Team O

Happy Nine Months, Lucas!

2012-01-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

Happy nine months, sweet boy!

You actually turned nine-months-old 18 days ago, but I only am now just getting around to writing your letter. I was going to be so on top of it this month, but the past three weeks evaporated. Poof. Just. Like. That.

Your first Christmas was so fun. You had a great time opening gifts, i.e., eating wrapping paper andpounding on boxes. You sat on a lot of laps and got a ton of snuggles while wevisited all of your grandparents, and your auntie and uncles. Daddy, you and Ispent Christmas Eve morning celebrating together at our house, and later thatday went to grandpa and farmor Omdal’s house for dinner. Since they’reScandinavian, they do all of their celebrating on Christmas Eve. We then headedover on the ferry to grandpa and nana Smith’s house where we spent a coupledays. Nana watched you while daddy and I went to church with grandpa and uncleEthan on Christmas morning. We had a great Christmas dinner together and took aridiculous amount of pictures. Daddy, you and I stay in the same room at theirhouse, and thankfully, you slept much better during our Christmas visit thanyou did on Thanksgiving, when you were up every few hours wanting to play.

You are getting so big! At your nine-month checkup, you weighed just under 20 pounds, and were 30 inches tall. That’s the 25th percentile for weight, and 75th–90th for height. You’re tall and skinny, just like your daddy. I’m surprised you’re not chunkier because you are eating us out of house and home. I looked in the freezer this weekend, and you were down to just a handful of food cubes. (I make all of your food and freeze it in ice cube trays.)

I had a marathon cooking session for you on Sunday, and hope our new stores will last for at least three weeks: 12 pears, six sweet potatoes, five avocados, one pound each of peas, green beans and broccoli, and a giant slow cooker full of chicken and dumplings. You’re eating more table food these days. I put the chicken and dumplings through the food processor, and also made a batch of beef stew for you a few weeks ago. Prior to you turning nine months, we were following the four-day wait rule of introducing new foods, looking for allergies, stomach upset, etc. The rule was lifted by your pediatrician this month, and it has been so much more fun to share some of our regular meals with you. It also is much easier to find new foods for you to try.

You love cheese. You really love cheese. This is how I know you are my son. You’ve had mozzarella and cheddar, and I have to ration it very carefully. Otherwise, you grab it in fistfuls from your tray and gobble it up all at once. We call you our little Cheese Squirrel, because you stash it away in your cheeks and gnaw on it for a disgustingly long time. I had to stick my finger in your mouth and scoop some out the other day, because I was afraid you would choke. Against my better judgment, I shared a Pillsbury biscuit with you this weekend, and you had a complete cow because I wasn’t handing over the pieces quickly enough.

Speaking of whining, you’re really starting to show a little temper. You do not like to have things taken away — this usually happens because you like to chew on everything. If we say “No,” and remove something from your hands, the lip immediately comes out and I’m certain that the slow bursts of your melodramatic cry can be heard by the neighbors. You’re extremely loud when you’re mad! You also still despise tummy time. You’re showing no interest in crawling, and pitch a huge fit every time we place you on your belly. They tell us that you don’t usually do this at daycare, but you obviously know that daddy and I will be quicker to pick you up when you meltdown. We’ve been “torturing” you with this a lot lately, letting you cry longer than we have during the past few months. I know it’s important for your development, but I still hate seeing you so upset.

You figured out how to move forward in your walker this past weekend, and immediately went straight for the kitchen cabinets and drawers. When we redirected you so you wouldn’t smash your fingers, you then tried to pull the bottom rack out of the dishwasher. Daddy went straight to Lowe’s and picked up some childproofing materials. You often buckle your knees when we try to sit you down because you like to stand so much, and you’ll walk across the room when we hold your hands. I think you might skip crawling all together and once you figure out how to pull yourself up, will go straight to walking.

This week also marks your move into the older/mobile infant classroom at daycare. I think they gave up on waiting for you to crawl, and just decided to move you anyway, since you were the oldest baby in the younger infants room. You seem perfectly content to sit and play with the other babies moving all around you. I think what finally may motivate your mobility is another child stealing your binky one time too many. You DO NOT like to be without your binky.

You babble nonstop when the pacifier isn’t in your mouth. I sometimes take it away for a little while just to hear you talk. I love listening to you and think you’re beginning to associate certain sounds with objects. Your binky is your “ba ba” and it’s by far your clearest “word.” You also say “mama” and “dada,” but I’m not quite sure that you’re associating those sounds with me and daddy.

You have all four of your bottom teeth and your upper-right lateral incisor. We can see your other three front teeth ready to pop through your gums any day now, and sometimes you wake up screaming in horrible teething pain. For the most part, though, you sleep a solid 12–13 hours a night, and it is awesome. We know how lucky we are that you’re such a great sleeper, and we are incredibly thankful.

We had the first snow of the season at our house this month, and also had the chance to spend a snowy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day weekend with our friends, the Cudworths, at their cabin in Ronald, Wash. You seemed to really like the snow at our house when we first took you out, but after it turned into the Storm of the Century and we tried to get you to play in it a few more times, you very clearly let us know that you no longer were interested.

Right now I am spending between two and two-and-a-half hours a day commuting to and from work. That’s more than three working months per year wasted in traffic that I could be spending with you. It’s awful. Really, really awful. I’m frustrated when I get to work, and I’m frustrated when I come home. I do my best to not think about work and focus solely on you during our very limited time together in the evenings, but my commute is taking a serious toll on my happiness. It’s not fair to any of us. Hopefully it won’t have to be like this forever.

Daddy and I both had the opportunity to work from home last week due to the massive snowfall, and it was so blissful. We managed to take care of you, get all our work done, and spend extra time together as a family. I’m working hard to figure out a way to make this happen more often, but I unfortunately don’t work for the most flexible company. I really hope you’re never faced with this type of situation when you’re older. The saying that time is “the only thing you can’t get back” is so true. I’ll do my best to help you understand that and take it to heart.

I love you so much, little Boo. You are an awesome little boy and I’m so glad you’re mine.

Love,
Mommy

Happy Eight Months, Lucas!

2011-12-08T20:30:00.000-08:00

Happy eight months, Lucas!

I'm a little weepy writing this, knowing that another month has flown by and you are growing up so fast.

You no longer are my itty-bitty baby. Several people lately have commented that you look much older than your actual age. You are a big guy! I can't wait to learn your height and weight at your nine-month checkup in early January. I think you're a little over 20 pounds now, and almost 30 inches tall! (Oh, and you're ridiculously cute, too, but of course I think that.)

Lucas LOVES eating! (Click the image to watch.)

You really pack away the food. Daycare asked us to bring a third meal for you, because your appetite is so gigantic. You're up to four five-ounce bottles at daycare, I nurse you three times a day (and full time on the weekends), and you eat about eight ounces of solid food. You get so excited when you see us coming with a bowl and spoon — you squirm in your chair, kick your legs and shout at us to hurry up! And I think you're mainlining it into those long legs, because it certainly isn't going into your belly. Your legs are so long that any pants with adequate length are absolutely huge in the waist. I have yet to find a baby belt, but you desperately are in need of one! You obviously take after your tall daddy, not your short mommy.

We spent your first Thanksgiving visiting grandpa and nana Smith. You sat at the table in your highchair and let mommy and daddy have a nice meal while you munched on your puffs and entertained everyone with shouts and giggles. I can remember just a few months ago when we never thought we'd enjoy another calm meal again, and it's remarkable to see how much things have changed since then. I'm sure mealtime will get wild again once you get a little older, but for now, things are just about perfect. I never have felt as grateful and surrounded by love as I did this Thanksgiving. My life is so rich, and looking at you, daddy, and the rest of our family had me feeling incredibly blessed.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving we went with grandpa and farmor Omdal to find a Christmas tree at a u-cut farm in Stanwood, Wash. I carried you in a front pack, and you were so happy walking through the woods. You had a huge smile on your face and squealed with delight when we let you touch the trees. Our decorated tree seems to be the best thing you've ever seen. You light up with wonder and awe whenever we hold you up to it and let you grab an ornament or branch.

You're very eager to crawl, but haven't quite figured it out yet. We've seen you get up on your knees a few times, only to immediately crash back to the floor and kick your legs vigorously in frustration. Most of the other babies at school crawl around you, and sometimes steal your binky and toys. Your teacher tells us you don't like this very much, so hopefully you'll be able to hang with the mobile kids soon. On second thought, since we've done absolutely no child proofing, perhaps you can hold off on moving around for a little while longer!

This past Sunday was a little crazy. We stopped by the flu clinic at your pediatrician's office and got your booster shot. You didn't even cry — it was pretty remarkable and the nurse thought you were awesome. (She no doubt tells all parents their babies are awesome. I ate it up, nonetheless.) But by that night, your nose was running and your second cold was in full swing. Ah, the endless mommy guilt of having you in daycare and exposed to every cold virus known to man. You were full-blown screaming by early evening, which really is unlike you, and we realized that you also had cut your third tooth (one of your lower lateral incisors). Shots, buckets of snot, and a new tooth. It was the golden cranky-baby trifecta. Part of me expected a large trophy to materialize, congratulating us on having this all happen at once.

Within an hour, daddy and I threw our entire parenting arsenal at you: milk, food, ibuprofen, a clean diaper, a bath, and the incredibly disgusting, yet tremendously effective Nosefrida(which you recognize now, and immediately sets off a complete meltdown). It semi-worked, but you've continued to be stuffy all week and have a yucky-sounding cough in the evenings, particularly when you lie down at night. Your eye was really watery yesterday when I picked you up from daycare, and I had a sick feeling that we could be in for our first case of pink eye. It looked much better when you woke up, but has gone back downhill today, so daddy is taking you to the doctor in the morning.

You need to get better soon, because daddy and I can't wait to celebrate your first Christmas. You are such a blessing to us, baby boy. My cup truly runneth over.

I love you,

Mommy

Happy Seven Months, Lucas!

2011-11-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Happy seven months, little Boo!

When you are a grown up and read my messages, please don’t think that daddy and I neglected you for three months because there is not a five- or six-month letter. The recurring theme of “no time” since you entered our lives may be getting a bit stale, but this new pace still is throwing me for a loop.

I am kicking myself for not writing to you since August, afraid that I’ve already forgotten some of your milestones. I’m still working on striking the balance between being your mommy, having a full-time office job, being daddy’s wife, and occasionally finding a few moments for myself. I know it will all work out, though. It always does. We’re blessed like that, our family. I try to count those blessings every day. Sometimes I just look at you and stare, thinking, “Are you really my baby?! I actually get to keep you?!” It always fills me with such happiness knowing you’re mine.

