I do have whole milk though (at least until Shayna turns 2). Anyway, they came out great. There is a 30 minute resting time, which sucks a little bit. And I think my other recipe calls for more butter or salt or something cause it's just a little bit yummier. But not so yummy that you should keep buttermilk in your fridge.

School's Out!

2011-06-09T20:05:00.000-05:00

Ancho Chili Shrimp or Chicken Street Tacos

2011-06-08T11:46:00.000-05:00

In all the cooking I did last week, this was the best. It was so yummy! The idea came from Cooking Light but I had to make a number of changes. Ron doesn't eat shrimp and I don't eat chicken (it's real fun at mealtime in our house).

Ancho Chili Shrimp or Chicken Street Tacos

Ingredients:

chicken tenderloins, cut into bite sized pieces
shrimp, (I used frozen which I defrosted under cool water for a few minutes and took off their shells/tails)
chile powder, preferably ancho but any will do
garlic powder
salt
ground cumin
olive oil
grated lime rind
fresh lime juice
chipotle mayo
sliced avocado or guacamole
packaged angel hair slaw
sliced green onions
chopped fresh cilantro
corn tortillas

Preparation
1. Heat a large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle chicken or shrimp evenly with chile powder, garlic powder, salt, and cumin. Add about 1 tbl of olive oil to skillet. Add chicken to pan; cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Remove chicken from pan and squeeze lime juice over top. Same with shrimp. I don't recommend combining the chicken and shrimp.
2. Heat tortillas according to directions. I put them in a hot dry skillet for a minute or so and flipped them until they were golden. Remove from pan.
3. Spread a small amount (less than a tablespoon?) of chipotle mayo on the hot tortilla, add some chicken or shrimp, sprinkle with lime zest, slaw, green onions and cilantro. Add a dollop of guac or fresh avocado. ENJOY. and I mean that. ENJOY!

Pasta with Roasted Asparagus, Roasted Tomatoes, Arugula and Goat Cheese

2011-06-04T13:56:00.000-05:00

This was recipe #3 in my effort to cook 4 recipes from Cooking Light magazine (May 2011). Sometimes I get the magazines but never get around to making anything from them and this was a good challenge to myself to keep up the cooking this week. This recipe was dynamite. I followed it exactly, except I substituted orchiette pasta cause that's what I had. I also followed my own personal cooking motto, which is "more more more" and more or less doubled the recipe. I always use as much as I have when it comes to vegetables so I used a HUGE bunch of asparagus and a HUGE bunch of cherry tomatoes and pretty much doubled the vinaigrette. Again, it's kinda sorta a pasta salad but I served it warm and that counts as dinner. The arugula, goat cheese and olives were just the right accompaniment.

Pasta with Roasted Asparagus, Roasted Tomatoes, Arugula and Goat Cheese

Ron didn't think it would be good reheated the next day so he left it at home instead of taking it to work. His loss because it was awesome. The arugula heated up like it was spinach and it was just divine!

Pistachio Chai Muffins with Vanilla Sugar Glaze

2011-06-03T13:47:00.001-05:00

Holy Crap these are delicious! And I don't even LIKE muffins! This is my fourth recipe from Cooking Light (May 2011) this week-- so I reached my goal (even though this one isn't a meal I'm counting it). I made two intentional adjustments to the recipe (made mini muffins instead of regular sized so the baking time was about 10 minutes instead of 15, and I only put pistachios on half the muffins because my kids are dumb and think they don't like nuts). Unintentionally, the kids were a bit heavy handed with the vanilla in the recipe and my brown sugar was a little hard so it wasn't disributed as evenly as it could have been. And yet still, these are out of this world. Try them!

Pasta with pistachios, green beans and lemon thyme vinaigrette

2011-06-02T10:43:00.001-05:00

I'm trying to make an entire week's worth of meals (about 4 dinners) from my Cooking Light Magazine. I'm not even sure if it's the most current issue - it's just the one that's been in my bathroom for the last week. Two nights ago I made their Gemelli pasta with pistachios, haricot verts and lemon thyme vinaigrette.

http://m.myrecipes.com/details/searchR.rbml?id=50400000111785.xml&bcat=search&cat=Search%20Result

It's supposed to be a pasta salad but I served it warm so that makes it dinner. I made it with a mix of half boxes of pastas that I had lying around (if the cooking time is the same, you can safely mix different shapes). And I used plain old regular green beans instead of haricot verts, of course. I actually cooked them separately in boiling water because I didn't have enough room in the pasta pot. Since when do I need a pound and a half of pasta for my entire family!?! I boiled them for 8 minutes, drained them and ran them under cold water to keep them looking bright green.

Other than that I followed the recipe exactly. The only change I would suggest is to add the lemon juice from the lemon (you're suppose to just use the zest) to the dish - either to the vinaigrette or just over the entire thing. It was a great dish for our first dinner outside on the porch!

Last night I made ancho chili street tacos, adapted from another Cooking Light recipe. They were out of this world! And super easy! Hopefully I can post that later.

Custom Dog Quilt

2011-05-25T09:51:00.000-05:00

Well it sure has been a long time since I finished a quilt, hasn't it? This one was a custom order-- my sister-in-law requested a primary colored dog quilt for my nephew. He happens to be 6 months old already so you can imagine how long I've been stalling on this one! I had the quilt top pieced a long long time ago but just wasn't confident in my plan for quilting it so I let it sit. and sit. and sit. I really wanted to try free-motion quilting but I knew I didn't have enough practice. I ended up doing a number of difference techniques. I did some straight-line quilting in the dog squares to accentuate them and then wavy lines with my walking foot on all the black sashing (that's where I chickened out by not using free-motion there). I finally put my new free-motion skills to work with the solid colored pieces. In the photo-strip edge I free-handed a single star in each colored square. For the large solid colored blocks I really went to town and did swirls and stars. it was fun, really fast and it turns out that you can't really see the "mistakes." Everything looks like it's supposed to be that way.

I always wanted to try free-motion quilting but thought there must be some sort of trick to it. I finally took a class this winter and learned the trick. The trick is-- there is no trick. You just have to do it. So far, stars and swirls is about all I can handle but I'm excited to try some other techniques and I think I have the confidence to free-motion an entire quilt. I'll start with something small- a baby quilt I'm sure.

It feels great to have this project wrapped up. A huge weight is lifted off my shoulders. Now I'm working on little clothing projects for the kids and designing a big big big project for my brother's wedding! Only 5 months for that one... Must get to work!

Cute shorts and scraped knees

2011-05-23T10:18:00.001-05:00

Alex requested some shorts this morning. Since I finished a long-standing, major quilting project yesterday I'm feeling the freedom of being between projects. I didn't prewash this fabric so it might just be a one time only pair of shorts. That would be a shame cause they're super cute.

Vermicomposting, my newest endeavor

2011-05-20T09:36:00.001-05:00

I have a compost bin (the Earth Machine) in the backyard but I'm not finding it very satisfying. I can't use it in the winter because I can't get to it through the snow and it freezes shut. Plus I don't take care of it very well (Ron says it's not a compost heap, just a heap of rotting vegetables) and therefore don't exactly get compost from it. We don't have a lot of "brown" material (dried leaves, newspaper, grass clippings) to add to it along with all of the vegetables and it really needs a mix of carbon rich and nitrogen rich materials to thrive.

I have wanted a worm composting bin for a long long time. I haven't gotten one because it seems like a lot of work, I'm slightly creeped out by worms and worry about the kids getting in there. Well screw all that because I have jumped right in! I got my Worm Factory 360, the worms arrived yesterday and I am ready to go. I absolutely hate putting my food scraps in a landfill and now I won't have to. I'm happy to report that so far all is well. There were a few escapees last night but in general it seems very healthy in there. The worms have spread out and pretty much disappeared from view, down into the carefully prepared bedding I provided for them. I have some food scraps in the corners and if they have started eating them within three days I can start putting more scraps in there. With the right conditions it can be fully operational - meaning 5 trays high with the bottom one full of fresh, worm-made compost within 4 months.

I currently have to hold myself back from checking the bin (the worms like their privacy) more than once a day. I am constantly checking the thermometer to make sure it's not too cold (below 40) or too hot (about 80). I worry that even fully operational they won't be able to handle the large amount of vegetable scraps that we have. I guess that's what the big compost bin (aka the rotting vegetable heap) is for. I will keep you updated!

OMG Panko Crusted Soy Ginger Asparagus

2011-05-19T13:28:00.005-05:00

This was phenomenal. The recipe is found here at Dana Treat. Go now. Why are you still looking at my blog? Go make this asparagus!

2011 Garden

2011-05-17T22:14:00.001-05:00

The theme this year is simplicity. Tomatoes and herbs, just like I promised myself. Talia took half the garden for flowers. We left a space unplanted so the kids (Shayna) can dig around. It was so hard to pass up all the other plants and seeds at the market- peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, squash, carrots, peas etc. but I really wanted to try it this way and see if the garden can be a joyful place instead of a stressor. If I miss growing all those other veggies I'll know for next time!

Ravioli with Harissa Oil

2011-05-09T20:00:00.001-05:00

I recently got the Super Natural Every Day cookbook by Heidi Swanson. This is the second recipe I've tried and it's another great success. I love that this is extremely quick- cook some ravioli, add broccolini into the ravioli water at the end. Serve with toasted nuts (she suggests pepita or pine), feta and black olives. Drizzle with Harissa oil which is basically lemon juice, garlic, salt, two tablespoons of Harissa and 4 tablespoons of oil. Great taste + very few prep dishes = a winner.

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T15:36:00.001-05:00

Sitting on the porch
Putting the binding on our family quilt
One kid sleeping
One kid playing outside
One kid snuggled right next to me, reading.

FOUR!

2011-05-02T12:47:00.000-05:00

My sweet Alex is FOUR today! We had an awesome party yesterday at our local pet store. The kids got to see and touch lizards, mice, a snake, snails, puppies, a kitty and a bunny. I let all the children "adopt" a kitten stuffed animal and we filled out adoption certificates. We served snacks (dog bone shaped graham crackers and goldfish) and ice cream in pet bowls that the kids could keep. We all had a great time!

Fantastic Time in Mexico

2011-04-28T09:25:00.000-05:00

A much needed vacation! We had a great time with my extended family. Cancun is only a 3 hour direct flight from Milwaukee-- I think we may be visiting there again!

Team Umizoomi Toys

2011-04-19T11:39:00.001-05:00

Alex really likes Team Umizoomi. There are no Umizoomi toys available to buy so I made him a little set out of peg dolls. Bot doesn't looks EXACTLY like he was supposed to but... what's a girl to do? Geo and Milly look... ok.

Exactly What I Wanted

2011-04-17T11:34:00.001-05:00

After reading this post, you will know that this is exactly what I wanted!

Talia's Fairy Playmat / Messenger Bag

2011-04-15T11:32:00.001-05:00

Similar to Alex's, this one has a bunch of little villages, a Rapunzel tower, a waterfall, castle, mushroom patch, koi pond, mermaids, beach, forest and more. I haven't finished it so I better hurry up!

Alex's Car Playmat / Messenger Bag

2011-04-13T11:28:00.002-05:00

I made Alex a car playmat that folds up into a messenger bag. He loves it. I used this pattern from Gingercakes with a few changes. My sister and I used to make elaborate villages out of Fisher Price houses and Little People. I feel like I'm always trying to get the kids to play villages with me. I keep buying them playhouses and dollhouses - anything to start a village building frenzy. It doesn't really work. They might play that way for a little while but would rather do their own thing. Which I guess I should accept. This playmat is sort of a take along village. It has a school area, a hiking park, a candy store and cupcake cafe, a science museum, a zoo, a construction site, a fire station, an airport, traffic, a playground, two housing complexes and a roadway. I am in the process of making Talia a girly one as well. I went on a fabric frenzy after I started making these two. They aren't that big so I have to be VERY selective as to what fabric I choose!

