Tuesday: Hearty Lentil and Kale Pasta
Wednesday: Black Bean Wraps
Thursday: Mushroom Pecan Burgers with Carrots, Cucumber and Peas
Friday: Rice Wraps
Saturday: Leftovers
Sunday: Pasta with Roasted Veggies and Shrimp, Strawberry Salad, Bread and Ice Cream and Berries
Breaded Cod, Roasted Cauliflower, Balsamic Potatoes and Salad
We've been having trouble getting Hannah to go to bed lately. She always goes down and then is up five or six times after and can't seem to fall asleep until it's quite late. When she gets up she complains about not being able to sleep, to being lonely, to having random body parts hurt, in short she's trying to play us. We've been trying our best to just send her back to bed without playing into her, but I have had this fear that we're going to find her up there throwing up on her own because we didn't believe her...although it's a risk we're apparently willing to take. This had been going on for a couple weeks and we had been getting really frustrated until we suddenly had this brilliant idea. I'm calling it brilliant, because honestly sometimes parent epiphanies are hard to come by and I think that we need to point them out to make us feel better about all the not so brilliant moments. We gave her a lamp, a timer and a basket of books. We've been tucking her in every night and setting the timer for 15 minutes and when it goes off she turns out the light and goes to sleep. She is so proud to have this responsibility and is such a rule follower that every night we've checked, she's turned her light out and is fast asleep.
Recipe
For dinner tonight I just dipped some cod in a little egg and Dijon mustard and then in some panko crumbs and cooked it on the side grill of the BBQ.
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| A touch crispy, but still good. |
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| The dark part was the best. |
For the salad we had tossed greens with toasted almonds and sunflower seeds, fresh strawberries and a dressing of 3 parts olive oil, 1 part apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp mustard powder, 2 tsp honey and a little salt and pepper to taste.
Hannah and Harper were very busy outside today setting up all the toys in the yard. They had them all lined up outside by the garden and Hannah also set up the horseshoes, ring toss, Frisbee golf and drew hop scotch on the patio stones. They then came in and invited me to come out and play. I went outside and Hannah stood in the middle of the yard and explained, "Now, I have set up a bunch of stations and you can pretty well play at whatever station you like." She then very clearly explained every station and demonstrated how to use each one with or without a partner, she reminded me of a very organized gym teacher.
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| Explaining and demonstrating the Tball station |
This recipe can be found on this post here, we all love it and it's really easy.
I was out all today volunteering at a conference and it sounds like the girls had a good day, but Harper had a rough evening. It all started after I picked them up from my parent's. Harper did not want to come home and cried the whole way home (didn't hurt my feelings at all). It was that kind of unfocused constant crying, when you're quite certain they can't remember why they're crying but they can't stop. There was a short break where Hannah was able to distract her outside, but once dinner time came and she was not permitted to have seconds before she finished what she already had, it was all over. She cried for seconds, then cried because her napkin fell on the floor, then she cried because she'd been crying so much that she got all stuffed up and every time she breathed her nose made a sniffling sound, yes I'm serious. She'd breath and then collapse into tears on me and say, "I want to do this (taking a big breath in through her nose), but I don't want it to make that souuuuunnnnd..." and it was difficult to get this out because she needed to take at least one breath during that statement, it was a very sad sight. I held her while she cried and then quietly carried her upstairs and brushed her teeth. I tried to get her to put on her PJs but this led to a full on tantrum in which she repeatedly threw herself on the floor and struggled with wanting to be comforted by me to being really mad at me and wanting me to leave. It all ended when she told me to leave as she climbed up on my lap and cried and cried on my shoulder until she fell asleep. I sat on the floor, exhausted and sad that she fell asleep so distraught but also selfishly treasuring being able to have her asleep in my arms.
One of my favorite things is fresh corn off the cob in a salad. I made this salad and we put it in wraps and topped it with feta, banana peppers and a little green salsa. It would have been great without the wraps too.
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cobs of corn
1/2 red onion
1/2 cup cilantro
1 red pepper, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
10 green olives, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
I did also throw in the rest of the potatoes, just to use them up
Mix all together.
Mushroom Pecan Burgers with Carrots, Cucumber and Peas
I was out all day volunteering again today. I have to say there comes a time when you've been home for awhile and the opportunity to help out at a conference and even sit in on a couple sessions is almost (almost) like a spa day. Spending the whole day surrounded by adults can be really wonderful. I had a really great day and met a lot of interesting people. Sometimes it makes me wonder, would I rather be "out there" working instead of home. If I start to become unfulfilled at home before Harper starts school full time (when I'm planning to go back to work) will I recognize it and do something about it? I hope if that happens I will and I was a little concerned since I had such a great day, that I was missing something, thinking that perhaps I could maybe be happier working out of the house, honestly I barely thought about my kids while I was away. Then I got home and Dave was curled up on the couch with the girls and I realized how much a missed those little faces and how much I'm looking forward to spending the day with them tomorrow.
