Tuesday: Tofu Curry over Rice
Wednesday: Fried Egg with Sizzling Vinegar on Toast with Watermelon
Thursday: Blackbean Burgers with Salad
Friday: Walnut Pesto Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Peas
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday: Linguine and Mussels with Roasted Veggies and Salad Followed by Apple Pie and Ice Cream
I failed an MRI. Did you know you could fail? I've had this knee issue for, well I guess since I was a kid but it has recently gotten worse so I've been going to physio, wearing a knee brace and waiting to get an MRI. Tonight I had the appointment and she had to do it three times and then still it was blurry and she had to try to take some stills which she apparently was able to get a couple. She (being the nurse or technician) came in the first time and says to me (very firm and matter of factly), "Well, it's blurry so you must have moved - what's the problem?" For those of you that don't know me very well, I like to follow the rules and instructions and get things right in these types of situations, so I felt bad that I had failed, apologized and we tried again. She was really very...I want to say mean, but I don't think she was mean, I think she was just very abrupt and it kind of made me feel like I was ten and being scolded. So she went back for a second time and I realized that my legs were moving all over the place, twitching, but I couldn't stop them so I was dreading her return again, and sure enough, "Is there a problem?" to which I responded in my quiet, intimidated ten year old girl voice, "No? But I can feel them twitching and I can't seem to stop it?" to which she responded, "Well, if it's involuntary muscle spasms there's nothing we can do. I'll try one more time" Now, this response was not softer or nicer but it made me feel like at least it wasn't really my fault, but in a way like I was just damaged or something, not in a way like sometimes this happens to people and we'll try one more time before trying something else. So back she went and I could tell right off that this one would be no better, I could feel all the muscles in my legs twitching and spasming. Sure enough, she was back and I felt I should be hanging my head in shame. In the end she was able to get some stills, who knows how with a damaged, twitching mess like me, and in the light of day I feel a little less damaged.
Recipe
It was cold and dark and rainy today. So we had soup, well I made soup for the rest of them I wasn't allowed to eat before my MRI, which is odd to me because it was of my leg. This recipe or the idea is from Moosewood Simple Suppers. It really is an idea, a very simple yummy idea, perfect for cold rainy days.
Vegetable Stock
Salt and Pepper
Herbs
Cheese, grated
Toast or dry bread
Olive oil
The amounts you use are going to depend on how much you want to make. We often have this for lunch on cold days because it's so quick, warm and gooey. Heat a glugg of olive oil in a pot and saute some garlic (as much or little as you like) for 30 seconds to a minutes, add the stock, season with a little salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile grate some cheese (whatever you have on hand), I use about 1/3 cup per bowl but use as much as you like. If the bread is stale, perfect (we had leftover baguette that was rock hard), if not you may want to toast it, break it up and put it in a bowl topping it with cheese. Ladle the hot broth over the bread and cheese and top with fresh herbs, I used a mixture from my garden of basil, oregano, sage and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. I also cooked up some edamame beans on the side to bulk up the meal.
Tofu Curry over Rice
Why do our children think that we want to see, hear or taste their gross things? I can remember this as a child, if the milk was sour, we'd say, "Oh, gross mom taste this." and she'd always say no, and I would think, "doesn't she want to know what I've been through?" seriously, that self entered. Hannah stands beside me this morning, takes a tissue and blows her nose really hard and then says, opening her tissue and putting it up to face, "Look at all the snot that I blew out of my nose." and when I responded with, "Ewww, no I don't actually want to see all the snot you blew out of your nose." she was dumb founded and couldn't actually believe me, "No, mom but look."
Recipe
We had the insides to the samosa wraps from here over basmati rice. We used tofu but it would also be good with chickpeas if you don't want the tofu.
Fried Eggs with Sizzling Vinegar on Toast with Watermelon
Harper has decided that she is going to be a ghost for Halloween and has been running around the house with her arms in the air going, "Ooooooo, OooooooOooooOoooo!" she is extremely proud of this, it's quite funny (and such an easy costume - yay! Let's hope it lasts).Recipe
This meal was super simple, easy and yummy. It is from the lovely Catherine Newman's blog Ben & Birdy. It may sound odd but, it is definitely worth a try - yum!