Here’s a little play-by-play of where we’re at:

You are a sturdy little guy, and can sit up beautifully. You’ve been able to do this pretty well since you were about five-and-a-half-months old.
You have been eating solids since you were about five-and-a-half-months old, too. We were going to wait until six months, but you were eyeing our food with so much longing, that we caved. “Cooking” for you has been a ton of fun, and I make all of your food from scratch. So far you’ve tried oatmeal, sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, green beans, avocado, peas, butternut squash and puffed cereal.
You eat almost everything with an incredible amount of gusto. You easily put away an entire half of a large Haas avocado or pear for dinner on a regular basis. Sometimes you pound on your high chair and shout for more food in between each bite. And you reject butternut squash with nearly the same amount of passion. You hate it. You throw your head back, scream, and spit it back at us as if your life depended on it. I keep trying to feed it to you, because everything I read says you may change your mind after 15 or so tries. I’m not so sure. It’s hard to calm you down after you taste it, too, and help you realize that we’re moving on to something you actually like. It’s a little ridiculous, really!
We give you a sippy cup filled with water at each meal, but you don’t really drink out of it, yet. You mostly just chew on the handles.
Even though you really chow down on the solids, your sleep still is hit-and-miss. Some days you sleep for eight- or nine-hours straight. Other nights you’re up every three hours. A little more consistency in this area would be greatly appreciated.
Your two bottom teeth cut through right as you turned six-months-old. (One the day before, and one the day after.) This was pretty traumatic for all of us and there were a lot of tears and buckets of drool. Once they were in, though, you calmed down.
You vigorously chew on absolutely everything you can grasp. There must be more teeth on the immediate horizon.
You are starting to pay more attention when we read to you, and like to turn the pages of the books by yourself. Your favorite book right now is Peek-a-Baby. (Of course, I’m just guessing, but your attention is completely undivided when we read it.)
You like to sit independently, grab at your books and play with your own toys. You can do this for about 15 minutes before getting too bored and needing someone to pay more attention to you.
You are beginning to consistently use sign language for milk. I didn’t think it was true when daycare told us you could do this, but now it happens almost every time you want to nurse or have a bottle. It’s very cool and I love it! I can’t wait until we can communicate more with you.
When you use your voice, it often is in the form of a very, very high pitched squeal or scream. You smile and giggle after you make these screechy noises, so we don’t think you’re upset, although you nearly take out our eardrums with each outburst. We like the soft, sweet babbling you do much better.
Daddy and I dressed you as a very adorable monkey for Halloween. I went as a snow leopard, and daddy was our zookeeper. We had a small party at our house and let you stay up much later than usual (it was just too noisy with all the other kids for you to go to sleep). You also got to wear your costume at school in a parade, and have fun with your friends painting pumpkins in your classroom. The other babies got really messy, but daddy had to encourage you to really dive into the paint. You don’t like to be very messy. When you get food on your hands while you’re eating, it seems to bother you a bit, too. In this sense, you are just like your daddy, who I affectionately refer to as Colonel Clean.
This past week marked your first real sickness and fever. Daycare called and had us pick you up on Tuesday. You have to be fever-free for 24 hours with no medication before you can go back. It’s Saturday morning now, and your fever finally was gone as of last night. Daddy and I alternated staying home with you and it has not been fun for any of us. You felt so miserable. All I wanted to do was make you feel better, but my bag of magical mommy tricks kept coming up empty. You cried a lot and just wanted to be held, but soon that stopped working and you were inconsolable. In fact, you were so fussy that you bit me twice while nursing. I almost went through the roof because it hurt so bad, and when I yelped, you melted down worse than I’ve ever seen. I hope you get over this behavior quickly.
This morning you woke up and seemed back to your regular, smiley self. It is such a relief to see you feeling better. You fill our house with a tremendous amount of joy and laughter, and daddy and I can’t imagine life without you. Watching you grow is just awesome, and we can’t wait to see what you do next.

I love you,

Mommy

Happy Four Months, Lucas!

2011-08-14T16:00:00.000-07:00

My Boo,

Happy four months, sweet boy! I'm a week late with your letter because, well, our lives have been pretty crazy during this last little stretch. I went back to work on Thursday and you started daycare. Leaving you with someone else during the day was the most difficult thing I've done in my entire life. I barely can write about it without bawling my eyes out. I'm quite certain that I've shed more tears in the last week than the entire rest of my days combined.

Your daddy drops you off in the mornings, since your "school" (makes me feel better than calling it daycare), is right next to his office. He comes and sees you at lunchtime, too, to feed you a bottle and play with you. It's kind of ironic that he now gets to see you more often, since I'm back in the office each day. It's good for you both to spend extra time together, but I still feel like someone has ripped my heart out of my chest when I leave each morning. And no, I'm not being dramatic, it really is that intense.

Everyone tells me that going to work will get easier, but I'm not completely convinced. I just keep telling myself that I'm working to provide a better life for you, which includes a financially stable household, but it's gut wrenching to say goodbye to you. These past 20 weeks have been the most amazing, special time. I cannot explain the love I have for you, because it's still so new, intense, and simply overwhelming.

I want to continue nursing you until you're at least a year old, because I think it's the best thing for your health and development. And pumping at work, well, it just sucks. Something about this whole situation seems inherently wrong to me — that I can't be with you during the time in your life you need me most. I really think American maternity leave laws need to be reformed to look a little more like they do in Scandinavia. I could go on about this for days, but let's just say I've become a bit of a "lactivist." It's amazing how one's views about something they never gave so much as a second thought can become so incredibly strong once they've had a personal experience. The nursing bond – for me at least – is so much more meaningful, special and emotion-invoking than I ever could have fathomed. But alas ... it is what it is, and I'm doing my best to deal.

You are changing and growing so much, and you're just plain fun right now. Your personality is starting to shine and we're getting a glimpse of the little boy you're becoming. Your laughter and squeals fill our house with joy, and your smiles are endless. You love to twirl around with us, be sung to (even though your daddy and I both are completely tone-deaf), and occasionally will pay a little attention to your books during story time. Your hand-eye coordination is skyrocketing, and you can trade your binky back-and-forth between hands, but you can't consistently get it back in your mouth yet. The day that finally happens, your daddy and I are going to do cartwheels and open an expensive bottle of champagne. (We spend a lot of time "binky fetching.") You've also figured out how to arch your back during diaper changes, which is a new challenge for us, and you love to "dance" on your playmat by kicking your legs and pounding your belly. We laugh so hard at your antics, which in turn makes you crack up, too.

You are such an easygoing kiddo, and there are only a handful of things that wipe the near-constant grin off your face: (1) hunger, (2) naps, (3) possible early teething, and (4) a week of backed-up poop. Now, I know most people don't care to read about your bowel habits, but one purpose of these letters is to help me remember things about your childhood that I may otherwise forget (be that intentional or not). And hey, I may want to reference these events for a future sibling. We're a little concerned that you've started pooping so infrequently this month – we had a five-day stretch and a seven–day stretch, but you always seem to "work in out" in the end. And when you do, it is the most wretched of wretched events. I hope this pattern soon ceases. I suppose that's one upside to daycare, though, considering you may someday choose to unleash on them instead of your daddy and me.

You've really kicked up the drooling and have started to bite down on things instead of just sucking on them. It seems a little early to be teething, but a few people have pointed out that they think you've started the process. You've woken up screaming in the night a few times lately, too, which is a new thing for you (and yes, to the other parents of young babies reading this, I do know how lucky we are). I'm still in denial about the teething, but we have your four-month checkup this coming week, so we'll ask your pediatrician what she thinks.

Your naps still are pretty irregular. They're developing into an every-other-day pattern. At the same time, you're not cranky on the days you don't want to go down – it just seems like you're trying to say, "Hey lady, I'm not tired, so stop trying to put me in this crib!!" But the following day will be filled with a couple two-hour stretches. I'm still of the mindset that as long as you continue sleeping so well at night, I don't really care what you do during the day. We put you down around 7 p.m. each evening, and generally you sleep until about 6 a.m. Now that I'm back at work – I'm trying to work 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – I have to wake you up to eat earlier than normal and I feel really guilty about it. You don't seem to mind, though, and usually go right back to sleep after you're done eating, so I'm trying to let myself off the hook.

I suspect you'll be able to roll onto your tummy within the next week or so – you're so very close. I think it may be one of your first "firsts" that I miss because I'm at work. It just kills me. Do you see the recurring theme this month? It's mommy guilt, and I sure have a lot of it. I'm doing my best to work through it, but it certainly is not easy.

My entire being is filled with love for you, baby boy. It gets stronger every day, and I am so looking forward to watching you grow. You mean the absolute world to me, and I promise to try and make the very most of the time we're together.

I love you,
Mommy

Vote for Lucas!

2011-07-11T12:18:00.000-07:00

Several people suggested I find a photo contest to enter Lucas' "unhappy troll" photo. I sent it in to Parents Magazine last Thursday, and got an email this morning letting me know that it's a finalist in this week's Photo Faves contest.

Click on the link below (and share it with your friends, if you like) to vote for him and help him earn $250 for his college fund!

http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/968598

Happy Three Months, Lucas!

2011-07-07T20:42:00.000-07:00

My Sweet Lucas Boy,

It’s 7 p.m. on your three-month birthday and I just laid you down to sleep. We’ve been taking a picture of you on the seventh of each month, but this month we'll be one day late. The little photo shoot I planned for this evening was derailed by a hysterical milk meltdown after your bath. And then, once your belly was full, you were so sleepy that I couldn’t keep your eyes open for photos. You’re happiest in the mornings, so we’ll just try again after you wake up tomorrow.

Hooray! We had a happy and awake boy this morning. July 8, 2011

Daddy and Lucas hanging out before work. July 6, 2011

You’ve really started to show your personality this month. You are such a vocal little boy and love to laugh, babble, and squeal at anyone who will listen. You can deliberately grasp the dangling rings on your playmat now, and we watch your hand-eye coordination increase exponentially each day. You are very proud whenever you get your fingers around something and look at us with a huge grin as if to say, “Check out what I can do!”

Chatting with auntie Em at the cabin. July 5, 2011

At your two-month check-up, you could already flip from your front to your back and even showed off your trick to the pediatrician. Now you’re working on flipping from your back to your front. You actually enjoy tummy time now and are happiest spending it on mommy or daddy’s chest and making silly faces at us. We love to make silly faces back at you, too.

Your salivary glands have found their “on” switch. You drool -- a lot. Your daddy and I were caught a little off guard by this, because it happened so suddenly. You were a dry, clean baby one day, and a spit monster the next. You have figured out how to blow raspberries through your sea of slobber and it’s pretty funny to watch you crack yourself up. You have a true laugh now and hearing your giggle completely lights up my world. I love watching you delight in your own antics.