Peg Dolls

2011-04-04T13:17:00.001-05:00

I've been quite productive in the crafty department recently but too lazy to take any photos so... no recent blog posts. Yesterday Talia, Alex and I painted peg dolls for the first time. I had been looking forward to it for a long time! It was really fun even though it was quite messy. I could have worked on them forever. I made Alex a really cute superhero but he was too busy playing with it to let me grab a photo. What more could I want?

Talia's Yoga Birthday Party

2011-03-14T10:29:00.001-05:00

Talia's yoga birthday party at Blackbird Family Yoga was a great success! The yoga class was fantastic-- the kids really enjoyed it and Amanda, the owner, kept their attention perfectly! I brought a picture frame (I spray painted it pink - and the garage floor, oooops!) and a few props and the kids really hammed it up. The homemade cupcakes were a total hit. I used this recipe for the cupcake and this one for the buttercream frosting. It really isn't that hard to make cupcakes if you send the kids away and they are not climbing all over you. And if you have a Kitchen-Aid mixer. I'm glad this birthday extravaganza is over. I have two months until Alex's 4th birthday and then we are done for a while. Now getting Talia to write her thank you notes will be another story... We've set a goal of three per day. It should be easier than last year, right?

One thing to note-- this past summer I was watching a video of my own birthday party, I'm not sure if I was 6 or 7, but I recall watching myself reading the birthday cards out loud and I noticed that I read them as well as if I were reading them now, at age 37. I was a bit mortified thinking that Talia's reading skills were not up to par. Lo and behold, she read her birthday cards with the same ease I read mine. What a difference a half a year can make! I'm so proud of her!

Tuscan Salad

2011-03-10T11:24:00.000-06:00

Must share... This is a really delicious and impressive salad. Sometimes salads don't seem to be enough for a main dish but this one is substantial enough for sure. The crunchy romaine (I'm into romaine these days after years of shunning it for darker greens...), the meaty white beans, the bite of the red onions and olives and the fresh, perfectly al dente green beans combine with a super tangy lemon dressing and salty parmesan. Sound good enough for you? Here it is...

Giada's Tuscan Salad

Ingredients
8 ounces green beans, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 head Romaine lettuce, torn
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/2 red onion, cut into slivers
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 ounce shaved Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)

Directions
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and stir. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until beans are slightly tender. Transfer the cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water and let cool for 3 minutes. Drain the green beans.
In a large bowl, combine the green beans with the lettuce, cannellini beans, olives, and red onion. Toss to combine. Drizzle with lemon juice and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat. Top with shaved Parmesan and serve.

Look who's turning 7 tomorrow!

2011-03-10T11:16:00.000-06:00

We have a packed weekend! Talia turns SEVEN tomorrow! She is performing in the talent show at school and having a yoga birthday party this weekend. Anyone have any suggestions for egg free treats I can bring into school tomorrow?

Brussels Sprouts and Roasted Winter Squash Hash...

2011-02-24T11:33:00.000-06:00

with black rice and a fried egg on top.

I tried this recipe from the New York Times. I fried the egg since I am not confident of my poaching skills. Anything with a fried egg on top is pretty delicious, isn't it? I made the black rice in the rice cooker. It had a nice crunchy texture to it (or is that because I mixed it into the pan with the vegetables after is was cooked?) and tasted great, especially for a whole grain! I would definitely make this again. I probably would dice up the butternut squash and roast it in the oven (maybe even with the brussles sprouts?) instead of cooking it whole and then scooping it out (too messy). Now I need another recipe for the rest of the black rice. I think black rice is "in" right now, isn't it?

Anniversary Map Papercrafting Project

2011-02-19T14:18:00.001-06:00

I felt a little guilty about not finding a unique gift for my parent's anniversary last month. Actually, it wouldn't have been so bad... except I didn't send my mom anything for her birthday which was two weeks prior. I'm the kind of person who will get a gift if I see something great. If I don't see anything I like, I just might not send anything. It's not very nice or consistent but I have a lot of gift angst. It doesn't help that certain people in my family are pretty good at picking out gifts. My family is hard to shop for and I just can't handle the pressure!

The night before my parent's anniversary I started feeling guiltier and guiltier so I spent two hours scouring etsy.com for something special. I found a lot of contenders (must keep them in mind!) but most had a long turn-around time so I drew inspiration from a few artists and came up with this gift myself. I bought an atlas at the bookstore and a cloud punch plus a deep frame from the craft store. I enlisted some help to pinpoint the exact cities that my parents had visited over the years. I punched them out of the maps and affixed them to the frame. It took quite a while to figure out the best way to attach them (sewing was involved!) and the best configuration for them (approximately spatially according to city). The best thing about it is that I haven't made much of a dent in their travels-- I only covered Europe and Asia! This means that next year I can give them Africa and the next South America and then Australia! So in the end, I get a few years worth of anniversary gifts out of this one idea! How awesome is that?

Slightly Belated Recent Happenings

2011-02-18T10:49:00.000-06:00

Packers won

Shayna hangs out in her favorite spot

Talia has a tea party for her new American Girl Puppy, Coconut.

I acutally made cookies. From scratch. I let the kids help. It wasn't fun.

Pasta with Mushrooms, Winter Squash and Spinach

2011-02-17T10:34:00.000-06:00

Delicious winter pasta dish. I didn't use this exact recipe-- no cream in mine-- but pretty close. This picture is making me hungry!

I've done some more knitting...

2011-02-16T11:12:00.000-06:00

I finished Alex's hat and made one for myself. Mine's a slouchy hat and looks a little too hippie-ish for me but is really fun anyway. I got the pattern off Ravelry, which is a new discovery. Wow, what an awesome website! Last night I started a hat for Shayna. I was going to make her a matching bunny ear hat but... she already has one (though it's newborn sized) and she'll just pull it off anyway. I'm going with the marshmallow bonnet from the same book (shout out to a Madison author, woo hoo!). Hopefully the chin strap will help Shayna keep her hat on. Then I promise promise promise I'll make one for Ron. The only problem is... I REALLY NEED TO GET BACK TO QUILTING. I have some major projects to finish and get underway. Knitting is just so much more social. I can do it and still sort of take care of my kids. I can knit while I'm spending time with Ron. I can hold a conversation. I can't quilt and do anything else with it except maybe listen to the radio or watch a little mindless tv. Certain people (like my nephew Joel who is now over 3 months old and hasn't received his quilt yet!) are suffering.

Look who turned one!

2011-02-15T10:25:00.000-06:00

Shayna had a fantastic first birthday party surrounded by family and friends. I can't believe she's one! She enriches our lives immeasurably. Thanks to everyone who celebrated with us. Check out that cute cake from Bloom Bake Shop!

I don't remember what this is.

2011-02-06T11:55:00.000-06:00

I found it in my picture folder for last month. I have no idea what it was but it sure looks good!

We're a PJ kind of family

2011-02-05T11:53:00.000-06:00

Winter Vegetable Tart

2011-02-04T11:35:00.000-06:00

This was just delicious! It uses a few too many dishes for my liking but it could DEFINITELY be made ahead and cleaned up and then popped into the oven at dinnertime. This is from the Roasted Vegetable Cookbook by Andrea Chesman (She called it a Fall Vegetable Tart but it's winter now, so there!). I forgot the red pepper so I cut up some jarred roasted red peppers and added them in once the rest of vegetables were roasted. I use fontina cheese, which was a great texture -all gooey!- but I would like to try gruyere or goat for added taste. I ended up making to two separate "pies" with this so we had one for dinner and one for lunch. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 medium beets, peeled and diced small
1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced small
1 medium red or yellow onion, sliced thin
1 medium red or green pepper, diced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Large splash of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbl (or more!) fresh rosemary, minced
Pastry for 9-10” pie (store bought is fine!)
8 oz fontina, gruyere, or goat cheese (2 cups) grated

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Prepare vegetables by cutting into medium dice and placing in a bowl with the rosemary and salt/pepper to taste.
Toss with just enough good quality olive oil to lightly coat the vegetables.
Spread onto a lightly oiled baking sheet in a single layer and roast in the oven until tender, about 35 minutes.
Move vegetables around with a spatula every 10 minutes for even browning.
Remove from oven, set aside to cool, and reduce heat to 375 degrees.
Roll out dough to a 9 -10”circle, place on foil lined baking sheet and sprinkle cheese to within 2” of the edge.
Top with the roasted vegetables and fold edges of pie dough up and over to partially cover the vegetables.
Pinch and seal dough around edges to create a rustic looking tart.
Bake for 25 minutes until the crust is golden brown.
Serve warm.

DIY light box

2011-02-03T11:52:00.000-06:00

1 "under the counter" light + 1 clear Sterilite or Rubbermaid container = DIY light table.

Roasted Asparagus with Feta, Lemon and Orzo

2011-02-02T11:50:00.001-06:00

This is one of the very few recipes in which I can remember all the ingredients without a list. That's good because I often find myself at the grocery store without a set plan for dinner. The recipe calls for grilling the asparagus but I find roasting it is just as tasty! I got it from The Vegetarian Grill by Andrea Chesman.

Ingredients:
few jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
1 lb Asparagus, cut in 2 in lengths
1 lb Orzo
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 oz. Feta Cheese
Lots of fresh mint and Parsley

Lemon Garlic Marinade, recipe follows

Instructions for Roasted Asparagus with Feta, Lemon and Orzo:
Heat water for orzo.
Cut asparagus into 2-inch chunks and place in bowl and toss with Lemon Garlic Marinade.
Add orzo to boiling water and cook until tender. Drain.
Place in serving bowl, toss with feta and roasted red peppers.
Remove asparagus from marinade (save as much marinade as possible!), grill,* tossing frequently, until tender.
Remove from grill and add to the orzo.
Add remaining marinade, mint + parsley, salt and pepper to taste.

*I roasted the asparagus in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes, turning frequently. I also deglazed the roasting pan with a little white wine and added it all to the dish.

Lemon Garlic Marinade:
1 tablespoon minced Garlic
1 Lemon, zested
handful chopped Parsley
1 teaspoons Sugar
juice from 1 lemon
1/2 teaspoon Mustard, Dijon
1/4 cup Olive Oil

Instructions for marinade:
In food processor fitted with steel blade, combine garlic, lemon zest, parsley and sugar. Process until very finely chopped and the mixture is fairly smooth. Add the mustard and the juice from one lemon and process again. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil and continue to process until the oil is emulsified.Stir in salt & pepper to taste. Use immediately or store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

My NEW sous chef

2011-02-01T11:25:00.000-06:00

Move over Alex-- I have a new sous chef! Shayna has made it to the Learning Tower (best purchase EVER) and has been joining me in the kitchen. Apparently she'll eat anything. Yesterday it was raw butternut squash and tonight it's raw aspragus. She seriously ate all of the tips. Of course Alex had to join her (in the cooking, not the eating, God forbid!) and there wasn't a lot of room in the cooking area after that. With just Alex I can leave my knives out but obviously I had to keep them (and just about everything else) from Shayna so I just kept inching away until I was on the other side of the kitchen. She is quite happy to stand at the counter and "help" though.

"Mom! Emergency downstairs!"

2011-01-30T11:14:00.001-06:00

I've been working on independence with Talia (Well, I call it "working in independence" but it's really "working on letting Mommy sleep in"). I'm willing to put up with a little mess in exchange for the extra sleep. Talia has successfully gotten herself breakfast a few times recently and also does a pretty good job of taking care of Alex on weekend mornings. I suppose keeping the cereal on the absolute highest shelf in the closet (I can hardly reach it) isn't exactly the best place for it. Over the summer I tried keeping a low shelf with foods that the kids are allowed to take on their own but somehow I fell out of that habit. This is the emergency situation I was called to at 7:45 this morning. Someone owes me about $3 and an hour of extra sleep. I'll just put it on the kids' tab.