2 very fresh eggs
1-2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Kosher salt and pepper
Put the bread in the toaster and heat a nonstick pan over
medium-low heat. Add half the butter, then break in the eggs and fry them
however you like your eggs. When they’re done, slide
each onto a piece of toast.
Add the rest of the butter to the pan, along with the
vinegar and a generous pinch of salt and grinding of black pepper. Swirl the pan until the sauce is
foamy and reduced some (it should like shiny but not like heavy syrup—not that
it really matters that much), then turn off the heat and divide the sauce over
the eggs over the toast. Eat hot.
Black Bean Burgers with Salad
It's been a long time since we've taken Harper anywhere besides the bus stop and my Mom and Dad's, poor kid. Today I ventured to swimming lessons with her. We were almost ten minutes late, because there was this crazy construction traffic, and Hannah got out of her lesson five minutes early because it was the last one (so we were there for about 15 to 20 minutes) but, Harper and I still managed to be in the bathroom seven (SEVEN!!!!!) times, but she didn't have an accident - really when could she have? This was the conversation (and of course it's always loud with Harper).
H: I'm peeing, I'm peeing through my ureda (urethra)!
H: What comes out of my bum?M: Poo.
H: What comes out of my Bagina?
M: That's where the babies come out.
H: Why can't babies come out your uriea?
M: Because they won't fit and it's not connected to where the babies grow.
H: Why can't...poo come out your bagina?
and so on and so on, all different combinations and questions, not just in the bathroom, but also walking back to the seating area, during the 5 seconds that we were sitting in between and on the walk back to the bathroom...I think the other parents are going to miss us!
Recipe
Sometimes you can make all kinds of complicated veggie burgers or in a pinch you can mash up a can of black beans, add a small handful of panko crumbs, garlic powder, liquid smoke, salt and pepper and cook them up on the griddle until they are brown on both sides. We put ours in a bun with sauteed onions, pickles, tomato slices, grainy mustard and a little mayonnaise. We had it with a simple green salad.Walnut Pesto Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Peas
Ahhh, Hannah didn't have school today, it was so nice. We headed up to the park to take pictures for Dave's Father's Day gift and get a little playtime in. Hannah is such a cooperative model, Harper...not so much. Either way, it was wonderful to have Hannah with us all day, not rushing around for lunch and the bus.
Recipe
We had this pasta from geez Louise!, I slightly altered it by using a different pasta, leaving out the bacon and I only used about 1/4 cup of the pesto when it calls for all of it and I think it was very tasty with a little less fat. It was gobbled up by all.
2 Tbsp salt
8 oz rigatoni pasta
1 cup frozen peas, rinsed and thawed
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbsp red onion, chopped fine
2 Tbsp toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup walnut pesto
Bring a pot of water to boil, add salt and cook pasta. Once pasta is cooked and drained, add the pesto and mix until coated then mix in the peas, pine nuts, tomatoes and onion.
Pesto:
1 cup walnuts, toasted
4 cloves garlic
Zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cup packed flat leaf pasley
1 1/2 cup packed basil
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil
Process all ingredients, except olive oil, in a food processor until well blended like coarse sand and then stream in olive oil while processor is running until blended.
Pizza
The potty fairy came this morning. Yes, that's right I said potty fairy. She leaves a magic wand for kids to hold when they need to poo on the potty (yes, I said poo - all the books refer to pooing on the potty as going potty - this drives me crazy! It's poo, just say it! Poo, poo, poo!) and the magic in the wand makes it not scary, and helps the child go poo. So I spent Friday night decorating a stick with sparkly silver ribbon and gluing on a pink felt star covered in sparkles (sorry, I hope I didn't ruin it for you, I'm the potty fairy), and Saturday morning while the girls were off playing I put the wand outside the door, rang the doorbell and quietly closed the door again and went back upstairs (this is from a book by the way, I'm not this crazy...I mean creative, I am actually this crazy because I have considered offering her hundreds of dollars - if only she understood the concept of money). Both girls came running, opened the door and Harper found the wand outside with a note on it addressed to her. We brought it in, she was excited to find out it was addressed to her and we sat down together to read the note. When I finished, she was smiling and kind of excited, Hannah was wide eyed and gape mouthed, "I didn't know there was a potty fairy!" I began to wonder if I was causing her some social damage, will she go to school and tell all her friends about the potty fairy? Will this be a bad thing? I was snapped out of my thoughts when Harper took the wand and ran to the potty, she sat down and squeezed and squeezed the wand and then declared, "Mmmmm? Nothing is happening, I tink it doesn't work." When I explained again, that it didn't make your body have to poo it only helped you poo when your body already needed to poo, she looked at me and said, "No, I tink it's a potty wand for peeing."