You’re still exclusively breast fed and I hope to be able to continue this until you’re six months old -- and beyond that, too, but in combination with solid food. We found a daycare for you next to daddy’s office, so when I go back to work in five weeks, I’ll be pumping milk for you during the day. I’m glad we found a safe and loving place for you to be while we’re at work, but it makes me very sad to not be able to stay with you myself. For now, I’m trying to soak up every minute of every day. Sometimes I just look at you and feel so overwhelmed with love that I burst into tears at the thought of someone else taking care of you. I know it will get easier with time, but right now that’s really hard to imagine. I’ve never felt so protective over something or someone -- and never could even have closely imagined these feelings until you arrived. Having you has made me realize how much my own parents love me. You’ve already taught me an amazing amount about life in your short three months.

We spent Fourth of July weekend at Samish Island with auntie Emily, uncle Peter, and the Cole and Keeton families. Watching all the homemade floats and classic cars in the annual parade was so much fun. I can’t wait until you’re big enough to scramble after the candy along with all of the other kids. As usual, the entire island was under siege with an abundance of highly illegal, ridiculously loud, and very scary (to me, at least) homemade bombs and, thankfully, some incredibly beautiful fireworks. For the most part, you slept through the entire night, with just a few startles. We were counting our blessings, to say the least.

Yesterday, July 6, was one of the warmest days of the year, topping out in the low 80s (we haven’t had much of a summer). You were so hot and uncomfortable, and the only place you wanted to be was in my arms. I had you stripped down to your diaper, which made things a little better. Every time I needed to get something done, though, and set you down in your bouncy chair or swing, you started crying. I couldn’t figure out what was wrong, but the second I would turn to pick you up, you’d flash a huge grin, blow a raspberry at me, and start laughing. I immediately was butter in your hands and did whatever you wanted. You finally fell asleep on my chest, laying on the couch. I stole a few extra minutes of snuggle time because I figure those special times are limited and I should eat them all up before they disappear.

But even when you’re grown and don’t want to snuggle with me anymore, you’ll still be my baby. You’ll always be my baby. No matter what.

I love you,
Mommy

Our Unhappy Little Troll ...

2011-06-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

We had a great time watching the majstån (the Swedish version of a maypole) be hoisted at today's local midsommar festival. The sun was out and everyone was in a great mood ... well, almost everyone. Fortunately, the bottom lip only came out for a few minutes and he was very happy during the rest of our outing! It's really, really hard not to laugh when he makes this face. He's so sad, but it just cracks us up!!

Sleeeeeepy Boy

2011-06-24T15:27:00.000-07:00

Someone can't seem to stay awake long enough to do anything but eat this week. Playtime is just too much work! Makes sense, considering his loooong legs are barely fitting into any of his three month pajamas. I swear he has doubled in size since June 1. It takes a lot of energy to grow so much!!

The "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean 15" -- Pesticide-Laden Fruits and Veggies

2011-06-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

I'm on kick to get back in shape / lose the baby weight / be a happy, healthy mommy for Lucas / and fit into my work clothes so I don't have to buy a new "fat" professional wardrobe by Aug. 11.

I recently read Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels and it really opened my eyes to the chemicals we put in our bodies that screw with our hormones and mess with our overall health and well being. It's not so much a diet book as it is a healthy living chronicle. This is especially important to me now that I'm a nursing mother and need to be vigilant about what I put into my body and pass along to my son.

Along these lines, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) just published its 2011 guide to the most and least pesticide-laden fruits and vegetables. Check out the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean 15." The "dirtiest"? Apples. The remedy? Buy from the EWG "clean 15″ list or buy organic.

Check out the list and get started on the roader to a healthier, happier, more environmentally-friendly "you" along with me!

Happy Two Months, Lucas!

2011-06-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

Our Little Boo Boo (I should start calling you Lucas, but "Boo Boo" really has stuck. Even daddy uses it.),

Today you turn two months old. It seems like I just was writing your first month's letter and here we are, four weeks later ... I'm going to blink, and you and I will be dancing at your wedding. Before I get too ahead of myself, though, I'm trying to soak up every moment of your infancy. Everyone says it goes fast, but until you're really living it, it's impossible to truly understand. I feel like I just found out that you were growing in my belly! So if you can, Boo, slow it down. You're just too cute and sweet right now, and I want to keep you as my tiny baby for a little longer!

We hit some big milestones this month with your first real smiles, giggles, coos, and insanely high-pitched squeals of elation (I hope). Nothing makes you happier than the light-up musical star on your Baby Einstein activity mat. Not even daddy, and he makes you smile A LOT. Daddy loves to hold you out in front of him and "twirl" in your bedroom. I'm afraid that one of these days you're going to get very dizzy and puke everywhere, but so far we're in the clear. And you seem to really get a kick of out of it, so who am I to quash your fun? I'll save that card until you're a teenager. We give you time on the mat each day and never get tired of watching you smile and laugh at that silly star.

You sleep a continuous seven to eight hours each night (knock, knock, knock on wood). When I tell this to other parents with infants, they look at me like either a) I'm a liar, or b) they're going to kill me with the invisible daggers shooting from their eyes. You are such an easy baby that sometimes I just sit around waiting for our entire world to crumble, for you to stop sleeping, and for everything to go horribly awry. I should just relax and take more time to enjoy it, but on most days, life with a baby like you really does seem too good to be true. You sometimes fuss at naptime — we're still working on that one a bit — but if you keep sleeping so well at night, I don't really mind.

You give us absolutely NO time to meet your needs before going into full meltdown mode. Whenever you wake up, you immediately start screaming bloody murder for food. I cannot possibly get you to the boob fast enough. You also are doing a great job at keeping your butt clean. I don't know if this is normal, but daddy and I rarely change a poopy diaper. You start fussing and have a very particular cry when you want to be changed. Your diaper always is wet, but you have a magical knack of waiting until we unfasten it to poop. And poop. And poop. Yesterday, you shot a "power poop" clear off the changing table and it splattered all over the carpet. I had no idea little babies could do this sort of thing, but you're very, very good at it. It's disgusting and I wish you would stop.

You HATE tummy time. Dr. Howson, your pediatrician, wants you to spend 20 to 30 minutes each day on your tummy, to relieve pressure on the back of your head, and to build your muscles. I know it's important and try to incorporate it throughout the day. It's really hard for me to take your screaming, though. I feel like I'm completely torturing you, so we only manage to get in a few minutes at a time.

When you were seven weeks old, we took your first trip to Samish Island for the long Memorial Day weekend. The Cook family joined us, and we stayed at the cabin your great-great grandpa bought in the early 1900s. Daddy is just dying to take you on a boat ride, but we're going to wait until you're a little older and it's more safe for you to be on the water. We took a long walk on the beach with you in a carrier on daddy's chest and you were so peaceful and happy. The beach is a very special place for our family and I know you're going to grow to love it there.

Each night, I pray that you remain as happy throughout your entire life as you seem to be now. You really are a delightful little guy to be around, and I look forward to each day I am blessed to spend with you.

Love,
Mommy

Coos and Giggles -- Six and a Half Weeks

2011-05-22T10:45:00.000-07:00

Click on the picture to play the video.

From Sunday Morning Playmat Fun -- May 22, 2011

Happy One Month, Lucas!

2011-05-07T22:28:00.000-07:00

My Sweet Lucas,

You are one month old today. The past four weeks have been the most overwhelming, difficult, emotional and yet amazing and best of my life. Tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I am so proud and excited to celebrate being your mommy. You are everything your daddy and I could ever have hoped, dreamed and prayed for -- our baby boy.

http://jenniferfinchphotography.blogspot.com/

You came into this world slowly. Very slowly. You were born two weeks past your due date, and yet still managed to take an entire 42 hours to make your entrance after my first contraction. Your head was lodged sideways in my pelvis and a vacuum was required to realign your body and help you descend. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience of my life and caused me some physical trauma. I’ve spent a lot of the past month recovering from your birth, but my body has bounced back incredibly well and you absolutely are worth every stitch, ache and pain.

Your birth wasn’t a very comfortable experience for you, either. “This baby has a very bad headache and you need to be incredibly gentle with his head,” our nurse said as she laid you on my chest.

You had quite the hematoma and lopsided conehead from being stuck for so many hours. Your skull resumed a normal shape after about a day, but your big bruise did cause a bit of jaundice. Thankfully, you were able to resolve this on your own by chowing down on supplemental formula and pooping a lot, and didn’t need any light therapy. Your jaundice made you very sleepy. To this day, you’re still zonking out for a good 18 or so hours out of each day. You wake up just long enough to eat, get your diaper changed, look around for about 15 minutes and then start fussing before going back to sleep.

You like to eat. You really like to eat. At birth, you weighed seven pounds, six ounces. When we were discharged from the hospital, you were two days old and had dropped to seven pounds, .05 ounces (normal weight loss for a newborn). At four days old, you weighed seven pounds, 1.5 ounces; and at one week, you weighed seven pounds, 2.5 ounces. Your doctor was concerned that you only had gained one ounce in three days at your first checkup, so she told me to nurse you every two and a half hours for the next week. She wanted you to gain at least seven more ounces by the time you were two weeks old.

Well, Piglet, you did us proud. We both got major kudos at your two week weigh-in. You definitely met your seven-ounce goal … and then some. You gained 18.5 ounces in one week!! We also visited with a lactation consultant who weighed you before and after a feeding. She expected you to eat about 60 ccs – you took down 108! Your appetite amazes and exhausts me, but I know the days of you waking me for milk at 3 a.m. are fleeting, and I’m trying to enjoy every minute with you while you’re still my itty bitty baby. Even the ones that involve you screaming in my ear.

The way your daddy looks at you makes my heart melt. He takes such good care of our family and we’re very lucky that he’s ours. There have been times during the past month where he’s had to soothe both of us while we simultaneously cried. I’m not sure where his patience and grace comes from, but it seems to be bottomless. My love for him grows each day, and I’m pretty sure that yours does, too. Your favorite place to snuggle is on his chest, and you’ve saved the few little grins you’ve flashed almost exclusively for him.

Before you were born, I always thought I would speak to you like an adult and avoid the baby talk. Something happened to me when you were born, though, and I started saying things like, “Oh, Buster Boo, do you need a new dipe-dipe?” And I never thought I was much for nicknames, but I find myself calling you “Lovey,” “Mister Man,” “Buster Boo-Hoo (when you’re crying),” “Boo Bird,” “Piglet,” and “Poopy Pooperson,” among others. Not to mention the other goo-goo-gaa-gaa-ness that my newly-minted mama mouth uncontrollably utters. Your infinite cuteness apparently has a major influence on my language center.

You’ve already shown me how to love in a way that I never knew was in me. My hopes and dreams for you can’t be put into words, baby boy. My cup runneth over and I’m so glad you’re here.

I love you,
Mommy

Lucas James Omdal

2011-04-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Morgan and I proudly announce the birth of our son, Lucas James Omdal. Lucas was born at 9:54 p.m., Thursday, April 7. He weighed 7 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 20.25 inches long, with a head circumfrence of 13.25 inches.