My own Tiger Mom moment

2011-01-28T13:22:00.000-06:00

I want to Talia to love reading as much as I do. I was an early reader, so it killed me that Talia was not reading books by kindergarten. I tried not to push her. I believe intellectually that play-based learning is superior to book learning in preschool and kindergarten but in my heart I still wonder. I tried sitting down with her and making reading fun. I gave no judgement and just tried to make it special time with mommy. I offered tons of praise. I bought pretty bookmarks and a book timer. I took her to the bookstore and let her pick out her own books. Every week I go to the library and take about 60 kids' books. We read tons to the kids each night (which they love love love), we fill our home with books, we model reading ourselves and talk about the joy of it. And, eventually, she got it. By the beginning of first grade she was reading reliably and now, in the middle of first grade she can read almost anything with little or no help.

BUT. She doesn't really want to.

And why would she? We have TV, DVD, Netflix on Demand, iPod, iPad, computer, and art closet that rivals any preschool, ballet, swimming, skiing, gymnastics, playing with friends, a million toys and a billion other entertainments and distractions. If it wasn't something I could do in my bed I wonder how much I would be reading too.

Talia doesn't mind reading if it's only for a little while. She will sometimes read eagerly but not for very long. And she likes to read books that she can finish in one sitting. We have tons of easy readers and picture books. I might have to twist her arm a little bit to get started but she's definitely gotten into the habit of reading at least one book for pleasure each night. The problem is... I want her to WANT to read. I want her to see it as an answer to her own question, "What can I DO???" I want her to WANT to snuggle in her bed and open a book and get lost in it. I want her to read chapter books so that she CAN get lost in them.

So finally, I made her. This was my Tiger Mom moment. I am the ever-praising, super-patient, non-pushy, non-disciplining, "find your own path sweetheart" kind of parent that everyone refers to. This time I just put my foot down and told her she had to read one chapter with me every day. "But I don't WANT to!" "But you can't MAKE me!" "Why do I HAVE to?" Because I said so. And because you will not watch tv, play with an iPad, or have a playdate until you do. In the amount of time that you have been arguing with me about this you could be done already. There was crying and kicking and fighting. I did my part in choosing a book that would be really fun for her (Something about a first grade group of girls who decide to have a princess club in school). I also made sure that it was time for us together. Just the two of us. I let her snuggle up all over me and gave her my full attention.

The first day she scowled the whole time and didn't sit with me and read to herself. The second day we went through the whole fight again. "But you can't actually MAKE a person do ANYTHING!" Actually I can, and I will. But she sat with me on the couch and read to herself and I kissed her head and was very very affectionate. The third day she said, "We can go read my book now, if you want..." and she read aloud to me. Then she told me that she kind of likes the book and maybe wants to start the next chapter. Then yesterday she told me she read a chapter to Alex in her bed in the morning. Last night we couldn't find the book and she was quite disappointed. This morning we found it and she jumped for joy and settled herself on the steps and started reading. She brought it to school and asked her teacher if she could read it during reading time in class. I KNEW that if she just TRIED it, she would like it.

Mission accomplished.

Sometimes I knit.

2011-01-27T12:30:00.001-06:00

I started this hat for Talia in 2009, while I was pregnant with Shayna. I made Shayna a little newborn one and promised Talia I would make a matching one for her. It took me over a year but I finally returned to the project last week and voila! a bunny hat! Now I've started one for Alex in gray with pink stripes. Sometimes I forget how pleasurable knitting is. It can get a little boring so I try to stick with small projects. For Alex's I put in a rib at the bottom instead of a roll, just to change it up a little and make it more interesting. I just finished the rib and am starting the first pink stripe. Now Ron wants one and Shanya needs a new one so I may be busy with that for a while.

I have many projects I'm working on right now-- a quilt for my nephew (I'm in the basting stage, ugh!), a top secret paper project that is a gift, and a loooooooong wish list of other projects. It's nice to have my creative energy back after a dry spell. But now I don't want to go to the gym as much. I really only have time for one or the other. Not both.

Miso-Glazed Cod

2011-01-21T21:13:00.000-06:00

I made fish tonight! Ron hates fish and therefore didn't love it but he did eat it and I thought it was great! And easy! I used Ellie Krieger's recipe for Miso Glazed Cod and as well as her Miso Snap Peas recipe (although I jazzed it up by adding uncooked packaged broccoli slaw and a fresh red pepper- I mean, if you're going to go to all that trouble to COOK her dressing ON THE STOVE you may as well get a big hearty salad from it...). In retrospect, perhaps Ellie didn't leave the cod skin on but that was the best part by far. I never cook fish (because of Ron) or meat (because of me) so I was definitely a little anxious about it. I may have also set a little fire using my broiler for, I think, practically the first time ever (it was broken for three years) but the fish ended up perfectly cooked to all's well that ends well, right? I'm always amazed at how simple and easy cooking a protein for dinner is. I think my life would be a lot easier if I ate some meat or if Ron would eat some fish.

We've been watching a lot of cooking shows at my house. Alex and Shayna are sick and for some reason that means Alex wants to watch the Food Network all day. Maybe it's because he knows I'll watch it with him. We definitely bond over cooking shows. Hopefully I'll be inspired by another recipe tomorrow. I did see this shrimp one but Ron will NOT allow it...

I made a mermaid!

2011-01-15T15:48:00.000-06:00

After avoiding my sewing machine for a few months, I'm back in there. I've been working on a quilt for my nephew Joel who is coming home from the NICU really really soon! I'm waiting for some more backing fabric to arrive in the mail so I can finish the quilt. I decided to work on an easy little project to stay in the creative mood. I used the Mermaiden pattern from the Wee Wonderfuls book. I'm not big on making stuffies but this one looked so easy. I used an old pair of cords for the hair and bits of fabric I had around the sewing room for the rest. She took me an hour and a half but the next one should be much much quicker. I certainly can't give it to Talia without promising Alex one too. There is a cute stuffed trolley in the book but I bet he's still going to want a mermaid. I could maybe change one into a mer-man. That might be satisfactory. Then again, if my boy really wants a mermaid, he'll get a mermaid!

Is it possible that my mom is a genius?

2011-01-08T16:26:00.000-06:00

I've written before that my mom isn't the most "domestic" mom on the planet. She has no idea who gave me the "crafty" gene. And yet today, I'm wondering if my mom is maybe a crafty, problem-solving genius. See, I'm always complaining that my pants are falling down. Sadly it's not because I've lost tons and tons of weight (well, ok, a little!) but because I'm always buying jeans and pants with some stretch in them. I've become so used to comfy yoga pants that I can't bear to put on anything that actually fits. (Gee, I wonder why Talia will only wear leggings?!?) So I put on my jeans in morning, straight from the wash let's say, and I can hardly close them. By lunchtime they've stretched enough so that I can pull them down without even unbuttoning them! It's pretty frustrating and always leads me back to those yoga pants (oh how I love thee). Enter my mom who tells me she has been sewing (!) on a second button to all her pants for at least a year. Once the pants start to stretch she just moves them over to the second button. DUH! I bought a package of jeans buttons from Joann's-- you don't even have to sew them, just hammer them in! Now my pants aren't falling down (as much)! I think my mom might be a genius!

Have I solved our nutrition problem?!?!

2011-01-01T16:07:00.000-06:00

I have three kids. Talia is a good eater. Recently she has become eager to try new foods. Shayna, so far, has not refused any foods at all. Whatever you give her, she will eat. Then there is Alex. He eats pretty much nothing with nutritive value. He subsists on yogurt, bread and chocolate. I read somewhere about a disorder found in little boys in which they slowly and systematically cut out more and more foods that they previously liked. I think he has that disorder. He used to eat peanut butter. Then he would only eat it on Uncrustables. Now he won't eat it at all. He used to eat cheese sticks. He doesn't like them anymore. As I said, it's only yogurt and bread. The bread shouldn't have crust and yogurt, for the love of God, should only be the "smooth" kind with no "freckles" in it.

The interesting thing is that Alex is my sous chef. He loves to cook. I bought him some kiddie knives and he helps me prep everything. He is the head salad dressing maker. He cuts the cucumbers. He won't try anything. I know I'm not supposed to make a big deal out the eating issues. I rarely mention it. We eat dinner together as a family about 99% of the time and I want it to be a pleasant experience where we talk about our day and enjoy each other's company. Ron, Talia and I model varied, healthful eating. We encourage and reward trying new foods and mostly ignore the rest of it. Maybe it's about control but Alex is so easygoing in every other area that it doesn't make sense.

Most of the time I just ignore it, as I said. I know people who ate nothing but pb&j their entire childhoods and they are fine (and more adventurous eaters) now. Every once in a while I panic about the whole thing. He's not underweight or anything, I just worry about him missing some essential nutrients.

Recently I bought a juicer as a gift for myself. Alex, ever my helper, happily pushed all the fruit and vegetables in. Miraculously-- he drank it! Through juicing he has now had his very first carrots! He had a pear! and a lime! and oranges! and apples! and blackberries! I'm going to try to move into juicing veggies a little bit more and see what I can get him to try! It's very exciting!

Self Portrait T-Shirt: Freezer Paper Stencil

2010-12-28T15:43:00.000-06:00

Alex has learned how to draw a self portrait! I took one of his many drawings and turned it into a freezer paper stencil and put it on a t-shirt. (If you want to know how to do it, google the words "how to make a freezer paper stencil" and you will find tons of tutorials.) Isn't it cute?

San Diego 2010

2010-12-27T15:31:00.000-06:00

Despite all the rain, we had a nice time in San Diego. We hit the Science Museum (twice), the Natural History Museum, the Aquarium, Legoland, and the zoo. Talia even got to go indoor rock climbing. Ron and I saw our new nephew Joel in the NICU- he's doing great! We also got to go to a movie (Thanks Christa!), do a little shopping and see an old friend (Hi Lauren!). Somehow we only managed to eat at Rubio's once-- how did that happen? Flying with three kids is not that bad but it's a major juggling act / musical chairs event. We came back to typical Madison cold and snow but... there's still no place like home!

Sub-optimal Photo Shoot

2010-12-16T12:18:00.000-06:00

Despite promising my kids ice cream sandwiches for participating, I did not get a stellar picture for our holiday card. My sister, mom and best friend agree that the first picture is ok but not "holiday card worthy". I know, I know-- it's a little late to be starting this process but better late than never, right? I don't think I have it in me to try again. It's too annoying and so not me. Perhaps I will let Talia just draw a picture of our family this year. It's Shayna's first holiday card though and I don't want to give her the shaft. She was the one who wasn't participating which is strange because she's such a smiley kid. Must have been hungry/tired/etc. Well consider this your holiday card people-- we might not be sending them this year!

Back from Costa Rica...

2010-11-01T09:22:00.000-05:00

More later!

Legible

2010-09-30T16:06:00.000-05:00

Some belated first day of school pictures. As I mentioned in an earlier post, all of my photos are on our dead computer. As soon as we get a new one up and running I should have them back. Luckily I sent a bunch of recent photos out to my family via email and was able to retrieve these there. I've also included a note that Talia wrote the other day when she answered the phone (which is a miracle in and of itself). It says, "Dear Mommy and Daddy. Cory kld! He wtid to tok to you." So cute.

