This trip to Barcelona wasn’t my first. I had spent a few days there just after college when I was working in London. However, I only spent two nights and...
My friend and I attended this event on February 18th. We missed the march and joined the rally at City Hall in downtown LA. It was a much smaller crowd...
This is so cute. There are many variations on Pinterest. I think the original idea came from the Free People blog which is worth looking at. I had these animals...
Last fall when I heard about the Ice Bucket Challenge I claimed to have felt bullied into donating since I didn’t want to make a spectacle of myself on Facebook....
We braced ourselves for the start of kinder this year. After all, we knew how pre-school had gone two years prior. She only cried every day for 1.5 years of...
It’s getting HOT and making pasta every night is killing me. I’ve been trying to branch out to more salads now that it’s summer. This is a really tasty dish...
We braced ourselves for the start of kinder this year. After all, we knew how pre-school had gone two years prior. She only cried every day for 1.5 years of pre-school.
M likes to stay home. She likes to stay inside and play, color and read books. But with M turning six in late Sept. it really seems it’s time to get moving!
The day before school M, B and I made identical rainbow loom bracelets.
The school counselor gave me this strategy to help M adjust. Whenever she got sad she could look at the bracelet and think of Bea and me wearing them. (Big thanks to our neighbors who taught Maddie how to make them!)
M was in high spirits on the walk over.
Still smiling outside her classroom.
We stepped out quietly after she sat on the rug. I thought about her all day. All the kindergarteners looked shell-shocked at pickup.
I took M to get her toenails painted and for a hotdog.
When we got home there was a huge package awaiting us from Valerie!
Blurry but you get the idea…
Talk about timing.
We all survived the first week.
Day 2 – walking home
Day 3 – walking home
Day 4 – pickup
If you ask her if she likes school the answer is, “No.”
I’ve been gone but miss writing my blog. Our family has needed us this year. Also, I’m trying to get some kind of third career going so that by the time the kids are in school I can make a little income.
In the midst of “being busy” (and wondering how much of this busy-ness is a choice?) I remember working crazy hours the year my mom got sick. I worked so much that if I ever got home “early” (like at 9PM) I had no idea what to do with myself. I worked most weekends too. Unless it was a client dinner I had no idea how to socialize or have fun. One night I had an anxiety dream in which my family was driving away from me and I couldn’t get to the car to get in before they left. Shortly after that my mom’s cancer was diagnosed and three months later she was gone.
Our friends have just suffered a huge loss – of a young mom/wife. We are in shock. Our hearts are broken and keep breaking for them.
By December I should have some free time back and I plan to protect it for important things.
Ah, when to the heart of man
Was it ever less than a treason
To go with the drift of things,
To yield with a grace to reason,
And bow and accept the end
Of a love or of a season?
It’s getting HOT and making pasta every night is killing me. I’ve been trying to branch out to more salads now that it’s summer.
Pre-tofu
This is a really tasty dish to take to a cookout! For those of you who are convinced that potatoes are inherently EVIL in their white starchiness – this salad’s for you. **Also great for mayo haters.**
All you need:
4 small pink or red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, quartered
large handful of green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1″ pieces
2 TBSP coarse mustard
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
Olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar (or agave nectar)
Salt
1/4 c chopped dill (use dry dill if that’s all you have – about 2 TBSP)
1 small leek, trimmed and thinly sliced
6 stalks celery, trimmed & diced
1 cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and diced (I peeled mine – whoops!)
1 TBSP fresh chives
OPTIONAL: 6 oz baked or extra firm tofu cut into small cubes
This is definitely a chopping intensive salad but more special than the old mayo-laden potato salad I grew up with. [And I like mayo!]
First, set water to boil for your taters. Once it’s boiling, they need to cook until just tender. This should take about 10 mins. Set your timer for 9 minutes so you can toss in the green beans for the last 30 seconds. You just want them to turn bright green. Then drain the potatoes & beans.
Make your dressing: in a small bowl, combine 1 TBSP olive oil, the mustard, vinegar, sugar & salt. Whisk together. Taste & adjust to your liking!
Heat about a TBSP of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add the chopped dill, add a few pinches of salt
and add the leeks.
Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a large bowl (because of time constraints I usually go right into a large lidded container!) combine the potatoes, green beans, celery, cucumber, chives and half of the leek with most of the dressing. Toss gently, taste and add salt as needed. Serve with remainder of leek and dressing atop. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
OPTIONAL: Not every uses/is comfortable with tofu but it adds a benign presence of protein to this salad and is virtually unnoticeable. I bought a block of organic tofu at Trader Joe’s. Before I even boil the potatoes I drain the tofu, wrap it in a paper towel and place in a kitchen towel with my cast iron skillet on top. The presses the extra water out of the tofu so that it can absorb the flavors of the salad dressing. Press it for about 30 minutes if you think of it. Then dice it and add to salad. Try it this once time if you have never used tofu before! (Or don’t!)
This salad is a very pretty dish to take to a summer cookout/party.