He is such a joy and we are beyond blessed to have him in our lives.

So Blessed

2011-04-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

My little boy,

This is the last letter I will write to you before I see your face. We had a doctor's appointment this afternoon (Tuesday) and you're going to be helped along on Thursday morning (April 7) if I don't go into labor on my own tomorrow. The doctor thinks it's best that you not stay in there past 42 weeks. I'm a little nervous about going the medical intervention route to get you here, but at the end of the day I really just care that you and I are happy, healthy, and home together with daddy. We are so excited to become a family of three!

Mommy at 41 weeks, five days pregnant

I have been praying a lot for your delivery to be as healthy and non-eventful as this pregnancy. Our cousin Christy shared a Bible verse with me the other day that has brought me a lot of peace while we wait for you. I recite it at night as I fall asleep and it has helped ease my fears and remind me that this isn't in my hands.

Psalm 130: "I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."

I have put my trust in God and know He's looking out for us -- you'll be in my arms before I know it. I can't wait to meet you.

Love,

Mommy

Baby O: Punctuality is the Virtue of the Bored

2011-04-02T12:48:00.000-07:00

My little one,

Early on during this journey, I was so afraid you would arrive early. I know my fears were just first-time pregnancy jitters, and as the weeks went on, they subsided. I grew more and more pregnant, and each doctor's appointment showed you to be very healthy and growing like a weed. I really could not have had a more smooth or healthy pregnancy, for which I will be eternally grateful.

Your original due date was March 27, but the doctor bumped it back a few days to March 24, since you looked a little big in there. Um ... today is April 2 and you're still not here! I already love you more than anything, and know you'll come when the time is right (I don't want to rush you if you're not quite ready), but if you want to make that time today, I would really, really appreciate it.

Mommy at 40-weeks pregnant.

These past nine days have had me on pins and needles, wondering if every cramp, tingle or twitch meant you were on your way. I'm tired and achy, but it's not completely unbearable. It's the waiting and uncertainty that are making me crazy. I just want to know when you'll be here in our arms! (And to know when I don't have to be pregnant anymore and pee 20 times every night -- really looking forward to that one.)

I also am not sure how many more times I can hear "be patient," "enjoy this time with Morgan," and "just relax," without responding in a very rude manner. It's all I can do at this point to say, "Thanks for the advice, we're hanging in there ..."

One thing this "overdueness" has taught me is that unless you've been 41-plus weeks pregnant, never, never, ever, tell a woman in that state to "just relax and be patient." It's ridiculous advice. A better option would be, "I'm thinking about you and hoping you have a smooth and healthy delivery," or something along those lines. For me, sitting around waiting for my body to go through such a significant event is the most nerve-wracking experience of my life. The good news is that I already know you're more than worth it.

Now hurry up and get here!

Love,
Mommy

The Waiting Game

2011-03-01T21:14:00.000-08:00

Baby Boy,

It’s March. The month you’re expected to enter the world. Turning the calendar was so exciting, frightening, and hopeful. All at the same time.

“Only a few more weeks,” I squealed to daddy. “We’re going to meet our little boy this month!”

But as the great John Lennon once said (and how poignant that this line comes from his song, Beautiful Boy), “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.”

I went to the doctor and he said you appear to be in no hurry to make an appearance — that you look much more like an April baby than a March baby. I have suspected this, considering you enjoy using my ribs as monkey bars, and my stomach has settled into its second home somewhere between my heart and collar bone. I hope you know that you can’t head north to make your escape, but some days that’s exactly what it feels like you’re attempting.

Each morning I wake up and stretch a little before crawling out of bed, anxiously waiting to feel that you have “dropped.” All of my books say this should happen sometime soon. The old rule of thumb is that lightening occurs with a first baby about four weeks prior to birth. But as of this morning … nada. And my heartburn is rivaling the Great Yellowstone Fire, which also lets me know you’re perfectly content for the near time being.

I know that a lot can happen in three weeks, though, and you very well could get this show on the road. But if you don’t, that’s OK. You’re welcome to stay in there as long as you feel like it (within reason). Although I’m beyond excited to see your face and hold you in my arms, I also get a little weepy when I think about our special time together coming to an end. I will miss feeling your kicks and wiggles, and having you with me at all times, knowing you’re safe and sound. But I know I have to share you. And your daddy is just about ready to explode waiting for you to show up. There’s a lot of love waiting for you, little one.

We’re ready when you are!

Love,
Mommy

Consumer Reports’ Newborn Necessities

2011-02-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

With this little baby expected to make his appearance in a mere five weeks, we’re furiously tying up loose ends and putting finishing touches on the nursery. There are a ton of items left on our registry, and the sensible part of me knows that we won’t need most of them. I scoured the Internet to find a good checklist of what we really need to have on-hand when the little one arrives.

Consumer Reports put together this seemingly-fantastic checklist (we’ll find out how fantastic it really is once the baby gets here) intended to prevent new parents from buying-out Babies “R” Us and filling their house with a ton of unnecessary “stuff.”

I am the first to admit that I’m a list fanatic and compulsive planner, so this instantly provided me with a tremendous sense of calm. I also have a lot of faith in Consumer Reports, which we heavily relied on when car shopping a few years ago. They have a well-earned reputation for steering their readers in the right direction and have provided our family with some great advice.

If you’re a parent, take a look and leave a comment sharing your thoughts about their suggested inventory. Anything missing? Anything unnecessary?

Consumer Reports’ Newborn Necessities

Tooling around

_____Car seat.

_____Stroller.

Beds and linens

_____Crib.

_____Crib mattress.

_____Bassinet/cradle (if you don't want to put your baby in a crib right away).

_____Two to three fitted crib sheets.

_____Four or more waffle-weave cotton receiving blankets for swaddling baby

_____Two mattress pads.

_____One to two waterproof liners (for crib or bassinet).

Diaper duty

_____Diapers. Disposables: One 40-count package of newborn (birth weight under 8 pounds) or of size 1 (birth weight over 8 pounds). Cloth: Two to three dozen, plus six to 10 snap-on, waterproof outer pants, and two to three sets of diaper pins, eight to 10 all-in-ones or diaper system covers; two to three dozen diaper system inserts.

_____Diaper pail (with refills or bags as needed).

_____Diaper bag.

Dressing baby

_____Four sleeping outfits or one-piece sleepers with attached feet.

_____Six side-snap T-shirts.

_____Four to six one-piece undershirts that snap around the crotch.

_____A small baby cap (although the hospital will probably give you one).

_____Six pairs socks/booties.

_____Two to three soft, comfortable daytime outfits. Get only a few items in newborn size. Then, go for clothing in the 6-month size--your baby will grow into it quickly. But don't buy baby sleepwear that's too big--it's a safety hazard.

_____Cotton sweater or light jacket.

Summer babies

_____Brimmed hat.

Winter babies

_____Snowsuit with attached mittens or fold-over cuffs, or heavy bunting.

_____Heavy stroller blanket.

_____Warm knit hat.

Feeding time (Breastfeeding)

_____Three to five nursing bras.

_____A box of washable or disposable breast pads.

_____Breast pump if you expect to use one (manual or electric).

_____Four small baby bottles with newborn nipples for storing expressed breast milk.

_____Bottle-drying tree.

_____Bottle brush.

_____Insulated bottle holder for diaper bag (the hospital may give you one).

_____Three packs of cloth diapers or burp cloths.

Bathing/Grooming

_____Plastic infant bathtub.

_____Three soft hooded towels.

_____Two packs of baby washcloths.

_____Baby body wash that doubles as shampoo.

_____Pair of blunt-tip scissors or baby-sized nail clippers.

_____Zinc-oxide-based diaper rash ointment.

_____Soft brush and comb.

_____Mild laundry detergent.

Medicine chest essentials

_____A pain-and-fever reducer recommended by your baby's doctor, such as Infant's Tylenol.

_____Cotton pads/swabs.

_____Nasal aspirator.

_____Digital rectal thermometer.

_____Rubbing alcohol.

_____Petroleum jelly.

Keeping baby happy

_____Pacifiers.

Extras: Nice but optional

_____Baby monitor.

_____Changing table.

_____A rocker or glider.

_____Sling or strap-on soft carrier.

_____Boppy, a doughnut-shape pillow designed to make holding baby during breastfeeding or bottlefeeding easier.

_____Nursing coverup. Attaches at your neck and allows for private breastfeeding when you and your baby are in public.

_____Infant swing.

_____Bouncy seat.

_____Night-light.

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-02-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

I found a picture kicking around on my camera from early autumn and can't believe I haven't yet shared this with you! My favorite cookbook these days is The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition, from the editors of Cook's Illustrated. I have yet to have a recipe turn out anything less than perfect. Seriously, the roasted chicken, pesto sauce, pork chops -- they all have become my go-to recipes for those dishes. But this one, my-oh-my, it takes the cake. Or the cookie, rather.

The Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies are the best I've ever tasted. Their texture, density and chocolate-to-dough ratio (I don't like too many chips) are beyond compare. And this is even more amazing considering I am the one who made them.

Chocolate chip cookies and I have a long and tortured history. I have searched for a good recipe for years, and even when they come from my best-baker friends, they always fall flat, literally, in my kitchen. These cookies, though, are true to their name. Perfectly thick and chewy, and when topped with a light grind of sea salt à la my brilliant friend, Emily, strike the perfect balance of sweet-and-salty to satisfy any craving. I also followed my auntie Karen's advice and chilled the dough for a few hours before forming the cookies to help them hold their form.

While you're at it, cruise on over to Sweet as Sugar Cookies, to check out some more fabulous goodies. They're having quite the cookie party right now!

Cook's Illustrated Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

From The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition

"These truly chewy chocolate chip cookies are delicious served warm from the oven or cooled. To ensure a chewy texture, leave the cookies on the cookie sheet to cool. You can substitute white, milk chocolate, or peanut butter chips for the semi- or bittersweet chips called for in the recipe. In addition to chips, you can flavor the dough with one cup of nuts, raisins, or shredded coconut."
-Cook's Illustrated

2 1/8 cups bleached all-purpose flour (about 10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoon table salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled slightly

1 cup brown sugar (light or dark), 7 ounces

1/2 cup granulated sugar (3 1/2 ounces)

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-2 cups chocolate chips or chunks (semi or bittersweet)

Plain sea salt or fleur de sel

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions. Mix flour, salt, and baking soda together in medium bowl; set aside.

2. Either by hand or with electric mixer, mix butter and sugars until thoroughly blended. Mix in egg, yolk, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients; mix until just combined. Stir in chips.