Our New Family Hobby

2010-09-28T11:26:00.000-05:00

The kids love hiking! And I love hiking with them! Ok, we've only been twice now so I'm not sure I can safely call it a hobby but as soon as we were done they asked when we can go again. The first time we left Shayna at the bottom of the mountain with my in-laws. I wasn't sure how the kids were going to do. I can't explain how much fun it was. Ron went up ahead with Talia and I stayed with Alex. I loved seeing everything through his eyes. He really felt like we were on an adventure. He wanted to touch all that he saw and collect items for our nature table and climb the super tall mountain. He felt compelled to talk to each person that passed us by. It was a blast. The kids just wanted to go higher and higher and higher. We only got them to come back down the mountain by telling them that we w ould return when the leaves changed. This time Ron put Shayna in the Ergo carrier and she loved it. The leaves weren't as colorful as we hoped (next weekend should be perfect for anyone interested) but the kids were thrilled to be climbing again. We went even higher and it was much more crowded so Alex had more people to talk to. I hope we will be able to get back once or twice before it gets too cold.

Bo Peep Skirt II

2010-09-26T16:48:00.000-05:00

There has been some sewing going on here. I've been working on small projects lately and hope to get into some bigger ones as soon as it gets colder. I bought some coordinating corduroy fabrics and have been making a set of clothes for the kids. Alex got some great pants that have cargo pockets and contrast cuffs. Talia got another Bo Peep Skirt. The first one can be found here... (She never really wore that first one. I got a little wiser and made it slightly less full and used a lighter elastic because she said it itched her) I need to make Shayna a little dress and we'll have the whole set done. Talia gets a lot of compliments on her skirt. I taught her to say "Thank you, my mommy made it" emphasis on the "Mommy made it" part.

I got so sick of the kids wanting to "help" me sew that I brought out my old sewing machine and took the needle and electrical cord away. Now it is theirs, along with a big bin of scraps, their own kid scissors and notions and even a rotary cutter without the blade. I also gave them my small ironing board and got them a thrift store iron and cut the cord off. Unfortunately, the magic (and it was wonderful, imaginary, cooperative magic) wore off after a week or two and now they are bothering me at my sewing machine again. Alex tried to "help" me clean up my sewing room and organize my fabric by putting all the ones he liked (which is pretty much everything) into a bin for himself. I would like to admit, however, that Alex names all of the parts of the sewing machine (presser foot, feed dogs, bobbin case etc.) as if they are common words everyone knows.

I have two quilt tops done and I'm thinking I'm going to just send them out to a quilter. Until I can afford a long arm machine I think I'm only going to quilt baby quilts by myself.

(Non)Triumphant Return

2010-09-26T13:41:00.002-05:00

Just when I was about to start blogging again after the long (so long) summer... our main computer broke. It has all of our family photos on it. Plus, we moved Shayna to "her own room" which happens to be our office. This means that there wouldn't be a good time to get to the computer anyway. So that's one of my excuses.

The other excuse is that I started going to the gym. Everyone always asked me how I found the time to sew/cook/blog/whatever and my answer was threefold: I don't go to the gym, I don't volunteer at the kids' school and I try not to maintain too many close friendships. Now I'm going to the gym 2-3 times a week and there goes all my creative time. I'm into this class called "BodyFlow" which is mostly Yoga but also a bit of Tai Chi, Pilates and Meditation too. I'm thinking about joining a different class once a week called "BodyPump" which is cardio/weight lifting and will kick my ass. The one time I did it I couldn't move for 3 days. I'm happy about my new interest in Yoga and I hope I can maintain it. Alex and Shayna seem to like the gym daycare but... Alex got sick last week (probably from the daycare) and gave it to everyone else in the house.

On to updates:

We had a good summer. Talia had summer camp, our Israeli friends (who live in Amsterdam now) came to visit us for two weeks, we spent lots of time at the pool and our porch is the best addition to our house ever. Summer seems like a long time ago already.

Talia is enjoying first grade. She has really made a huge jump in her reading skills and has now read her first chapter book by herself. She does seem to be going to the nurse a lot...?... I don't know why. Some claims are legit-- she did have a nosebleed, for example-- but she seems to have a reason to go EVERYDAY.

Alex is the cutest thing ever. He is so funny. He never stops talking- just makes observations and shares his thoughts about everything. He is still at preschool three days a week. He's in a new room but has the same teachers and classmates so it hasn't been a big transition.

Shayna has grown up a lot. She sits up easily, she eats absolutely anything you give her, and she LOVES her brother and sister. We moved her to her own room, as I mentioned above. She's very easy-going and doesn't complain about anything. She only cries when she is tired. I've started trying to be home for her nap, which pretty much kills my whole day. If I try to let her nap when we're out she will only take about half an hour but at home it's two hours at least. It seems like I drop Talia off at school, run to the grocery store, run home for Shanya's nap and by the time she wakes up it's time to start thinking about getting Talia from school already. How can that be?

Hopefully I can be a little more consistent in updating my blog. I have been sewing and cooking to some extent, just smaller projects mostly. Happy New Year and all that... Love, Nikki

PS. See our pictures from two years ago at this same apple picking farm...

Shayna at 5 months

2010-07-22T14:02:00.000-05:00

Farmer's Market Quilt

2010-07-15T12:05:00.001-05:00

For those of you who think I never quilt anymore! This quilt has been three years coming. I bought the RJR Farmer's Market Fabric when I first moved to Madison with the intention of making a picnic blanket. I got so far as designing the blanket and even began to cut the fabric. And then... the first winter came. and the next summer and the next. Finally this summer I was determined to get this project off the ground. I scrapped the original quilt design and started by making disappearing 9 patch blocks. I love how easy they are and the random looking design it creates. I knew I needed this quilt to be BIG to accomodate the five of us as a picnic blanket so I layed out what I had and figured the best way to use ALL the blocks was with the 4 large squares and the strip in the middle. I picked black for the sashing so the colors would really stand out. And then... I decided I wanted the quilt to be EVEN BIGGER so I added the filmstrip edge. It's about 90 by 110 inches, which is by far the largest project I've ever made. I believe it counts as a king size quilt.

Now... I have to piece the back (using home decor fabric for strength and I think it's just shy of being big enough so I'm going to have to come up with some solution since I can't find more in the store) and then... baste it (yuck!) and quilt it (yikes!) Obviously I'm going to do something simple but... what? I always get stuck at this point. My goal is to finish it in two weeks. YEAH RIGHT!?!?

East Coast Vacation

2010-06-24T14:27:00.000-05:00

We took our annual trip to the East Coast to visit family. As always it was very rushed and hectic but the kids were incredibly well behaved and flexible. Shayna was great on her first plane trip. We had a vacation within a vacation when we spent two days in New York City. The highlight of that trip was definitely our time at the High Line (a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park built on old elevated freight tracks. It features an integrated landscape, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings, fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features.) We had a nice visit with my family and celebrated some special events. I'm happy to be back home in Wisconsin now and able to officially kick off the summer.

Kick Ass Dinner

2010-06-21T16:25:00.001-05:00

My neighbor had a baby a few weeks ago and I wanted to make her something filling and warming and full of nutrients. I picked out this recipe for Black Bean Chilaquile from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. I'm not exactly sure what was "low-fat" about it but it was DAMN GOOD. The only CSA ingredient I used was spinach but later in the summer you could use local corn, tomatoes and onions as well. This meal could be made very easily and quickly using canned and store-bought ingredients or more slowly with fresh. I opted for canned tomatoes, canned black beans and bagged shredded cheddar but cut the corn fresh from the cob. It's really up to you...

Black Bean Chilaquile (recipe from Moosewood Low-Fat but here from memory)

1 onion

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 can black beans drained and rinsed

1 cup of corn (fresh really does make a difference!)

juice of one lime

tortilla chips, crushed (I actually used "hint of lime" chips)

bunch or bag of spinach- wilt by blanching in boiling water or steaming (I did it in the microwave with a little water for two minutes)

shredded cheese (cheddar, mexican blend, queso fresco, monterey jack- use whatever you have)

salsa

1. saute onions until translucent, about 6-8 minutes

2. add black beans, tomatoes, corn and lime and cook for about 10 minutes or more

3. start layering:

a. crushed tortilla chips into the bottom of a baking dish (9X9 or 9X13)

b. sauteed vegetables over the chip layer

c. spread wilted spinach over the vegetables

d. layer of cheese

e. layer of salsa

f. layer of chips

g. layer of salsa

h. layer of cheese

4. bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes until bubbling

enjoy.

Another graduation of sorts

2010-06-14T12:25:00.000-05:00

Shayna is now big enough for the exersaucer, the high chair, and toys! My house is being overrun by baby gear.

What a difference 9 months can make...

2010-06-11T12:22:00.000-05:00

My almost first grader! Talia has grown up so much this year. Well, in most ways...! Today is a very special day for her class. Not only is it the last day of school, it is also her teacher's last day. Everyone seemed to be weepy-- especially the teacher-- when I dropped her off. I'm so proud of Talia and all her accomplishments this year. The skill I was most excited for her to acquire was learning to read and she totally did. I love reading with her each night and watching her brain work it all out. Congratulations Talia!

More Measuring Cups

2010-06-10T12:49:00.000-05:00

not a measuring cup-- a little cake plate or something but oh so cute...

matryoshka doll measuring cups

elephants!

fish-ish

Kindergarten Quilt

2010-06-03T16:18:00.000-05:00

Talia's kindergarten teacher is retiring after almost 30 years. A parent of one of her classmates wanted to make a quilt as a gift for the teacher. She had each child paint on fabric and then... she got stuck. She hasn't ever quilted before. I took over the job and decided to make the pieces into flowers and added stems, leaves, butterflies, the school photo and a colorful binding. It's a challenge to take over a project that wasn't your own idea. The only thing I would change would be the fabric she chose for the background. Everything else came out great. The teacher was overwhelmed when she received it last week. This is the first major project I have worked on in a long time and I have already started another since!

Collecting

2010-05-27T11:08:00.002-05:00

I've never been much of a collector. While my home is filled overfilled with stuff (and I hoard fabric of course), I consider myself a minimalist when it comes to decorative display items. I have beautiful built in glass display cabinets and yet I have no idea what to put in them. Recently, however, I've started collecting unique measuring spoons and measuring cups. There are some really cute ones out there and it's been lots of fun trying to find them.

I think collecting in this day and age is actually way too easy. Assuming the items you collect are inexpensive, finding and purchasing them is as simple as clicking a button on ebay. I feel like I've exhausted all the obvious venues (ebay, etsy, Anthropologie, Pier One, google searches) and it will now be more challenging.

I have a bunch more to show off in another post. These are some of my favorites-- the chicks especially! Let me know if you can think of other places to look for new ones!

What are you collecting these days? Do you think collecting is easier now than when you were a kid, before the internet?

Stay at home weekend

2010-05-24T16:27:00.003-05:00

We had a family portrait session

Did some reading

Worked on some art projects

Tried to roll over

Caught a caterpillar

Put together a new puzzle

Played with a new toy

Wrote and illustrated a story about the aforementioned caterpillar

Also: went to the farmers' market, played in the sprinkler, rode bikes, grilled dinner, worked on a quilt, went running (Ron, not me!), attended a birthday party (Talia) and spent lots of quality time together. Sometimes weekends in which we stay home feel a little claustrophobic but this one felt relaxing. Now if I could just figure out why and apply that knowledge to the upcoming summer...

CSA Week 2: Greens with Potatoes, Corn and a Fried Egg

2010-05-20T11:54:00.001-05:00

One of the things I like so much about getting a CSA share is that it forces me to discover new recipes that become family favorites (and by family I mean only Ron and me). For example, Lentil-Rhubarb Soup has become a monthly staple in our house and I only discovered it because I wanted to use rhubarb without making dessert. Soy-Roasted Radishes, Grilled eggplant salad and Green Beans Gremolata all came out of necessity. This year we opted for a Spring CSA share as well as the summer share. The spring share has a lot of greens. A lot. I don't like bitter greens so much. I try to use them right away and am thankful they cook up from a huge batch into almost nothing. This week I took a recipe from the MACSAC cookbook From Asparagus to Zucchini and it was delicious. Then again, anything with a fried egg on top is delicious.