Pre-tofu
Maddie ate a small bowl of it before dinner. Bea spit the potato out.
Bright, pretty summer salad that takes potato salad to a new level!
Ingredients
4 small pink or red-skinned potatoes, unpeeled, quartered
large handful of green beans, trimmed and sliced into 1″ pieces
2 TBSP coarse mustard
2 TBSP red wine vinegar
Olive oil
½ tsp sugar (or agave nectar)
Salt
¼ c chopped dill (use dry dill if that’s all you have – about 2 TBSP)
1 small leek, trimmed and thinly sliced
6 stalks celery, trimmed & diced
1 cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and diced (I peeled mine – whoops!)
1 TBSP fresh chives
OPTIONAL: 6 oz baked or extra firm tofu cut into small cubes
Instructions
First, set water to boil for your taters. Once it’s boiling, they need to cook until just tender. This should take about 10 mins. Set your timer for 9 minutes so you can toss in the green beans for the last 30 seconds. You just want them to turn bright green. Then drain the potatoes & beans.
Make your dressing: in a small bowl, combine 1 TBSP olive oil, the mustard, vinegar, sugar & salt. Whisk together. Taste & adjust to your liking!
Heat about a TBSP of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add the chopped dill, add a few pinches of salt and add the leeks.
Saute for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In a large bowl combine the potatoes, green beans, celery, cucumber, chives and half of the leek with most of the dressing. Toss gently, taste and add salt as needed. Serve with remainder of leek and dressing atop chilled or at room temperature.
OPTIONAL: Not every uses/is comfortable with tofu but it adds a benign presence of protein to this salad and is virtually unnoticeable. I bought a block of organic tofu at Trader Joe’s. Before I even boil the potatoes I drain the tofu, wrap it in a paper towel and place in a kitchen towel with my cast iron skillet on top. The presses the extra water out of the tofu so that it can absorb the flavors of the salad dressing. Press it for about 30 minutes if you think of it. Then dice it and add to salad. Try it this once time if you have never used tofu before!
A few weeks ago, my new friend Amy shared this recipe with me. We were talking about breakfast fatigue. I definitely get in breakfast slumps. For a little while, I’d pretty given up on making breakfast and kept a well-stocked dry cereal shelf the kids could reach themselves. They started getting their own cereal (dry) before we got up. Too bad that only lasted a few weeks. Oatmeal, breakfast burritos, quesadillas, smoothies, bagels, cinnamon toast, baked oatmeal, muffins, waffles, pancakes. What else is there? Finnish pancakes! These are nothing like your typical lumberjack pancakes. Think: popover.
While this is easy to make, it is not a “last minute” breakfast item. You need to let the batter sit for about 30 mins and you also need the baking time – about 15-20 minutes. I have a feeling after you’ve made it a few times you can get it going first thing when you wake up or hopefully, do it in your sleep!
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 c all purpose flour (I used 1/2 c flour & 1/4 c whole wheat flour)
3/4 c milk
3 eggs
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 c butter
optional: I added a TBSP milled flax seed & 1 TBSP chia seeds
TOPPING (optional)
powdered sugar
whipped cream
fresh fruit
**NOTE: This is half the original recipe. I used (1) 9″ pie pan but it’s supposed to be enough for (2) pie pans. I just didn’t have 2!**
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and salt until smooth. Let stand for about 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Add butter to a 9″ pie pan or I think you could use a cast iron skillet or a 9″ skillet as long as it is oven safe (and NOT Teflon coated!) I used a 9″ glass pie pan. Anyway, add the butter to it – yep, just PLOP it in there and place in the oven. When butter is melted, remove from oven, brush butter to coat entire pan and add batter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Edges should be puffed and rise quite high.
Whatever you do, find a way to resist the temptation to open & close the oven to see how high it is!!
Author: Christina Cox (adapted from “The Great Scandinavian Baking Book” by Beatrice Ojakagas
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: Finnish
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A special breakfast item coming to you from Scandinavia. Think: light & fluffy popover. Perfect for a special brunch!
Ingredients
¾ c all purpose flour (I used ½ c flour & ¼ c whole wheat flour)
¾ c milk
3 eggs
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
¼ c butter
TOPPING (optional)
powdered sugar
whipped cream
fresh fruit
Instructions
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, eggs, sugar, and salt until smooth. Let stand for about 30 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Add butter to a 9″ pie pan or I think you could use a cast iron skillet or a 9″ skillet as long as it is oven safe (and NOT Teflon coated!) I used a 9″ glass pie pan. Anyway, add the butter to it – yep, just PLOP it in there and place in the oven. When butter is melted, remove from oven, brush butter to coat entire pan and add batter.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Edges should be puffed and rise quite high.
Whatever you do, find a way to resist the temptation to open & close the oven to see how high it is!!
Dust with powdered sugar.
And slice!
3.1.09
Adapted from:”The Great Scandinavian Baking Book” by Beatrice Ojakagas