3. Form scant 1/4 cup dough into ball. Holding dough ball using fingertips of both hands, pull into two equal halves. Rotate halves ninety degrees and, with jagged surfaces exposed, join halves together at their base, again forming a single cookie, being careful not to smooth dough’s uneven surface. Place formed dough onto one of two parchment paper-lined 20-by-14-inch lipless cookie sheets, about nine dough balls per sheet. Smaller cookie sheets can be used, but fewer cookies can be baked at one time and baking time may need to be adjusted. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt or fleur de sel. (Dough can be refrigerated up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month—shaped or not.)

4. Bake, reversing cookie sheets’ positions halfway through baking, until cookies are light golden brown and outer edges start to harden yet centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes (start checking at 13 minutes). (Frozen dough requires an extra 1 to 2 minutes baking time.) Cool cookies on cookie sheets. Serve or store in airtight container.

Eagle Eye

2011-02-12T16:27:00.001-08:00

For Christmas, Santa spoiled me with a new Canon EOS Rebel T2i. My package also came with a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM telephoto zoom lens, which I finally took for a little test drive this afternoon.

Morgan asked me shortly after we got the camera what I would be using this particular lens for, and I said, "Oh, you know, eagles and spy assignments ..." Just so happens that one of those two things (in multiples) showed up right outside our house today.

Special thanks to Jane Maynard, who writes one of my very favorite blogs, This Week for Dinner, for the camera recommendation. Her photography is second to none and I knew she wouldn't steer her readers wrong.

The Baby O Show ... Make a Guess Today!

2011-02-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

With six weeks to go (my official due date is March 27), I thought it would be fun to start an online due date pool. The winner will receive a lifetime supply of bragging rights. Make a guess today by clicking on the banner below!

Hiccups, Heartburn, and Huge Bellies

2011-02-06T20:32:00.000-08:00

My sweet little boy,

You are due to make your arrival in seven short weeks. I’m not quite sure where these past 33 weeks went, but I seem to have blinked and ended up very, very pregnant.

I only can dream that you will be as easy a baby on the outside as you have been on the inside. I am slowing down a little and feeling pretty tired these days, but it would be odd if I weren’t. Other than some intense heartburn, you have caused me absolutely no problems. I think you may be a “trick” first baby, though. You have convinced me that pregnancy is a cinch, but I suspect that when I go to have a brother or sister for you, I probably will be barfing up everything but the baby!

I took the “glucose challenge” a few weeks ago and only passed it by one point. The doctor said that I may be a little more sensitive to sugar than others during pregnancy, and that I should watch my carbs so you don’t get too chunky. So, for your benefit and mine, I have eliminated most sweets from our diet. I don’t think it will be very fun for either of us if you weigh 10 pounds when you’re born. Cutting down the carbs hasn’t been that bad, but you’ve kicked me extra hard a few times in what I’m pretty sure have been attempts to get some ice cream. As a special treat, I did let you have a cupcake at our baby shower, since it was such a special day. Oh, and a couple other random pieces of cake ... Hey, I said most sweets.

Our friend Kim. She loves you a lot!

Our friend, Kim, threw us an amazing party to celebrate your arrival. We were showered with fantastic gifts and surrounded by the love of our friends and family. It really was special and you’re certainly going to be one well-dressed kiddo!

We also received a huge surprise — an alphabet wall for your nursery. This was something I really, really wanted to do when I first found out you were going to join our family, but I got a little overwhelmed by the size of the project and decided to go another route with the decorating. Thankfully, we have the most amazing friends and family in the entire world and they surprised us with a set of letters for your wall. I was beyond touched and can't wait to get them all in place. Each letter is unique and was made with love, which makes them even more special.

Me and your grandmas.

What a surprise!

We also had an ultrasound last week to make sure you’re in “dive position” (good job — you’re all lined up to make a perfect entrance) and that you don’t look too big. They’re currently estimating your birth weight at 8.5 pounds and everything checked out just fine. We’re ticking along like clockwork. You were sucking your thumb while we looked at you and it just melted my heart. You also get hiccups several times a day, which feel so funny in my belly. They're remarkably similar to an eye twitch, but in my belly button. They almost tickle, and they always make me giggle a little. It makes me happy to know you’re working so hard on getting those lungs developed. Just please don’t use them too much for screaming once you get here. Pretty, pretty, please.

Daddy says the day you’re born is going to be like Christmas morning times 100, and I’m sure he’s right. We love you so much and can’t wait for you to get here!

Love,

Mommy

New Year's and Nurseries ...

2010-12-31T15:46:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year's Eve!

There's something about the fresh start of January 1 that always puts me in a good mood. I am so excited for 2011 and can't wait for what the year has in store. I hope you're all looking forward to turning the calendar forward, too.

Since our little boy will be here before we know it, Morgan and I thought we should get started on his nursery. We ventured to IKEA this week, where we picked up the Leksvik crib and changing table to match a dresser and some bookcases that we already owned.

We decided to keep the paint color neutral and brighten the room up with colorful prints and fabric. My lovely and talented friend, Michelle, is making our bedding, which I can't wait to show you in once she's finished. Her Bundle Bean children's line is awesome -- please check it out!

Here's what we've done so far, but there's still a long way to go with the decorating.

The alphabet wall hanging that my Grandma N. made me when I was a little girl. This always was one of my favorite decorations growing up.

New changing table to match the existing dresser.

The crib, with one of the four Peek-a-Boo prints by Yuko Lau that we purchased from First Art Source.

Morgan's confirmation blanket -- although he received this in eighth grade, the print definitely says "baby." We think it looks great in the room.

Morgan's stuffed animal collection. He finally has someone to share it with!

My very favorite book as a child, The Sesame Street Dictionary. I was beyond excited to find it still in print, exactly as a I remembered. This is the first thing I've bought for the baby.

The rocking chair, where I anticipate we'll be spending many an hour.

From Our Growing Family to Yours ...

2010-12-24T13:56:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

We're saving our "annual mailing" for the upcoming birth announcement, so our greetings only are coming in virtual form this year. I wish you all a blessed holiday, filled with family, friends and lots of good cheer!

Baby Boy O.

2010-11-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

My Baby Boy,

So it's obvious from the title of this post, but your daddy and I found out that you're a boy! We also learned that you look perfectly healthy and are growing big and strong in my belly. The doctor estimates you'll weight 8.25 pounds when you're born.

Seeing your face for the first time was an amazing experience. You're a little claymation-ish in the photos, but I still think you look like the sweetest little baby I've ever seen.

Your heart and body also look fit as can be, which is fantastic news. Dr. Case's previous patients had a baby with severe congenital heart defects -- he reminded us that not all parents are blessed with a son as a healthy as you. Hearing that story brought tears to my eyes and I continue to feel overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude whenever I think about how smoothly my pregnancy is going and how perfect you look in there.

Daddy and I are working on a name for you, but we're not going to tell anyone what we choose until you're born. We don't want any funny looks or opinions about your name until it's official and there's no turning back! We promise not to pick anything too weird, or too common, though. And we'll spell whatever we choose conventionally, too. We want you to focus on the more important things in life, instead of spending time correcting people, " ... and that's with a 'qz,' not an 's.'"

You're getting a lot more active these days, kicking me and rolling around after almost every meal. And then you take a nap for a few hours before waking up again. I really love feeling you move around -- it's always the highlight of my day. Daddy felt you kick from the outside last weekend, too, and he was SO excited. I also tried to get you to kick for Grandpa Omdal after Thanksgiving dinner, but you weren't interested. I think you need to grow a little bigger before you start "dancing on command."

And speaking of growing bigger, that's exactly what I'm doing. I'm 23 weeks pregnant now, and have gained 17 pounds. Four of those were in the past two weeks, too! (You really like holiday food, but I think I'm going to have to cut back and stop spoiling you with so much chocolate and pie.) I'm doing my best to feed you a lot of fruits and vegetables, too.

Dr. Case recommended the book, Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives, by Annie Murphy Paul. I read an article she wrote in Time Magazine a couple months ago and have specifically tried to make sure you get plenty of cruciferous vegetables while you're in there to help protect you from cancer. I love you so much, babe, and am trying to make the best decisions as possible for you from the very beginning.

Sometimes I feel overwhelmed thinking of what we're going to go through in life together. When I start thinking too much about the hard times we may face as you grow, I try to take a step back and just live in the moment. Eating broccoli and cabbage seem like one of the easier choices I'll ever have to make. Focusing on the simple things and taking it one day at a time help calm me down and remember the joy we'll have together.

I can't wait to meet you.

Love,

Mommy

20-Week Update

2010-11-02T21:14:00.000-07:00

Dear Baby O,

You’ve been growing for 20 weeks now, and over the past couple weeks people have started to notice that you’re in there. Someone stopped me on the street last Friday and asked how far along I was — I excitedly shared that my pregnancy was halfway over. I’m just so excited to meet you, I can hardly stand the thought of waiting until March.

At the same time, part of me is terrified that you will arrive early. I want you to stay in there as long as possible to grow strong and healthy. If you’re anything like me or your dad, though, you’ll probably be a little bit late. That’s a habit we’re going to try our best not to teach you.

You’ve grown a lot in the past month and I started to feel you move. We were 18 weeks into this journey when I was sitting at my desk and felt a little twitch in my tummy. I wasn’t sure it was you, but then I felt it a few more times. And then a little bit more each day after that.

You really start bouncing around when I eat sugar. I’ve probably fed you too much sugar lately since there’s been a lot of Halloween candy floating around, but it’s so fun to feel you move that I have a hard time resisting. It also was a huge relief to feel you move. My tummy didn’t seem to be growing much for a few weeks and I had only gained one pound the previous month, so I was a little bit nervous that you weren’t in there anymore (as silly as I know that sounds). I love it so much when you remind me of your presence with a little nudge. It always puts a big smile on my face and fills my heart in a way I haven’t known before.

Your daddy can’t feel you from the outside yet, but he sure talks to you a lot and really is excited for the day he’ll be able to put his hand on my tummy and feel you move, too. He already loves you more than I’ve seen him love anything.

You’ve been so good to me, little one. So far, I’ve had a really healthy pregnancy with hardly any side effects. There have been a few bouts with heartburn, but nothing unbearable. And maybe that just means you’ll be born with a beautiful head of hair — or so I’ve been told. I’m also very tired by the time 8 p.m. rolls around each evening, but I expected that would be the case and again, it also is manageable. Other than that, I still just feel like me. It's definitely a relief, since I'm working full time and can't really afford the time to be sick. So thanks for that!

Pink or Blue

In three days, we’re going to see Dr. Case, a radiologist, who is going to check you out for our mid-point ultrasound. He’s going to tell us if you’re a boy or a girl and make sure you’re healthy. I sure hope you’re OK and that the next 20 weeks go as well as the first. I pray every night for God to bring you into this world smoothly and safely.

Your daddy and I dressed up as characters from the movie Ghostbusters this Halloween. Since I’m supposed to be “puffy” already with you in there, I fully embraced the theme and went as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. There were a lot of other kiddos who visited us in their costumes, too, which made us really excited to dress you up next year.