Greens and Potatoes with Fried Egg (recipe from book mentioned above-- this is from my memory...)

1 potato
onion
garlic
bunches of greens
corn
2 eggs

I sliced the potato and microwaved is for a minute or two to soften it and then I fried it up with regular garlic and the green garlic from the CSA. I added all the greens-- a bag of spinach and another huge bunch of... I don't even know what it was- the braising greens mix? I added a little water to wilt down the greens. Then I threw in half a bag of Trader Joe's Roasted Corn and some paprika. When everything was cooked through, I removed it from the pan and fried two eggs. This made 2 servings with a little bit of the potato and greens mixture alone for lunch the next day.

Here's what else I got in the CSA:
Scallions, one bunch
Easter Egg Radishes, one bunch
Braising Greens Mix, one bunch
Broccoli Raab, one bunch
Dill, one bunch
Green Garlic, one stalk
Elegance Salad Mix, one bag
Spinach, one bag
Kale mix, one bunch
Micro Greens Mix, clamshell
(Tatsoi, Pea Shoots, Carrot Greens, Beet Greens, Viola Flowers)

CSA Week 1: Spring Greens

2010-05-12T08:58:00.000-05:00

microgreens

radish salad with cucumbers and tofu

Sauteed bok choy, shiitakes, tofu and broccolini

Sauteed greens with pine nuts and balsamic

This is the third year in a row that we have joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture- a co-op where you but into a farm for the year and you receive a box of their produce each week during the growing season). I like the challenge of tackling the box each week, trying to use the produce up before the week is through and another box comes our way. I've discovered new vegetables and new recipes that have become family favorites. It changed what I look for in a cookbook-- now I prefer them to be organized by season and also preferably organized by vegetable too. Each year I've tried to document on this blog what I received in the box and how I used it. Each year I fell off the wagon pretty quickly. So, once again, I'm going to give it a try....

This year we switched from Vermont Valley Farm to Keewaydin Farms for three reasons-- most importantly, Keewaydin delivers on Wednesdays instead of Thursdays. That way I can "fill in" whatever vegetables I didn't get from the farmer's market in Middleton on Thursdays. There are no farmer's markets in Madison on Fridays and I would always have to go to the grocery store and buy conventional or mostly non-local produce for the weekend. Another reason is that Vermont Valley has too many potatoes. Everyone knows how I feel about potatoes. Lastly, Keewaydin has a drop off site at my friend Annemarie's Bloom Bakeshop in Middleton and I wanted to have a connection to the shop (see my birds hanging in a corner there!). We are also receiving fresh local eggs and goat cheese every other week.

So, what did we get this first week?

Scallions, Cilantro, Dill
French Breakfast Radishes
Clam Shell of Micro Greens Mix(Rainbow Beet, Tatsoi, Mustard Greens, Pea Shoots, Carrots)
Bag of Baby Romaine
Bag of Spring Salad Mix (variety of flavors)
Bundle of Braising Salad Greens Mix
Sml Bundle of Spinach, Chard, Kale Mix
Bundle of Broccoli Raab
2 Red Bok Choy

Nothing I made this week was particularly amazing...

- Radish salad with cucumbers and tofu
- Sauteed bok choy, shiitakes, tofu and broccolini with a soy-rice vinegar sauce served over pasta (Actually this was pretty good)
- Sauteed greens with pine nuts and balsamic
- Toasted baguette with fresh goat cheese, tomatoes and micro greens (This was delicious)
- Salads, of course

That leaves only some spring mix and the baby romaine, which we will have tonight. Just in time for this week's box although I fear it will be more of the same...

Alex turns 3!

2010-05-07T14:36:00.000-05:00

We had sushi and ice cream cake with Alex's best friend Penny and her family. Compared with Talia at age three or just two months ago when she turned 6, Alex really got the shaft. I did not fill his room with balloons as I did for Talia. His presents were not wrapped, there was no card. He did not have a party with 20 friends. I didn't even make his "3" shirt until the day of his actual birthday. I did make him two "3" shirts though. And, truthfully, while Talia's "big present" was an American Girl doll she wanted (and never plays with), Alex is getting something twice as expensive and possibly better- Ron ordered him a Kettler Go Kart. As least, I think that's what it is because it hasn't arrived yet and it's 5 days PAST Alex's birthday. That's what you get for being the middle child. Considering I AM the middle child of my family, I'm getting lots of lessons about what it might have been like for me!

yada yada yada

2010-05-05T16:40:00.002-05:00

I'm just going to yada yada over the last month. Yes, I had (have?) postpartum depression. Yes, I'm doing much much (MUCH) better. So, yada yada yada, Shayna is almost three months old, Alex turned 3 and spring is here. I missed out on some things over the last month but I'm not going to dwell on any of it. We have made some positive changes in our household; namely we hired a nanny to help out three days a week. She hasn't started yet but I have such high hopes! The kids became a tiny bit more self-reliant which is always good and Ron really stepped up to the plate. More on Alex's pitiful birthday celebration (ok, not pitiful in and of itself but compared to Talia) when I have another moment. Whew.

7 weeks

2010-04-06T14:18:00.000-05:00

Let me count the ways...

2010-03-28T21:05:00.000-05:00

So Shayna is six weeks old tonight. Have we really made it this far? Is time flying so fast or crawling-- I can't tell? In some ways I feel like I can't remember what life was like without her. In other ways I feel like, "So this is my life now?" as in, I'm never going to have time to myself ever again, I'm always going to feel like I'm shortchanging at least one of the kids (not to mention my husband), I'm still not sure how I'm going to manage to run a household with a baby plus two big kids. I try to take a breath and sit back and remember I felt this way about having one and then having two...

Shayna is a GREAT baby. She sleeps a LOT and still always manages to sleep well at night. Talia was an ok baby but Alex was a really shitty baby so Shayna is an absolute dream compared to him. The kids adjusted so well-- they are both in love with her and there hasn't been any fallout from the new addition. They still have their issues (Talia is NOT a good listener and Alex, while potty trained, never ever tells us he has to go. We just take him every two hours and we're fine-- or he'll just go in his pants) but nothing has changed in their behavior since she was born (actually they now play together soooooo well!). Shayna has become quite a little fat one. She's busting out of her newborn size clothes and we're into the 0-3 mo. stuff now. Nursing is, well, I won't bore you to death with my complicated and frustrating nursing story but let's just say that, for the time being, we have a system going and she gets whatever I have to give her. She has lots of hair but what's more remarkable is how LONG it is. It's longer in the back than Alex's and almost as long as Talia's. She needs a cut or she's going to have a mullet... By 6 weeks, Talia's hair had lightened up considerably and Alex's had mostly fallen out but was also light. Her eyes are unmistakably blue but again, much darker than the other kids. She seems good natured and easy going and we're all thankful for that. I've been able to get her to smile and she has TWO dimples. I can't wait to show them off!

In looking through old posts in order to prove what a bad baby Alex was (and I couldn't really find any so I must not have been very truthful here) I could see how quickly Alex became a real person. Sometimes I find myself looking at Shayna and trying to force myself to really SEE her. I can't even see her when I'm looking right at her. I know this babyhood disappears in the blink of an eye. It's gone already-- but try as I might, it's really hard to be present and experience it fully.

Belated Party Post

2010-03-23T22:05:00.000-05:00

Talia's 6th birthday party was at Beansprouts, a hip little kids' cafe in our neighborhood. It was a "pj party" (all the kids came in their pajamas and it was held in the evening) and a cooking class. The kids seemed to have a good time and, more importantly, it was relatively stress free for me. All I had to do was get some goody bags together. I went with the pajama party theme and bought washcloths and pillowcases onto which I appliqued the kids' initial and a rocketship or flowers, respectively. I also gave out toothbrushes and toothpaste, a glow stick, a deck of cards, silly putty lip gloss for the girls and one page of junior mad libs. After way too much begging, I finally got Talia to draw a "Thank You" sign so I could take a photo of her with it and get thank you cards printed up. I recently got a new point and shoot camera (long story) and I hate it (none of the pictures from her party came out) and need to return it and find another. It takes decent pictures outside though.

Thriving

2010-03-19T21:15:00.000-05:00

We are doing quite well, considering. Shayna is a very good baby. She has her own surprisingly predictable schedule that is conducive to the family's needs. Let's just put it plainly-- she sleeps a lot. Now that she's almost 5 weeks we're all smiling at her like crazy, hoping we will be the one on whom she bestows her first social smile. Her sleepy, unintentional smiles are a ray of sunshine on my day.

SIX

2010-03-12T16:11:00.000-06:00

This is what 6 looks like! Talia turned 6 yesterday. I wish I had more time to reflect-- but with a new baby I haven't had time to reflect on ANYTHING!

Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse Necklace

2010-02-27T20:30:00.000-06:00

It looks like I'm still finding time to craft with a new baby in the house. Honestly I just don't feel good if I can't make something with my hands every single day. Of course there are many days I don't get to be creative in that way but I try not to let more than a few days slip by. I'm still working on Shayna's baby quilt (top is completely done, back is about 2/6 done, then there is the basting... and the quilting... and the binding...) and today I spent at least an hour organizing my fabric room which always boosts my creativity.

I have bought a LOT of fabric recently. I think I was "drunk dialing" during my bouts with insomnia during the last few weeks of pregnancy. By "drunk dialing" I mean ordering lots of fabric online in the middle of the night and not remembering it in the morning. I bought entire collections of Hope Valley, Meadowsweet, Chirp, Little Folks, Hunky Dory, Botany and more more more. Some are charm packs or layer cake packs but some are the full fat quarter collections. In the past I have wanted to buy collections only to find out they were sold out or discontinued so I figured: buy now, worry later.

Anyway... I have only really had time for teeny tiny projects these past two weeks. One of them was this necklace for Talia to wear to the Overture Center to see Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse with her Kindergarten class. Normally we really dress up for our trips to the Overture Center. For The Nutcracker Talia wore a fancy ballet dress. For Little House on the Prairie (with Melissa Gilbert as Ma!) Talia wore an "apron dress" that I spent three hours making that morning (and that was just for the apron that she wore over a dress she already owned!) and a sunbonnet. I felt slightly guilty that I wasn't able to volunteer as a chaperone for her class so I channelled that energy into making this little necklace. It has all the important elements-- the purple purse, the sunglasses, the crown and the cowboy boots. I fused fabric to both sides of heavy pellon interfacing, cut out the shapes, top-stitched them and added embellishments (rhinestones and star buttons). I sewed them down on a ribbon and added some stitches to make it lay flat. Luckily, Talia liked it and wore it. I heard from another parent that T's teacher was pretty impressed and actually showed it around to the other teachers. It's always a bonus when others appreciate your work! I don't have too many crafty friends nearby so it's nice to share. That's one of the things I like about this blog... so... enjoy!

Family Photo Shoot

2010-02-24T12:28:00.000-06:00

I'm just proud of myself for trying the family photo shoot at all. To my surprise, everyone cooperated- if only for a short time. And I got that one great shot of just Shayna (see previous post). The kids seems to go back and forth between wanting to hold the baby and wanting to watch tv. They definitely don't want to change diapers or be anywhere near her if she's crying. I thought it would be fun for the kids to help with her bath. The first time they were so freaked out by her belly button/ umbilical cord that they ran from the room screaming and talked about it for two days (Alex said, "because she has a yucky belly button"). For the second and third baths they wanted to help but ran from the room because she was crying. So much for my fantasies about family time.

Just a taste

2010-02-21T19:26:00.000-06:00

Just a taste to whet your appetite! Here is baby Shayna, 1 week old.

Doing well so far...