Recipe
I left this recipe from epicurious for Dave to make these burgers for supper. I can't offer a lot of input into the process because I wasn't here to make them. There were mixed opinions about these. Harper and I really liked them, they are very mushroomy and earthy. Dave and Hannah did not enjoy these and found them too mushroomy. They did completely fall apart and ended up like more of a hot spread then a burger as we loaded them on in chunks, although I did notice they suggest also putting it in a loaf pan and baking at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes, I think that may be the solution.
1 1/2 pounds (685 g) cremini mushrooms
1/2 cup (30 g) fresh parsley
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil, divided
2 large-size yellow onions, finely chopped
3 large-size garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 to 2 cups (165 to 220 g) bread crumbs or cracker meal
3 tablespoons (45 g) tahini
2 tablespoons (30 g) hoisin sauce
3/4 cup (85 g) toasted pecans or walnuts, chopped
3 tablespoons (45 ml) tamari soy sauce
1 teaspoon (2 g) dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
salt and ground pepper, to taste
In a food processor, mince mushrooms and parsley. Remove and set aside.
In a sauté pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil and cook onions and garlic for 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a large-size bowl, and combine with minced mushrooms and parsley, bread crumbs, tahini, hoisin sauce, chopped nuts, tamari, oregano, sage, salt, and pepper.
Place mixture in refrigerator for at least half an hour. Mixture will be soft, but you should be able to form patties. Add additional bread crumbs or tahini, if needed.
Create patties using your hands. In a sauté pan, warm remaining 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oil, and fry patties over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until lightly browned and crispy. Be careful to keep patties intact.
Rice Wraps
You know what I love about nice weather? The playing outside. I rarely have to say, "Go play outside." and when I do it's usually met with, "Can I wear flip flops?" instead of a "No, it's too cold." I love that no one even remembers Friday night movie night because they are too busy being pirates, riding the wagon and running from island to island in the yard. Who would want to sit and watch a boring movie when there are new lands to discover in every corner of the yard?
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| Harper doing some serious hoolahoop'n today. |
Recipe
Hannah's pick this week was of course rice wraps found here.
Leftovers
Dave's parents brought a card game for the girls when they came called Skip-Bo, the kid's version. It's a really great game, Hannah's learning to strategize a little with it and it helps Harper with her number recognition. We've been playing it as a family before bedtime to give the girls a little down time from playing outside before they go to bed. I also like it because it gives us time as a family to sit around and connect at the end of the day. Hannah is also learning a new way to stall before bedtime as she will opt to play a different card instead of playing the one that will win the game so we can play longer.
Recipe
Dave was working on the fireplace again today, but it's kind of down to a one person job so the girls and I went to the park and to my friend's for a playdate. I had planned on egg sandwiches, knowing we would be busy and the house would be in chaos but trying my best to avoid ordering something, but Dave and Harper had both eaten two eggs for breakfast and so I couldn't in good conscience feed them more eggs today. We had some leftover mushroom burgers and hummus in the fridge and had that for supper.
Pasta with Roasted Veggies and Shrimp, Strawberry Salad, Bread and Ice Cream and Berries
Renos always take much longer than you think they will. Dave worked all day on the fireplace today and he still there are no tiles up. They are all cut though so I think that the next time will be it (knock on wood). On a whim yesterday I ordered a yard of dirt for the front garden (as my mom was already ordering some), I had done nothing in the front to get it ready for the dirt and of course already had a garden full of weeds. I was planning a whole day in the yard today with the girls because I was sure it was going to be beautiful. I woke up to dark grey skies. It looked like it was going to open up and pour any minute. So we rushed around outside weeding and edging the garden and filling it with dirt. the girls helped by using their little wheel barrel we got them for Easter. they were really quite cute. Once the garden could not hold anymore dirt I realized that still had a significant amount left. Of course, because this is how we roll, I had yet to rake the yard so spreading it on the grass was going to be difficult. There I was madly raking in order to spread the dirt before the clouds opened up on me. I did get it all done, grass seed spread as well with time to spare as it didn't start raining until supper time.
As always we had a delicious meal at my parents. The girls played happily in the basement because there was a new box down there. My parents bought a little kid picnic table which came in a tall skinny in box in which the girls would climb inside from the bar stools and then tip themselves over, they did this for an hour or more until Harper got hurt and then they came up to ask for dessert.
I hope the sun shines down on you (although I am hoping for light overnight rain for my grass seed) this week!
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