There are so many things I can’t wait to do with you. It’s going to be great.

Love,
Mommy

Tardy for the Summer Party

2010-10-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

I cleaned off my camera this weekend and found some pictures from the past few months I thought I'd share, even though we're already well into fall.

We didn’t have much of a summer in Seattle, but Morgan and I still found time to play in the yard. Check out the deck he designed and built all by himself. He’s so handy — boy, did I luck out! He started this project last winter so it would be done in time for spring and summer. We wish we would have had the opportunity to use it more frequently, but thanks to Mother Nature, we spent a lot of time staring at it longingly through the rain-spattered windows of our living room. We did have a few nice days, but not nearly enough. There’s always next year … and we'll have another family member to join us then, too!

We tried our hands at square-foot gardening. This was an interesting experiment. Interesting is code for “not terribly successful.” We learned a lot, though, and are more prepared for future seasons. Biggest lesson: homemade compost sucks and should be avoided at all costs when you live somewhere that doesn’t typically get warm enough to kill seeds in the bin. I know gardens require weeding, but our situation was beyond ridiculous, since we essentially re-planted all the weeds we had pulled during the past two years. Next year, we’re bringing in clean soil from Garden World. (We’ll see how ambitious I actually am once the baby arrives in the spring.)

Second, you’re supposed to thin carrots for a reason. We definitely pulled some interesting configurations from the ground.

And third, here’s what happens when you stick a sprouting Walla Wall sweet onion into the ground after it sits on your counter a bit too long … beautiful flowers!

We spent a week at the Samish Island cabin in mid-September and came home with some good eats! Lots of crab and salmon in the freezer for the winter. Morgan tried his hand at smoking some of the fish he caught and was much more successful than our first attempt last year, when we ended up with salt pucks. This year's batch was absolutely delicious!

On the pregnancy front, everything is going very well. All the tests we've had have come back with fantastic results and it seems that there's a healthy little baby kicking away in there (although I can't feel it yet). I feel totally normal, aside from the thickening waistline. It’s kind of weird — I really expected more things to be “different.” I’m sure that will come with time, since I’m only 17 weeks along.

We have a terrific OB, who was referred to us by our friends Missy and Kelly. At our last appointment, he asked if I was interested in natural birth and when I said no (absolutely nothing against it; it’s just not for me), he explained his philosophy of giving an epidural at anytime during labor — that there never is an “it’s too late” time with his patients, and that he “wouldn’t make me bite down on a stick like a pioneer woman.” Then he mentioned how his wife would kill him if she heard him say that, since she’s a natural birth coach. Ha!

Baby O!

2010-09-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

I was running out of ideas for this blog, so I thought I'd have a baby to make things a little more interesting. Now how domestic is that?! Dedication, people.

And now that I'm emerging from the comatose fog I've been wading through for the past 12 weeks, perhaps I'll start posting more regularly, too. My goal is to have a good record of this pregnancy to look back on since it's such a special time.

I've been tremendously lucky in the nauseation department, with only a few days of upset tummy and some gagging here and there. The one thing that continually has set me off is toothpaste. I tried cinnamon flavor, thinking that might help, but it didn't. I think it's the taste of fluoride. I can get through brushing my teeth without puking, so that's good (don't worry, I'm not walking around with dog breath all the time because I can't handle it), but yes, toothpaste is my enemy at the moment. Seems like a weird one, but hey, I'll take it. As long as my list stays this short, I'll count my blessings.

Other that that, the only side effect has been sheer exhaustion. No exaggeration. It's more than "tired." Everyone told me to expect it, but it was more than I counted on. Over the past week or so, though, I've been noticing my energy take a turn for the better. Hallelujah!

S/he is expected to make his/her arrival on March 27, 2011. Right now, that seems like an eternity to wait, but I know it will be here in a blink. Morgan and I could not be more excited and can't wait to welcome this little person into the world.

First ultrasound, Aug. 10, 2010

Second ultrasound, Sept. 2, 2010

Third ultrasound, Sept. 13, 2010

Puppies and Cocktails

2010-06-25T06:02:00.000-07:00

We watched this cute little pup a couple weeks ago while our good friends were in Hawaii. She was a lot fun -- I love being greeted with over-the-top excitement when I come home each day -- but both Morgan and I were jealous being stuck in the freezing Seattle Summer of Gloom, complete with grey skies and contstant drizzle.

To make us feel better, I whipped up a batch of whole-fruit cocktails to sip while we watched a movie on Saturday afternoon. They were delish and we *almost* felt like we were back in Maui. Not quite, but almost!

Strawberry Pina Coladas

1/2 cup water

2 oz. Malibu Rum

1 cup frozen strawberries

1 cup frozen pineapple

Add ingredients to blender in order listed and blend until smooth.

Cheers!

TJ's Pesto Gnocchi with Roasted Chicken and Peppers

2010-06-23T06:22:00.000-07:00

Next to Costco, Trader Joe's is my second-favorite store to shop for groceries. I eat TJ's frozen steel cut oatmeal for breakfast along with my green drink almost everyday. It's only $.80 a serving and is SO much better than that other instant goo. I love its chewiness and subtle sweetness without being packed full of sugar, but most of all how well it fills me up. I'm a hungry girl in the morning and you don't want to be within a five mile radius if I miss breakfast!

My freezer only has so much room, though, so I have to stop by TJ's every other week or so to stock up. On my last trip, I picked up a few things that looked like they would pair together well for a super simple weeknight meal. After one bite, Morgan said, "Mmmm, add this one to the list," which means we'll be throwing it into the in-a-hurry rotation. I hesitate to even call this a recipe, because it's really just combining four store-bought ingredients, but hey, we all need a few of these up our sleeve!

TJ's Pesto Gnocchi with Roasted Chicken and Peppers

Two cooked chicken breasts, thinly sliced (I roast mine in the oven with a little garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil)
One package Trader Joe's gnocchi
One 7 oz. tub Trader Joe's Genoa pesto
Two 12 oz. jars fire roasted yellow and red peppers

Cook gnocchi according to directions, drain and reserve.
Drain, rinse (to remove extra saltiness -- I love salt, but these are too salty) and roughly chop peppers.
Return gnocchi to the pot and combine with chicken, peppers, and pesto.
Toss to evenly distribute sauce.
Warm and gently stir over medium heat until heated through.

Season of Frozen Delights

2010-06-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Happy solstice!

Most parts of the country are experiencing hot-hot-heat (albeit not in Seattle), which means it’s the season of frozen delights! In our house, we’re just eating dessert from the freezer in an attempt to urge the sun out of hiding. It’s the first day of summer and we haven’t even hit 75 degrees. Yes, it’s true, we eat our sorbet with mittens and stocking caps in the Northwest.

I’ve always loved sorbet for its freshness, whole ingredients, melt-away texture and low-calorie goodness. Store bought, my favorite is Whole Fruit Lemon Sorbet. I checked out the nutrition and ingredients closely, though, and was really disappointed. For a half cup, the calories ring in at 140, with 34 grams of sugar, not to mention “corn syrup solids” as the second ingredient, followed in short order by “natural flavor.” Really? What is that, anyway? If it’s natural, why is it a secret?

Never fear — it’s super easy to make your own sorbet. And there are only three ingredients. Fruit, water, and a small amount of sugar. I’ve been making mine in the Vitamix, but also have made it in an ice cream maker. I’ll share both recipes with you, because I’m nice like that.

Three cheers for summer! Wherever you are, I hope your tank tops and shorts are treating you well. And I hope mine will be soon, too.

Vitamix Method
Fruit Sorbet

1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1 pound frozen fruit (I love Trader Joe’s frozen dark sweet cherries — cherry sorbet with a little bit of chocolate sauce is awesome.)

Add ingredients to Vitamix in order listed and blend until smooth. Don’t overblend, or melting will occur.

Eat immediately in soft stage, or freeze for firmer sorbet.

If freezing longer than two hours, allow to soften for 15 minutes on the counter before serving.

Ice Cream Machine Method
Mango Sorbet

4 mangos — peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 cup simple syrup
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

Place cubed mango in a food processor, and puree.

Pour in simple syrup and lime juice, and puree until smooth.

Place in an ice cream maker. Freeze thoroughly.

When finished, the sorbet will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer sorbet, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze at least two hours. If freezing longer than two hours, allow to soften for 15 minutes on the counter before serving.

Going Green

2010-05-06T19:46:00.000-07:00

I’m an all-or-nothing type girl. Always have been. This personality “flair,” paired with my love of vegetables has led to some interesting occurences in my life ...

As a toddler, I refused most food other than carrots for quite a lengthy period. Lengthy enough for my skin to develop a nice orange tinge and send my mother running to the doctor with jaundice suspicions. A quick once-over and a good chuckle from Dr. Kina (or so she tells it) landed me with a tidy carotenemia diagnosis. Feed your kids abundant amounts of orange and yellow vegetables and they’ll turn a lovely shade of copper. Lesson learned.

Although I shook the carrot habit by my third birthday, I still often find myself jonesing for a good veggie fix, 28 years later. Without them, leafy greens specifically, I feel sluggish and leaden. Lately the difference felt between eating eight or nine servings a day (about a half cup per serving) versus an “off” day of three or four has become inherently clear.

While we were in Maui this past February, a rerun of Dr. Oz was playing during breakfast (I love me some Dr. Oz). He was talking about the “green drink,” which he often eats for breakfast. His particular version consists of spinach, cucumber, celery, ginger, parsley, apples, lime and lemon juice, blended together until smooth. I found it intriguing and decided that when we returned home, these green drinks were going to become part of my daily routine.

Enter my all-or-nothingness and fast forward a couple months … I have become borderline-obsessed with the green drink. It only took a few days to start feeling the difference in my energy level, improved digestion and reduced nighttime cravings for junk or sugar. And please note my careful use of the word “reduced …” It’s not like I no longer enjoy a good scoop of ice cream and glass of wine.

Morgan, on the other hand, only tolerates the green drink because A) I make it for him (no effort on his part) and B) he knows it’s healthy, so he should probably choke it down. He has told me repeatedly that it “kind of tastes like grass clippings.” I think that’s partly due to the color and his general stubbornness, though. I honestly think they’re delicious.

After following Dr. Oz’s recipe for a couple weeks, I began experimenting to come up with a more personalized green drink. I found a combination that I really like (and Morgan thinks is a bit tastier than the original, but there’s definitely no affinity there) and have stuck with it because I'm feeling so terrific.

The Promise, The Legend, The Vitamix
I promised myself that if I had a green drink every day for 60 days, I could upgrade from my P.O.S. Cuisinart blender (seriously, whoever designed the pouring spout should be fired) to a Vitamix 5200. I have been longing after the Vitamix for years, ever since I first saw one demonstrated at Costco. They are ridiculously expensive, though, so I really needed a good justification for this purchase. Well, I accomplished my 60-day green drink goal and my new toy arrived last Wednesday. And yes, I totally spoiled myself.