2010-02-18T08:25:00.000-06:00

We're all getting used to our new family. So far, all is well. Shayna is still a sleepy little thing. Feeding takes a loooooong time and a lot of energy on my part but we're working on it. The kids intermittently dote on her and ignore her. Ron is home for a week and a half-- who knows how we'll manage to keep everyone on track after that!?!

She has arrived!

2010-02-16T15:51:00.001-06:00

Shayna is here! She was born on Valentine's Day and is teeny tiny-- 6 lbs. 3 oz., 18.5 inches. Although the labor was quick (5 hours start to finish) it hurt like hell! I got to leave the hospital 12 hours later so I'm thankful for that. Adjusting to three kids is going to be challenging. Bedtime last night was a three ring circus of needs and I had only gotten two hours of sleep since the delivery. Then the baby screamed for 4 hours, starving because breastfeeding isn't going so well. At least the big kids slept through the night. Ron had to work today but is off for a week and a half now and my mother-in-law was able to help today. I'm looking at a few tough days ahead with the sleep deprivation and adjustments but hopefully we'll all make it just fine! At least seeing Talia and Alex with Shayna is its own reward... Wish me luck!

More Birds, No Baby

2010-02-13T10:03:00.000-06:00

Still crossing things off my list, I guess. The first bird mobile is for Bloom Bake Shop, a new cupcake shop on Parmenter in Middleton near Villa Dolce. The place is really cute, the cupcakes are delicious and the shop is owned by a great friend so stop by! Annemarie always admires a collection of these birds that I made and attached to a thrifted birdcage so I decided to make her a mobile as a "housewarming" for her new adventure. The second picture is of the mobile I just finished for Talia's room. All the fabric is from my stash and it should coordinate well with her new bedding. Hopefully I can get around to finding a ceiling hook and get it up in her room sometime soon.

Still no baby, but I have 4 more days until my due date. Interestingly enough, I was obsessed with birds right around the time Alex was due too!

Cute kids

2010-02-11T11:57:00.000-06:00

Haven't posted any pictures of my kids in forever. I figured I would post some of them before this blog gets taken over by new baby pictures (any day now...) These were both taken over a month ago in California. Talia is almost 6 and Alex is 2 3/4.

Getting Ready

2010-02-08T20:37:00.000-06:00

Little signs all over the house that a baby is coming. I made slings for both big kids. Got the co-sleeper out, although I put it in Talia's room and it now has books in it. Cloth diapers are all organized. Today I did the last and most important thing. I got two new car seats and had them professionally installed. Alex's car seat was HUGE so I downsized him to a booster with a 5 point harness and purchased an infant seat. It's a very tight squeeze.

I am in love with the service I received from the Safety Center at the Children's Hospital here in Madison. The car seat guy TESTED out the car seats I wanted and rearranged them into a few different configurations. The seats were cheaper than in the store (and the infant one is really cute). He took the new seats out of the box for me, put the infant seat together (that awning thing had to be completely assembled...), installed them properly into my car and then re-installed the infant seat-- not because it wasn't done properly (the indicator on the seat said it was fine) but because he didn't want the baby's head to flop around. I always say I'm going to write to a company to praise a worker for great service but this time I will really do it! Thank you Jim! There is NO WAY I could have done that myself. I was afraid Talia would be jealous that everyone got a new seat but her and also she says she wants to sit in the middle so she can hold the baby's hand but she seemed ok about it. She said she was happy to be sitting next to Alex again (I had separated them because I couldn't haul Alex into the middle with my growing belly). She did say she was squished and there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY she will be able to buckle herself. I am currently taking bets as to how many days it will be before we purchase a minivan.

Now that I've completed that last and most important task, I'm ready for baby. The only thing I haven't done is finish the baby's quilt. I need about a week of undivided attention for that so... it's a long shot, but possible. We're supposed to get a big snowstorm tonight so either I'll go into labor or make the kids watch tv all day tomorrow (or let them TRASH the entire house) so I can sew...

Spool Bird Wall Hanging

2010-02-04T12:14:00.000-06:00

I finally made a wall hanging using the pattern from Spool Sewing. I've made these birds before but I don't think I have ever posted a picture. I've always drooled over the beautiful pieces on the Spool Bird Flickr group and now I can finally add something of my own. I used all the colors of our new living room and attached them to the branches (with a hot glue gun-- last time I tried sewing them to the bird cage I was using and it was difficult to get them where I wanted them).

It was a real challenge to figure out how to hang it. I ended up attaching three lengths of fishing wire and then gathering them and hanging the whole thing from a single hook in the ceiling. It's a little precarious but as long as no one touches it I think we will be alright. Talia is jealous and wants a bird mobile of her own so I'm working on that now and I'm sure Alex will want one too. After I finish that project I just have the baby's quilt left. I've done a lot of work on it already so I just need to sit down and get back into it. I've found a great way to get back into sewing after a stalled project is to just take a break and work on lots of small projects. I've certainly done that! Now I only have two weeks (give or take!) to finish the baby quilt. It's going to be gorgeous!

More sewn pillows

2010-02-03T02:59:00.000-06:00

I quilted another pillow and made two more simple ones. I'm surprised at how easily I found fabric to coordinate with what I already bought. We also got the wall hanging we ordered. It's all coming together. I never really decorated a room before (which is why most parts of my house look like my college dorm room-- mess and all) so this has been a good experience so far. I just finished a piece of wall art that I made myself and about which I am very excited. I have to figure out how to hang it and then I'll share.

Hand-Printed Tablecloth

2010-01-28T10:16:00.000-06:00

I've been looking for a new modern tablecloth (currently using a $4 vinyl "Happy Hanukkah" one). I haven't found anything to fall in love with so I bought some fabric and decided to come up with a few of my own (cause I don't have anything better to do?). This was my first attempt. I bought Lotta Jansdotter's book Lotta Prints and decided to try my hand printing one. I created some simple potato stamps and used fabric paint on muslin. So far it's already getting trashed (little kids will do that but I have also spilled on it!) but I bought some nice dark brown fabric as well and might try printing that one too. I also have some modern spring-y fabric that I need to sew up. I think the best thing would be to find some sort of coated fabric or maybe even top something with vinyl or similar because I can't be washing tablecloths every day!

Pillow Update

2010-01-25T04:08:00.000-06:00

The pillow on the left is the (very expensive!) one I bought for our new couch. The one on the right is the pillow I sewed to coordinate. The one I bought cost about 10 times more than the homemade one-- and the homemade one is actually more comfortable and useable. I have lots of other ideas and great fabrics in mind to add to the collection. We'll just see if I have any time to make them before this baby gets here...

Cloth Napkin Bonanza

2010-01-20T16:11:00.002-06:00

In my nesting efforts I have been finishing little projects that have been on my list for, oh let's say, the last two or three years. Today I moved some books from one shelf to another. I pass this shelf of books at least 10 times per day and every time I think it looks messy and needs to be moved or straightened. It took me all of 4 minutes to do today.

We've been doing a lot of home decorating as well. Talia got a bunk bed and Alex got Talia's old bed. I bought bedding and lamps and curtains for both. We ordered an entirely new living room from the nicest furniture store in Madison. Yesterday I bought a pillow for the new couch for $150. I could have totally made it myself-- if I didn't mind stealing a local artist's ideas. Today I bought coordinating fabrics and pillow forms so hopefully I can make a bunch of pillows to match. I also have been looking for an awesome tablecloth (for our new dining room table, gifted to us by my in-laws as they have recently downsized) and haven't found one I loved so I bought some fabric and fabric paint and am hoping to hand print one a la Lotta Jansdotter. I know, a lot of projects with a baby coming in less than a month-- especially considering I have totally stalled on her quilt...

Another thing I did today was sew up 22 cloth napkins. I've been wanting to use cloth exclusively for a long time but you really need a lot of napkins to make it work. I decided to take an entire collection of fat quarters and serge the edges. This is a collection I got at Joann's and I totally love it but... it's not the highest quality fabric. I made one or two quilts using this type of collection before and I think the fabric is too thin and slightly see-through so I don't want to go through all that work again and be disappointed with the final result. Now I get to look at this fabric collection every day anyway so I'll get to enjoy it! Truthfully, all I did was serge the edges of the fat quarters so if I change my mind and need a quilt, the fabric is still completely intact. Hopefully the serged edges will hold up to repeated washings.

Most importantly, I threaded my own serger today! Originally, a friend did it for me (by tying on new thread to the old thread's ends- I got a used and therefore previously threaded serger) and that worked fine. Then when I had a problem with it I took it to the repair shop. They didn't charge me but they did keep it for two weeks. A few days ago one of the needles came unthreaded. I tried to re-thread it but it kept coming undone. It worked fine as a three-thread serge, especially since I was just finishing edges-- not using it for actual construction. Today it just messed up completely in the middle of the cloth napkin project so... I got out my manual and re-threaded the whole thing. It took about 30 minutes and Alex was really trying to "help" me but I did it and I can DO IT AGAIN! I pride myself in being skilled at following written and pictoral directions. I think that's why I was able to teach myself to sew, cook, put furniture together and I'm great at reading maps. Taking on the serger, however, always scared me. Now I know I can do it. I love having a serger and would be lost without it. Imagine double hemming 22 napkins = that's 88 edges (meaning you would have to press them each twice for 176 edges). Even if the serged edges do not hold up after repeated washings I should still only have to single hem them. Isn't that great?

Lazy Sunday?

2010-01-17T20:55:00.000-06:00

In order for me to do this:

I had to let them do this: (Check out that wall art installation in the upper left of the collage. It consists of a red feather and rainbow thread -among other things- taped to a post in the basement.) There was a lot of great collaboration between the kids and they really did play well together, unsupervised, for most of the day. There is a LOT for me to clean up. Alex is really handy with a pair of scissors and leaves huge piles of teeny tiny pieces everywhere. I'll probably spend as much time cleaning up after them as I did on the quilt, which thankfully, is almost finished (more on that when the intended receives it). Obviously, Ron was working today. I did plan on taking the kids out of the house at some point- maybe to get dinner? but we ordered pizza instead. Then, unexplicably, the kids demanded jelly sandwiches afterward. (See, it's not all gourmet food around here...)

In addition to the art-fest, there was also a major jet crash into the playmobil airport, a dumptruck full of pompoms and a jump start on the kids' Valentines. With the new baby due around Valentine's Day I feel like I'm just simply going to forget things, like my niece's third birthday and Valentines for school, plus Talia insists on an annual scavenger hunt; why I started that tradition is beyond me.

In other news, I cut the tip of my finger off two nights ago. I was using a very sharp 10 inch Chef's Knife to cut up some butternut squash. I know people say that using dull knives is a hazard but I always cut myself with the freshly sharpened ones. I rarely use that knife, as I prefer a slightly smaller one so it was still extremely sharp from my semi-annual trip to the knife guy in September. Ron and I debated going to Urgent Care to get it treated but decided there wasn't much to do, considering the skin there wouldn't really stretch well for stitches and the piece that got cut off was too small to reattach. We got a good look at it for the first time this morning (prior to that, every time I unwrapped it blood would start pouring out) and it looks like healthy tissue. I did bang it on something today and it started bleeding again. I can't imagine how long it will take to heal and I wonder if my thumb will ever look normal again. I'm guessing not. I will spare you the pictures of it. Unfortunately we ate the butternut squash dish (roasted, with arugula pesto) last night and it was NOT worth losing a finger over.

What We're Eating: Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Mushrooms, Feta and Truffle Oil

2010-01-14T11:45:00.000-06:00

Oh, this was delicious! Original recipe from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop, modified by me-- I added more vegetables and truffle oil.