Recipe
I went out tonight and Dave and the girls made pizza.
Linguine and Mussels with Roasted Veggies and Salad Followed by Apple Pie and Ice Cream
Happy Father's Day! Father's Day with littles is always a little busier. The girls and I were up this morning and the energy that was radiating off of them, waiting for Dave to wake up, could have lit up a large city at Christmas, they were bouncing off the walls.When Dave emerged they served him breakfast and gave him gifts and wished him a happy father's day over and over and over again. Dave, spent the whole morning with the girls, playing in the yard, they all cleaned the lawn mower together (well, they played around Dave and offered words of encouragment while he cleaned it), he took them to the park and to play tennis. The girls fell over each other trying to be the one to carry his sandwich to the table or clear his glass, it was all very cute. By 4:00 Dave sat down with two little girls glued to his side to watch some golf on T.V. and he kind of looked like he may fall asleep.
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| This is Dave's traditonal Father's Day and Birthday Sandwich.
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You take three slices of bread and butter them lightly, put on sliced old white cheddar, sauteed onions (saute them in a little oilve oil and white vinegar, the original calls for pickeled onions), a good kettle cooked chip (this one was jalepeno cheddar) and then repeat. It is not healthy, which is why he only has it twice a year, but it makes him so happy.
We had my parents and my aunt for dinner and Hannah and Harper set the whole table, table cloth and all. When I sent Hannah up to get the napkins she asked how many and I named the people coming. She then counted them up on her fingers, "Us is four (puts up her four fingers) then Willow makes five (puts up her thumb on same hand), Grandma and Pepere are two (raises her two fingers on her other hand) and that makes seven. I used one hand for us and Willow because Grandma and Pepere go together and so-o, I didn't want to separate them on two different hands because they live together and love each other and should stay together on one hand and then they can join the other hand, like they're going to join us for dinner." seriously, how does her head not explode?
Recipe
The recipe for the linguine was from Epicurious and was simple, easy and yummy. I altered it slightly, omitting some butter. We had it with a tossed salad my mom made with a vinaigrette and some roasted veggies. The veggies; peppers, eggplant, onions and mushrooms, I just tossed with two tablespoons of the leftover pesto from the other night and then cooked them in the basket on the BBQ.
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, sliced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine
2 pounds cultivated mussels, scrubbed
1 pound thin linguine
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 1/2 cups chopped herbs such as basil, dill, flat-leaf parsley, and oregano
Heat oil in a 5-to 6-quart heavy pot over medium heat. Cook garlic, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes with 1/4 teaspoon each of salt and pepper, stirring, until garlic is softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and boil until reduced by half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add mussels and cook, covered, shaking pot occasionally, just until mussels open wide, 5 to 8 minutes. (Discard any that remain unopened after 8 minutes.) Remove from heat and keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook linguine in a pasta pot of well-salted boiling water until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain linguine.
Toss linguine with mussels and any liquid from pot, cheese, and herbs. Thin with reserved cooking water if desired.
To end the meal my mom made an apple pie, but instead of a traditional crust it was made with filo, brushed with a honey water mixture. It was delicious!
I hope you are all as blessed as I. There are a million and one things about my Dad that makes him great, a great Dad and a great man. Most importantly my whole life, I have always felt loved and supported unconditionally from him and for that I am blessed and ever so grateful.
I hope the sun shines down on you this week!
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