I cannot write about the Vitamix without sounding like an infomercial — apologies in advance — but this thing completely blows my mind. I thought it would be a powerful blender, but it’s really so much more.

My new green drink, which is more of a fruit and vegetable smoothie, is now actually smooth. The Cuisinart left it fairly grainy, but still drinkable through a straw. The Vitamix leaves it velvety, without a trace of texture from the fruit and vegetable peels (left on for the extra fiber). And it’s fast. Any smoothie is blended to perfection in less than a minute. I also made the tortilla soup from the accompanying recipe book this weekend, which was sooo good and better than anything I’ve had in a restaurant. The 64 oz. carafe also is a huge (literally) improvement over my old blender, which was overflowing by the time I had loaded all the green drink ingredients. I could go on for days with Vitamix accolades, but it suffices to say, this machine rules. It is, by far, the most awesome appliance in my kitchen.

Plastic Mason Jar Lids to the Rescue
I really enjoy the green drink for breakfast, but finding time to eat at home is difficult. I get up at 5:15 a.m. each day and arrive at work a little before 7 a.m. Eating at my desk allows me to sleep in as long as possible, and I’m definitely not interested in my current and always unwelcome middle-of-the night alarm sounding even a minute earlier.

So, how to get these things to the office? Plastic water bottles were quickly ruled out, as the drink left them with a funky vegetal smell and the lids never sealed quite tightly enough. Thankfully, I stumbled upon plastic mason jar lids at Fred Meyer and they’re absolutely perfect! One full Vitamix makes two quarts of green drink and the lids are fantastic for storage and portability — there aren’t two parts to wash, and they don’t impart an unwanted metallic taste into your food. Plus, the glass jars don’t stain or retain any odor. Winner all around.

I know this is a record-long post, so before you alert the local mental hospital of my possible OCD, I’ll share my favorite green drink combination / recipe (if you can call it a recipe) and sign-off.

Happy vegging!

P.S. I watched my friend Katie's one-year-old suck this down like it was chocolate milk and ask for more, so try it on your own kids and let me know how it goes!!

Hillary’s Green Drink
(Note: These measurements are very approximate. I recommend throwing in whatever suits your personal taste.)

None of these vegetables or fruits are peeled, with the exception of the banana. You may need to peel these items, depending on the strength of your blender.

Ingredients

1 cup water (Some blenders may need more water than this to get started, or you may want more if you like a thinner consistency. My Cuisinart blender could take up to two cups of water until it would start blending.)
½ English cucumber
4 large stalks celery
2 or 3 large “fistfuls” fresh spinach
2 or 3 large “fistfuls” kale leaves
½ bunch parsley (stems removed)
½ inch ginger
1 banana
1 apple
1 ½ cups frozen fruit (I usually use frozen strawberries or the spectrum blend from Costco)
½ cup nonfat, plain Greek yogurt (optional — I don’t always add this)
2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed meal (found in the refrigerated “natural foods” section of your grocery store)
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumber and celery into large chunks.
Add water and first few ingredients to blender. Blend until incorporated.
Continue adding remaining ingredients, two or three at a time, until all ingredients are incorporated.
Blend on high for an additional two minutes (minimum), or until the full mixture is completely smooth.

Mau ke aloha no Hawai`i

2010-03-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hello, again! It’s been awhile -- but I’m back and have been up to some good stuff. Stuff that's been taking up a lot of time, and stuff I'm really excited share with you. My camera is ridiculously backlogged, so we better get started.

Since we last chatted, Morgan and I vacationed in Maui for nine days. There aren't a lot of stories to tell about our vacation, because the whole point was to not do a lot of anything (aside from eat, drink and frolic in the sun).

We got up each day with no concrete plans, which we've never done before, and it was blissful. Especially blissful visiting from Seattle in February. The weather was perfect -- 80 degrees and sunny each day. I highly recommend you visit Maui. And since the island is more fun to look at than read about, so here are some snapshots:

We played on the beach.
We drank lava flows and ate amazing food, including a "kill me now, because it doesn't get better than this" coconut lobster bisque at Mama's Fish House. We adopted a Hawaiian kitty and named him "Leonard." He came with our condo.We ran around the jungle pretending to be characters in "Lost." We watched whales.
And we came home really, really happy.

Dear Costco, How do I love thee? Let me count the ways ...

2010-01-17T17:15:00.000-08:00

Costco has a soft spot in my heart. Even though they're not a mom-and-pop small business, I tend to think of them as one, being from the Seattle area (they're local, at least). They're good to their employees; stand fiercely by their cardinal rule that no branded item can be marked up by more than 14 percent, and no private-label item by more than 15 percent; and best of all, carry really, really awesome stuff.To no other store do I feel this sense of loyalty. Years ago, long before Morgan, a boy once took me on a date and made a quick stop at *gasp!* a Sam's Club. "That's a deal breaker, ladies!" I knew the relationship was going nowhere from that very moment. I kid, I kid ... kind of.

So without further ado, here are the top 10 reasons why I am a die-hard Costco fanatic:

1. My gorgeous engagement ring.
2. The rugged, yet stylish Honda Pilot in my driveway (Costco Auto-Buying Program).
3. The three-pack of English cucumbers in my refrigerator.
4. My bedroom furniture.
6. My excess of workout clothes (I need to stop buying these, but can't resist).
7. The flat of garden-fresh tasting Campari tomatoes on my kitchen counter that cost two-thirds less than at Fred Meyer (we eat a lot of these).
8. My Sonicare toothbrush.
9. My television(s).
10. The recipe below ...

Tonight's dinner inspired this post. It's just one of my fantastic recent finds. I've been looking at these ravioli for awhile in the refrigerated section, but hadn't picked any up until a few weeks ago (they come in a two pack and freeze well, too).

The ravioli is from Monterey Pasta Company and the sauce is a "back of the box" recipe for brown sugar walnut sage butter. The ravioli filling is to die for and as good as anything I could make myself. Perfect for a busy night. Super easy, super delicious. Enjoy!!

Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Sugar Walnut Sage Butter

16 oz. Monterey Pasta Company Butternut Squash Ravioli – Cooked per package directions
3/4 cup walnut pieces
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
3/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage or one teaspoon dried rubbed sage
2 tablespoons cream

Prepare pasta as directed.
While pasta cooks, start the sauce. Have all ingredients together as this comes together quickly!
Using a large wide sauce pan or skillet, toast walnuts on medium heat until just fragrant and beginning to color.
Reduce heat to low, add butter and stir.
Add brown sugar, salt, cayenne and sage.
Stir until butter is completely melted. Whisk in cream, add cooked ravioli and enjoy.

Clementine Cake

2009-12-22T19:18:00.000-08:00

I pride myself on being a good friend. If your car breaks down, I will come and get you. If you need a cup of sugar, I will give you one (note that I said “give,” not “lend” … you don’t even need to pay me back). And, if you confess your deepest, darkest secret to me, I promise to not post it as my Facebook status. See? Good friend. I will also peel almonds for you until my fingers bleed. I do this only because I have a recipe I know you’ll love and it requires this most tedious of tasks. But it makes me happy to see you happy, so I carry on ... (My fingers didn’t really bleed on the almonds, don’t worry. That would be gross.)

I found this fantastic and unique recipe for clementine cake on a great new blog I’ve been frequenting, “La Bella Cook.” Check it out sometime!

The cake is flourless and uses ground almonds or almond meal (which I highly recommend buying if you can find it in your grocery store) instead of flour. The texture is unlike anything I’ve had and put me off a bit at first with its subtle graininess, but I really enjoyed it the next day. I think the fine bits softened a little more and the citrus flavor came through increasingly well with time. It also seemed more moist after sitting for a day, if that's possible.

Making the Cake

I poured boiling water over my bowl of almonds and let them steep for about five minutes before attempting to peel. This wasn’t enough to loosen the skins as much as I wanted, so I threw them in the microwave, covered with hot water for three minutes longer. Perfect — the skins popped off easily. Once they were peeled, I threw them in a shallow, wide frying pan and toasted them for about a minute over low heat to make sure they were dry before grinding them in the food processor (about 30 to 45 seconds).

For the clementines, yes, you use the whole fruit; pith, peel and all. I weighed mine and used about a pound, which came out to five clementines (they were pretty small). After they're cooked, throwing them in a bowl to cut and pick out the seeds works well, too, so you can capture all the juice. They will be H-O-T when you take them out of the pot, though, so be careful and make sure to let them cool. If you combine them with the eggs too soon, you’ll end up with a scrambled mess.

Don't skip the parchment paper, even if your pan is nonstick. This is super-sticky batter and you'll need all the help you can get removing it from the pan.

This recipe is otherwise pretty straightforward. It's a delightful holiday dessert, especially if you have gluten-free guests at your table.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Clementime Cake
Adapted from Nigella Lawson and La Bella Cook

Cake Ingredients
4 to 5 clementines (about 1 pound total weight)
6 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/3 cups ground almonds, (remove the skins prior to grinding, or use store-bought almond meal)
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
2 tsp. real vanilla extract

Topping
Whipping cream (for serving)
Powdered sugar (to taste)
Triple Sec or Grand Marnier (to taste)

Directions
Put the clementines in a pot with cold water to cover, bring to the boil, and cook for 2 hours. Drain and place in a large bowl, when cool, cut each clementine in half and remove the seeds. Then process the skins, pith, and fruit in a food processor until a creamy, smooth texture is achieved. Remove puree from processor and set aside in a separate bowl.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Butter and line an 8-inch springform pan with parchment paper.

Add the eggs to the food processor and blend until scrambled-egg consistency is achieved.

One at a time, add the sugar, almonds, vanilla and baking powder. When this mixture is fully incorporated, add the Clementine puree and fully incorporate, as well.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean; cover the cake with foil after about 40 minutes to stop the top from burning.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool, in the pan on a rack. When the cake is cold, remove it from pan.

Whip cream with powdered sugar and spiked with triple-sec or Grand Marnier to taste. (Don’t use too much liquor, or your cream won’t whip. I use about 2 Tbsp. per pint.)

Butternut Squash Bread Pudding

2009-12-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

Emily and Curtis joined us for a comfort food-themed dinner on Saturday night and WOW!, did we feast. She made fantastic Sloppy Joe's, which I haven't had in years, and forgot what I was missing; salty, sweet and spicy, who could ask for anything more? Not me ... But more is exactly what I got ... Buttery-salty-creamy-OMG-delicious scalloped potatoes; oatmeal cream cheese butterscotch bars, and gluehwein (warm, German spiced wine). And, for our part, I made butternut squash bread pudding and clementine cake with triple sec-whipped cream. The cake recipe is forthcoming.