Warm Farro Salad with Roasted Mushrooms, Feta and Truffle Oil

1 1/2 cups farro or spelt
water, salt

extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds mushrooms, halved or quartered (I used cremini; would like to have added some shiitake)
1 1/2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
6 shallots, sliced thinly

arugula
feta (the original recipe suggests feta, goat or pecorino. I would stick with feta or use parmesan)
parsley
truffle oil

1. Cook the farro in salted water for 30-40 minutes until tender/chewy, then drain and mix with a little oil
2. Toss the vegetables with oil, salt and pepper and then roast at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes. MAKE SURE you give them enough room on the roasting sheet or they will steam and not roast
3. Toss everything together, serve on top of a bed of arugula and top with feta, parsley, salt and pepper and do NOT forget the truffle oil!

Alphabet quilt for baby Jack

2010-01-13T12:21:00.001-06:00

I made this quilt quite a long time ago but waited to give it to baby Jack in person during our trip to San Diego. I thought I took actual photos of it but I can't seem to find them. I sewed squares with his name into the backing fabric in the same font as the front fabric, which is from the Maisy collection. It came out really cute-- I wish I could find those pictures. Enjoy baby Jack!

What We're Eating: Israeli Cauliflower with Panko

2010-01-11T12:12:00.000-06:00

Not sure what is "Israeli" about this dish but it was damn good. I've made it several times. The best part is that you cook the cauliflower in the microwave and then sear it on the stove in the same pan you toasted the panko (but remove the panko first). No steaming or roasting so it's quite quick. Sorry this picture is a little lacking... it keeps getting eaten too quickly! Here's the recipe from the website-- I highlighted my changes in yellow.

Israeli Cauliflower with Panko from Cooking Light

Ingredients
6 cups cauliflower florets (I just used one whole head)
2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I think I didn't use any because I didn't have any...)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation
1. Combine cauliflower and 2 tablespoons water in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain.
2. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko to pan; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring constantly. Remove panko from pan.
3. Heat remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil and garlic in pan over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower; sauté 5 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Add panko, parsley, salt, and pepper; toss to combine.

What We're Eating: Coconut Crusted Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce

2010-01-08T19:54:00.003-06:00

I've been cooking a lot but haven't been posting about it because, frankly, I'm too lazy to carry the recipe upstairs to the computer. I also feel guilty about posting published recipes without permission so unless I can link to it I'm not too keen on reproducing it here. The dinner I made last night though, was a mix and match of different parts of recipes put together and a decent amount of effort so I'll share...

I knew I was going to make some sort of Tofu with Thai Red Curry Sauce and I needed an Asian salad to go with it. I threw together some leftover greens with thinly sliced red peppers and cucumbers. I took my dressing recipe from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, which is a cookbook I don't use that often. It's too big; it has too many recipes in it. I can't read it like a book so I just use it as a reference guide:

Soy Ginger Dressing:

salt and pepper

2 tbl rice vinegar

1 tbl grated fresh ginger

1 tsp sugar

2 tbl soy sauce

The kids were having "Sushi and Edamame" for dinner. This after my house was cleaned yesterday; always a mistake as I ended up on my hands and knees picking up rice from the floor and carpet. For the side dish I just mixed the kids dinner ingredients and ended up with basmati rice with edamame and crumbled bits of Korean seaweed.

The Thai Red Curry Sauce was the inspiration for the dish and that came from A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen by Jack Bishop. It's a great cookbook but often involves a lot of steps and too many (unnecessary, in my opinion) dirty prep dishes. I like it because it's organized seasonally. The actual recipe I was going to make was very simple and involved searing the tofu and simmering it in the sauce-- very quick and easy for this particular cookbook. Alas, I had also recently seen a recipe for Coconut Crusted Shrimp in my Cooking Light Magazine this month and that just looked yummy so I decided to try it on tofu and combine the two recipes.

Coconut Panko Crusted Tofu:

1 block of extra firm tofu

cornstarch, salt and pepper, dash of cayenne

3 egg whites

1/3 c shredded unsweetened coconut

1/3 c panko

canola or peanut oil

Slice the tofu into 1/4 inch slabs. Dredge in cornstarch mixed with salt and peppers, then into the egg white and then into the coconut panko mixture which you have pulsed together (I'm loving the Magic Bullet these days) to a powder. Coat the bottom of your pan with oil and heat to medium-high. Lightly fry the tofu a few minutes on each side and then drain on paper towels or a rack. Sprinkle with a little salt.

For the Thai Red Curry Sauce:

1/4 c unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 c vegetable broth

1 tbl soy sauce

1 tbl fresh lime juice

1 tsp thai red curry paste

1 tsp sugar

I just put it on the stove and heated it gently and let it thicken. Then I put it in a gravy container (actually I think it was a creamer...) and served it alongside the tofu. That way you can add some just before eating so the crusty tofu doesn't get soggy. The sauce was delicious and really easy. It was barely enough for two. Ron and I were fighting over it so next time I would definitely double it; especially since you have almost an entire can of coconut milk leftover anyway. It tasted great on the rice with edamame too. Just yummy yummy yummy.

All in all it was a really delicious meal. A little stressful for me with the tofu frying (I wasn't sure it was going to work!) but Ron and I each ended up eating a half a block of tofu and wanting more more more. Not too bad for you-- just a little coconut milk and some oil, most of which isn't REALLY absorbed during the cooking process (is it?). Remember the salad dressing didn't even have any oil in it. Ron really liked the salad, by the way. Alex, my little 2 1/2 year old chef, made the dressing and the red curry sauce. He's obsessed with cooking.

So that's all for now. I have a new cooking plan that seems to be working and I'll elaborate some other time (nothing shocking, just picking out a month's worth of recipes and actually cooking them). We've been eating healthily and home cooked around here-- trying to eat seasonally as well. That's the hardest part. Hope you're eating well too!

San Diego Vacation

2010-01-07T09:59:00.001-06:00

We had a great time in San Diego over the winter break. I'm sure this is the last trip that will have seemed "easy" to us for quite some time. We finally have the whole process down pat and we had to go and have another kid. What were we thinking? The kids were extremely well behaved-- the flights were a cinch. We've stopped bringing the clunky DVD player. Instead we brought a movie or two on the ipod but they didn't really watch it. Alex played with his cars the whole time and Talia colored, played with her playmobils and played some ipod games. The key is to sit two and two, across the aisle. That way the kids don't fight over anything, the parents can switch or the kids can switch when someone needs a break and the parents can hand each other things across the aisle. The other key is have healthy meals and snacks plus a few special goodies. I think eating crap while traveling leads to a poor attitude in general. Also, a packing list really helps me stay sane and stress-free in the days leading up to a trip. It has everything my kids need from sunhats to snowsuits and I just print it out each trip and cross off what I don't need while gathering what I do. It helps when packing to go home too-- you won't forget your booklight under the bed if you see it on the list. And I'm not the most "list-y" person.

The weather wasn't as warm as we had hoped it would be but compared to Wisconsin and snow, it was just fine. Never warm enough to sit by a pool though, much less get into water. That's ok-- I'm not looking so great in my maternity bathing suit these days! We met up with my family (staying 75 minutes north in a resort while we stayed in my in-laws' condo) 4 times. Two of those days, unfortunately, were the colder, rainier days of the trip. We explored a little bit of the coast with them, went to Disneyland (my favorite part of the trip!) and hung out at the condo on one rainy day (played poker too and I won $40). My sister and her family came down to SD and we went to Seaworld. Without my extended family we went to Balboa Park and the Science museum and explored the cactus and rose gardens which was something we hadn't done before. We also went to the La Jolla farmer's market, which we love, and when my in-laws came at the end of our stay we went to the Wild Animal Park.

All in all, a lot of activities but I think that's another key to our trip's success. Make a plan and get out. We did all of our activities early and therefore were able to be home by 3 or 4 and give Alex a little bit of a nap. We ate many meals in the condo and packed lunches for each trip so we could eat healthy but save room for a treat. It just feels better that way. I actually lost a pound over the holidays despite being 34 weeks pregnant! Must have been all that walking. The kids actually slept together in a bed, in their own room, for the first time ever and it worked out great. I wish now that we had gotten the twin-over-full bunk bed so they could continue, if they wanted. Then again, they seem to be doing ok now that we're home so that's better. PUTTING them to bed together was nice but Alex is a kicker for sure. Ron and I were able to have our own room too, although sharing a queen is NOT the same as a king. Plus I need lots of room these days.

Now we're home, it's snowing again and it's time to settle in for our long winter's nap. 6 more weeks until the baby is due. It doesn't seem like a very long time. I have been on a spending frenzy, trying to control some anxiety through shopping for baby essentials. I bought ONE bottle and ONE pacifier and ONE box of diapers, a few outfits, a Moby Wrap carrier and one of those car seat cover things so your baby doesn't freeze when you take her outside (never needed one before). That may not sound like a spending frenzy but I also bought new bedding for the big kids (new beds = new bedding) and lots of other bigger ticket items that I can't seem to think of right now. I'm giving myself a break and signing up for the cloth diaper service for a few months-- I didn't use cloth for Alex when he was a newborn and he was never a pooper so I don't even know HOW to clean newborn poopy diapers. I'm excited about all the cute cloth diapers I've been seeing around.

I still don't know how I'll ever be able to take the kids to school in this weather with a new one but other people do it so I can do it too. Today Talia walked into school by herself for the second time (the first time a friend was walking in at the same time) and I was able to attach her snowsuit to her backpack so hopefully it worked out ok. I think I see a lot of that happening from now on. The parking lot is really small and messy and filled with snow. Often I can't even get to both sides of the car to open the doors. Enough procrastination for now-- I have a lot to do today!

The Big Boy Bed

2010-01-03T21:55:00.000-06:00

Apparently not going as well as I had hoped. I put Alex down for his nap and found him here, an hour later. He is sleeping on the floor at the top of the stairs. He even brought out the toy he had asked to sleep with (a little orange digger). It's not like he couldn't have come downstairs-- I don't know why he chose to just sleep on the floor in the hallway. I was cleaning the house and listening to my ipod- but only with one earbud in so I could hear him! Actually, since this was taken things have improved. There are some protests but he goes to sleep ok at night and at naptime. He has been waking in the middle of the night and coming into my room and standing next to my bed and scaring the shit out of me but not every night. He certainly doesn't want to sleep in his crib. What he wants is to sleep with Sissy-- but on her top bunk, which is obviously unacceptable. Technically SHE'S not even old enough to sleep on a top bunk (you're supposed to be 6 which she won't be until March). Since she got her bunk bed (the same day he got her old bed) she's been sleeping better. I think she's just too lazy to come down the ladder and therefore just goes back to sleep on her own. We've only had this new bed arrangement for two weeks-- one week of which we were on vacation so it's only been a short while. The plan is for them to maybe sleep together but I think we'll wait for summer.

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

2009-12-24T15:18:00.000-06:00

Wishing you all the best in the new year!

Recent Happenings

2009-12-21T02:35:00.000-06:00

I would like to give some excuse for not posting in so long (almost a month!) but I have none. Everything is going relatively smoothly-- this has still been my easiest pregnancy. There are days when I feel less able to move around comfortably (today, for one..) but I can never seem to figure out why. Eight more weeks. I am starting to get stressed out a little bit about that. I'm realizing now that I'll never get all that house organizing done. I wanted to go through each closet, each drawer, each tiny space and get rid of everything I own. Maybe I need to watch an episode of Hoarders each day-- that does get me motivated! Instead I'm sidetracked by the everyday organizing and cleaning (that damn mudroom full of snowboots and snowsuits and school bags and lunchboxes and coats and groceries and...) and rarely get that enough under control to move on to organizing what is hidden away in the closets. I did get to organizing the kids' old clothes and ended up with about 12 huge bins that are organized by size. (Note that I have given away all of Alex's clothes under size 18 months and all of Talia's clothes under 4T so this sadly represents only a year or two. Must watch Hoarders more often!) I still have to go through their more current clothes and lots of miscellaneous shoes and winter gear that are just thrown on the floor in our storage room.

I bought a new point and shoot digital camera, which explains why I haven't been taking many photos (the LCD screen on my old one broke) and so I have some new pictures. I'm actually returning the new camera (too slow to respond...) and trying a different one but that's another story. The pix in the above collage represent the past week or so-- Talia and I went to see the Nutcracker. See how I'm hiding my pregnant self behind my kid? Nice. Hanukkah came and went with big gifts of an American Girl doll for Talia and the Playmobil airplane AND airport terminal for Alex (if we have to play with him we may as well make it fun for ourselves...) and many many many many smaller presents for each. Talia had her first ski lesson and was AMAZING! After an hour-long private lesson she was able to ski down the slope, get on the rope tow, come up, ski down, come up etc. She is even able to stop, troubleshoot, fall and get up. She loved it. I've been on and off with cooking lately but this past week I cooked a bunch of meals (butternut squash risotto, middle eastern chickpeas and spinach with yogurt sauce, orchiette with broccolini, chickpea and bread soup, cauliflower with panko). Last week I picked out a month's worth of recipes and that seems to have worked out pretty well. All the clean up is really too much for me though and keeps me from those other organizing projects (see paragraph number one!).

The kids are now off from school for TWO WEEKS. I'm really excited about not having to get them out of the house in the morning (though now they are used to getting up at 7am so I suspect I won't get to sleep in at all...) but not excited about entertaining them for so many days. I need to force myself to take them out for an activity each day. They don't really want to go (they are pajama homebodies like me) but it will give structure to the day. Tomorrow we are getting a HUGE delivery of a bunk bed for Talia's room. I guess that means that we are finally going to get Alex out of the crib. I wonder how that will go, since it seems like he couldn't care less about it. He's been crying at bedtime (and naptime too sometimes) lately so I can't imagine it will go well. He's welcome to sleep in Talia's room on the bottom bunk but who knows how that will be? Talia is such a light sleeper. If he cries she will certainly wake up and if I spend time cuddling him and trying to get him back to sleep she gets jealous. ("You love him more than me" is a popular phrase in our house; a topic for another day). I guess that's what winter break is for-- to try new sleeping arrangements out! We have no idea where to put the new baby-- not that it will matter for a few months, she'll just stay in our room-- but if Talia and Alex did want to room together it would solve some problems... We have an upcoming vacation as well so don't feel *too* sorry for me having the kids home for two weeks.

That's all for now. I get my new new new camera tomorrow or the next day so I guess I will be taking lots more pictures and perhaps will post a little more frequently... Happy holidays to all.

Library Book Bin

2009-11-30T21:12:00.000-06:00

The Hanukkah Helper has been creating some mischief in our house each night. Last night he emptied the library book bin and climbed up a fairy tent vine. I'm actually running out of ideas about where to put him. The kids love it and it's actually easier for me to get Talia downstairs on school mornings because she wants to see what he's done. On the other hand, she's waking up earlier on weekends too...

Actually I'm writing this post to show off the Library Book Bin. I've been using it for a while but finally got around to decorating it. I matched the fabric to the colors in the fairy tent, used fusible web and just ironed on the letters and some cute birdcages (no sewing). Every week or two I go to the library and literally just sweep an entire shelf of books into my bag. I barely look at them. There always ends up being a mix of books for Talia and Alex to look through. If they don't like them they get new ones in a week or so anyway (not that it's ever happened!) At Alex's age Talia was still ripping books up but I've been able to get Alex library books for months now. It's so refreshing to have new things to read! We also check out DVD's and many many audiobooks for the car. I've noticed that Talia will listen to some books that are slightly above her level (Little House, the original Peter Pan, today we started The Borrowers) and her comprehension is great. We have the best library in the world. Have I mentioned that they don't charge for late items? Ever?

I Spy Quilt

2009-11-29T05:04:00.000-06:00

Delivered this new I Spy quilt to a baby boy in our neighborhood today. This was definitely a more traditional pattern than I'm used to making and I enjoyed following someone else's math for a change! (Can't find a link to the quilt pattern, I'll try to add it later...) Amazingly, all of these "boy" fabrics came from my stash. There are lots of rockets, robots, cars and planes. For the back I used more of that Ikea fabric-- the one I handquilted for my nephew. I quilted this with a square spiral that was super simple. It was a continuous line so it took no time at all. I drew on the quilt top with Crayols washable marker again. I was nervous because there was a lot of white but... it came out in the wash, no problem. Of course, I was so nervous about it that the amount of time between marking the quilt up, quilting it AND hand sewing the binding was ONE DAY. Talk about a catalyst for getting a quilt finished!

For a big sister gift I made a little coloring book bag / crayon roll. Next time, more interfacing (a recent theme, perhaps?) and shorter rows for the crayons.

Hanukkah Garland

2009-11-21T16:56:00.000-06:00

Talia is so jealous of all the Christmas decorations she sees in our neighborhood so I try to make her feel special by putting up Hanukkah decorations in our home. When I was growing up you couldn't GET Hanukkah decorations anywhere so ours were all homemade-- even though we weren't such a crafty family (well, I always was but certainly no one else...). Now you can Hanukkah decorations at Bed Bath and Beyond, Party City, Target and certainly online. I even bought some strings of lights with dreidels on them for this year. I wouldn't want them to be mistaken as Christmas lights, so I think I'll keep them inside.

I've been collecting Hanukkah fabric for a few years now. I wasn't sure what I'd do with it. I still might make a quick quilt but it would suck to work on something you can only use for a few weeks out of the year. I ended up making a Hanukkah Garland to hang in the house. I just looked at different garlands on flickr and came up with the concept. I made a dreidel template, cut them out of each fabric and appliqued the letters for "Happy Hanukkah" on it. I used a Jewish star to separate the two words, tucked it all into some navy bias tape and hung it up. I added silver, gold and blue ribbon in between the letters "for fancy" as Talia would say. I wish I used some interfacing to stiffen up the pieces. I knew I should but I was lazy as usual. It only took two or three days and interfacing would certainly have slowed me down. I'm always in too much of a hurry-- especially when the project is not a gift... A lesson learned, I suppose.

Recent Happenings...

2009-11-10T12:15:00.000-06:00

We've had a very busy few weeks here at the Dolin household. I took a trip to New York - alone! while the kids went to visit their aunt Lisa in Pensacola with Ron. Last weekend Ron and I took a trip to Puerto Rico, just the two of us. We figured no one is ever going to offer to watch our THREE kids so we may as well leave while we still have two! As far as I can tell, the kids were great and had fun with their grandparents. Then my parents came to visit after we returned from PR. (Didn't I say it's been busy!?) For Halloween, Talia was Cinderella (AGAIN) and Alex was a rock star at one point and trick-or-treated as a fireman. We've been enjoying some warm weather here in Wisconsin-- soon to turn cold again. We have nothing major going on in the next two months, just a few little weekend trips before winter break.

I've been doing some quilting and sewing but I can't share until I give everything away as gifts. I haven't planned out a baby quilt for our new addition yet but I feel like I have time for that (even though it's only three months away!). This has been my easiest pregnancy so far and I have my fingers crossed that it stays that way. I never realized how stressed out I must have been while I was pregnant with Alex until I felt how NOT stressed out am I this time. Does that make sense? I wonder if that's why he turned out to be such a shitty baby! Then again, I would absolutely again take those terrible 6 months for the sweetness he is now.

Talia has adjusted really well to Kindergarten. I still can't believe how little time I have to myself even though T is in school 5 full days a week and Alex is in school 3 full days a week. I definitely feel like a chauffeur these days. Knock on wood, no one in my house has been hit with H1N1 or any other major illnesses. So we'll just try to keep warm and healthy and hopefully I'll be able to share some sewing projects soon!

Baby Kimono Set

2009-10-22T11:46:00.000-05:00

I made this cute little outfit for a recent baby shower. The kimono is from the Martha Stewart website pattern, which I do not recommend. The pattern is a pain to print and tape together and is missing some crucial markings! I couldn't find a 3-6 mo (or 6-12 mo for that matter) pair of pants to use as a patterns for these so I just made them up on the spot. I think they are more 12 mo pants but... oh well. I repurposed an Old Navy T-shirt of mine for the pants fabric and added some applique to tie the outfit together. As for the baby shoes, they came out great! I need to make them in batches because they just take so damn long and would be amenable to assembly line construction. I used the Kaffe Fassett fabric from the "Dahlia Quilt" and the shoe pattern is from Michael Miller online.

Quilty Playmat for Baby Jeremy

2009-10-10T21:08:00.000-05:00

I must have entered the creativity stage of pregnancy because I've been sewing like crazy and coming up with lots of new ideas for quilts and sewing projects. So many projects, in fact, that I'll never get to half of them in the next 4 months before this baby makes her appearance. My new sewing frenzy might also have come about from the liberating feeling I had finally finishing the baby quilt for little Benjamin. Whatever the reason, I'm happy to have my creative energy back!

This was a nice quick little sew for a baby in DC who is the fourth (!) child of a friend of Ron's and mine. It's a little too small to be considered a baby quilt, but is intended to be a playmat for Jeremy to drive his cars and trains over when he's big enough. I had hoped that the border would look more like a highway but it doesn't really. Those yellow lines are single fold bias tape, which was quite easy to sew on. I plan on making a number of similar quilts as many people seem to having boys these days. I'm going to try to piece a road border but that sounds a bit labor intensive, doesn't it!? Maybe I'll look online for some road fabric... Yeah, that's what I'll do...

Blogger's Quilt Festival, Fall 2009

2009-10-09T09:24:00.004-05:00

Above: finished quilt

Above: Inspiration from a vintage craft book

Above: Sketch of quilt idea

Above: back of finished quilt

This is my entry for the Blogger's Quilt Festival hosted by parkcitygirl. I made this for the Four Seasons Quilt Swap last spring (2008) and it is a favorite of mine. I was inspired by a headboard I saw in a vintage (60's? 70's?) craft book I found. After I sketched it I drew out the shapes on freezer paper and used them as templates for the individual pieces. I then used double sided fusible web to adhere the pieces to the background (a patterned white on white fabric). I sewed it all down as raw-edge applique, machine quilted it every 1/3 inch or so in an echo design and then added some beads and buttons for fun. It was a quilt very different from anything I've done before or since!

Another quilt I thought about showcasing would be this one I just finished, so check that one out too! Thanks for visiting!

Free at last

2009-10-07T14:32:00.002-05:00

This is THE quilt I've been alluding to for such a long time. My best friend from childhood had a baby this summer and I really wanted to make her a special quilt. I worked on this for months and months. I put it down frequently because each time I came to a new step I stressed over how to proceed. The design was stolen from April at by small means. I loved the quilt and actually emailed her to get some ideas on how to construct it. I probably would have gone about it a whole different way if I had not communicated with her first (thank you)! I used the fabric Katie Jump Rope by Denyse Schmidt. I was holding onto it for a long time and since my friend's name is Katie, it just seemed perfect. I enjoyed making the top, as I always do and then I just got STUCK. I never know how to "quilt" a quilt. So I put it off and probably didn't work on it for 6 weeks. Then I finally kicked myself in the butt and got going. Basting is my least favorite aspect of quilting and this is a bigger quilt than I'm used to so that was one of the things that kept me away. My second least favorite part of quilting is choosing a quilt design and thread color. I have no confidence when it comes to that. I ended up finally choosing an all-over zig-zag design that I used once before. I actually used a Crayola Washable Marker to mark the quilt design. I did that once before too (same quilt) and it came out in the wash but I ended up having major anxiety dreams about it last night! Once I marked the top I wanted to get it in the wash as soon as I could so it only took two days to quilt it and two days to do the binding. Into the wash last night and here is the final product. I still have to clip some threads and add a label. I know it's going to be appreciated and I'm very proud of it.