The original bread pudding recipe called for a 1 and 1/2-pound loaf of bread, but I weighed my loaf after coming home from the grocery store and it was only one pound, so I reduced the eggs and half-and-half by a third, as well. Everything else (the squash, leeks, spices, etc.), I left the same, since they weren't too extreme / potent in proportion. I actually think the original recipe would have been overflowing in the called-for dish size, so it really worked out perfectly.

Mmmm ... this was so yummy and definitely falls in the comfort food category. One of my favorite things I've made in awhile -- it's a perfect option for any vegetarian guests you may have during the holidays, too.

Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Bread Pudding

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
One 1-pound loaf of sourdough bread, ends trimmed, loaf cut into 1-inch cubes (do not remove crusts)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 medium leeks, white and tender green parts only, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
10 large eggs
4 cups half-and-half
2 teaspoons chopped thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400°.

Butter a 10-by-15-inch (four-quart oblong)baking dish. Peel and seed the squash, then cut the flesh in 1/2-inch dice. Season the squash liberally with olive oil, salt and pepper and place in a covered casserole dish. Bake the squash for 35 minutes, or until just tender, stirring / turning once halfway through roasing. Set aside and let cool.

On 2 large rimmed baking sheets, toast the bread until dry and just crisp, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the leeks and garlic and cook over moderately high heat for 2 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderately low and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 20 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Whisk in the milk, cream, thyme, nutmeg and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Add the bread cubes and let stand for 15 minutes.

Gently fold in the squash and leeks and transfer to the prepared baking dish.

Bake for 1 hour, or until browned on top and just set. Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead
The bread pudding can be prepared earlier in the day and reheated.

O Tannenbaum

2009-12-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

The holidays are in full swing at Team O headquarters!

Our Christmas decorations, including the tree, went up last weekend. I love the festivities and can even tolerate the dark and cold for the period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, but after that, I would pay good money to teleport to mid-April (not a huge winter fan, here). For the past five years or so, we've taken a "Christmas tree hunting" day trip near Mount Rainier with a large group of friends. The trip, once we're deep into the woods and have safely parked the car, is so much fun. The drive up the un-guard railed, very narrow and slick logging road, however, leaves a bit to be desired. I was almost in tears a few years ago, convinced we would plummet to our deaths before day's end. Thankfully, everything has always ended safely.

We unfortunately missed out on the tradition this year, though, due to Nutcracker and Seahawks tickets purchased several months ago. Instead, we ventured to Point Valdimar Tree Farm in Stanwood, Wash., where Morgan's parents cut their tree every year. The trees are gorgeous and very fairly priced. And, also on the upside, we had become so accustomed to the Charlie Brown Christmas trees from the forest, that we were pleasantly reminded of the much stronger branches on farmed trees -- fantastic for those heavy ornaments.We did have a little bit of a hiccup, though ...

I pictured myself married to Clark Griswold when Morgan brought the tree in the house -- it is SO huge, i.e., fat. It sticks out more than a quarter of the way into our living room. Our mistake, since we only measured for height. It's one of the most beautiful trees we've ever had, but this year's lesson is to think about width, too!!

(You can't quite tell how rotund this tree is from the picture, so you'll have to take my word for it ...)Hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season and are able to spend quality time with your loved ones!

From our family to yours ...

2009-12-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

Quinoa, Mango & Black Bean Salad

2009-11-19T20:17:00.000-08:00

I've told you many times about my beloved Eating Well magazine. I think it's the best health-inspired food magazine out there, taking down Cooking Light in a round-one k.o. (Sorry, Cooking Light enthusiasts, I'm just not a big fan.)

I really appreciate that Eating Well doesn't try to mimic the flavors of richer, worse-for-you foods, but instead focuses on enjoying the real food you're actually eating. E.g., they don't suggest that fat-free Cool Whip and blended cottage cheese make a great mascarpone substitute for "tiramisu." If you're going to eat tiramisu, eat tiramisu. But if you're going to eat clean, why not have some grilled peaches and save the good stuff for a special occasion? That is my humble of humblest opinion, anyway.

OK, enough of my rant. Here's an Eating Well recipe I really enjoy. I'm always looking for interesting lunch / brown bag options and this keeps well for a couple days, so it's perfect for that purpose.

Make some on Sunday, have it for dinner and take the leftovers to work for lunch on Monday and Tuesday. I like it in pita bread. If you do use a pita, though, make sure to pack it separately and stuff it right before you eat. Otherwise, you'll end up with a soggy mess.

Enjoy!

Eating Well's Quinoa, Mango & Black Bean Salad

Serves Two
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1/2 cup quinoa (see note below)
1 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 small mango, diced (see tip below)
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 cup canned black beans, (see tips for two below), rinsed
2 scallions, thinly sliced

Preparation

Toast quinoa in a small dry saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until it crackles and becomes aromatic, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly. Return the quinoa to the pot and add water. Bring to a simmer; reduce heat to maintain a simmer. Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender and the liquid has been absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk orange juice, cilantro, vinegar, oil, ginger, salt and cayenne in a medium bowl. Add mango, bell pepper, beans and scallions; toss to coat.

When the quinoa is finished cooking, add to the mango mixture and toss to combine.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip
This salad can be made up to two days in advance (cover and refrigerate). Serve chilled.

Note
Quinoa, a delicately flavored grain, was a staple in the ancient Incas' diet. Toasting it before cooking enhances its flavor, and rinsing removes any residue of saponin, quinoa's natural, bitter protective covering.

Tip
To dice a mango:

Slice both ends off the mango, revealing the long, slender seed inside. Set the fruit upright on a work surface and remove the skin with a sharp knife.

With the seed perpendicular to you, slice the fruit from both sides of the seed, yielding two large pieces.

Turn the seed parallel to you and slice the two smaller pieces of fruit from each side.

Cut the fruit into the desired shape.

Tips for Two
Refrigerate leftover canned beans for up to 3 days. Add to green salads and soups; mash with garlic powder and chopped fresh herbs for a quick dip; make spiced pinto beans.

Nutrition
Per serving: 422 calories; 9 g fat (1 g sat, 2 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 74 g carbohydrates; 15 g protein; 19 g fiber; 258 mg sodium; 642 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus
Vitamin C (210% daily value), Vitamin A (50% dv), Magnesium (22% dv), Vitamin E (20% dv).

'Back of the Box'

2009-11-18T18:52:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Emily and Curtis hosted a great getaway at her parents’ amazing house overlooking Hood Canal in Silverdale, Wash. The boys golfed on Saturday while the girls (and our token male, Paul) took in the new Christmas Carol movie, courtesy of Far Away Entertainment, Emily’s gracious employer. We also tooled around Bainbridge Island and poked our heads into the fun boutiques that dot the downtown area, so fun! Saturday night, each of the six couples contributed to a terrific potluck and we all left a little fatter and happier than when we arrived. My friends, aside from being wonderful cooks, also are ardent bloggers. Here are some of the other recipes from the weekend:

Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage, Caramelized Onions and Roasted Veggies (Emily & Curtis)
Broccoli and Grape Salad (Anthony & Ali)
Inside-Out Jalapeno Poppers (Missy & Kelly)

Our contribution comes courtesy of Hershey’s Chocolate, another winning “back of the box” recipe. I’ve discovered that you can rarely go wrong with these types of recipes — Toll House Cookies, Bisquick Waffles and Knorr Spinach Dip are some of my other favorites — all awesome.

I say “our contribution” instead of “my contribution” because even though Morgan didn’t actually help make anything, he kept my wine glass full while I baked and came up with a brilliant idea …

I’ve made this cake a few times in the past, always topped with shaved dark chocolate. Morgan suggested we top it with a crushed Heath bar this time, so we went that route this weekend. It ruled. He is secretly a culinary genius and that’s why I married him. Plus, he’s really handsome.

This is a no-fail recipe and the most moist chocolate cake I’ve ever eaten. I will never again use a chocolate cake mix.

Enjoy!

Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Cake
with
“Perfectly Chocolate” Chocolate Frosting

Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 30 min
Ingredients:2 cups sugar

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS:
ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk (I have used at least 2/3 cup milk each time I’ve made this; depends on your consistency preference)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

In Your Face, Second Place!

2009-11-10T20:25:00.000-08:00

I did it. I finally won a contest … Like, first place won! Our friends, Missy and Kelly, hosted the second annual Taps 'n' Apps Challenge (beer and appetizer pairing) and Morgan and I took home the big prize!

You may recall last year’s string of second-place finishes; gougeres (from the first Taps 'n' Apps Challenge), crabaroni and cheese, and caprese burgers. Frankly, it was getting a little ridiculous and to that streak, I say good riddance.

When we were driving home from the party, Morgan said, “Honey, I know what it is … the key to winning is inspiration. We just need to continually be inspired.”

After I almost spit out my coffee upon realizing that I’m married to Joe Paterno, I decided he was right. All we needed to do was travel halfway across the world to find and “experience” a first-place worthy recipe.

Our friend Natalie first introduced us to Obatzda in Munich this summer. It’s a super decadent cheese spread, very popular in Bavaria, served with big soft pretzels at all the beer gardens. While we were gobbling it down in Hofbräuhaus München, we were actually chatting about this party and hoping Missy and Kelly would host round two, knowing (or at least really, really hoping) we had found a winner.

Now, even just reading the ingredient list might give you a mild heart attack, but don’t freak out. It’s not “everyday” food and if you’re already chugging beer, who’s counting calories? So mash up your cheese, butter and beer, and go to town. My friend Emily pointed out that it’s perfect football food, and I totally agree. Our other piece of luck — aside from finding the inspiration — came in the form of living close to the best grocery store in the world, Central Market. Special props to their beer buyer, a very wise man who chose to import Hofbräu hefeweizen. When I saw it on the shelf, I suddenly heard angels singing and knew God was smiling on us. I think our outfits helped the cause, too.

We did have some serious competition (you can read all about it here), especially the mini carne asada, green chili, spicy caramelized onion and feta paninis — my personal favorite — and the tough game made the win that much sweeter. The paninis won best stand-alone appetizer, the other category, and rightfully so. Droooool. Missy also whipped up some terrific pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. So cute!
So without further ado, I give you Obatzda, which we paired with the oh-so-great Hofrbräu hefeweizen. I recommend using a food scale to make Obatzda, since I don't have the volume measurements. It's truly a "to taste" mixture. This is as accurate as I can come to what we entered. It's a lot of adding, tasting, mixing, adding some more, etc. ...

Pair this with Hofrbräu hefeweizen for a true winning combination.

Obatzda

500g ripe Camembert (Cambozola is the commonly-found imported Bavarian Camembert)
40g soft butter
200g cream cheese (e.g., Philadelphia)
½ red onion, finely diced
Salt, black pepper to taste (Cambozola is already super salty, but some American Camembert needs extra salt)
1 to 2 Tbsp. sweet paprika
6-8 Tbsp. wheat beer (or to taste)
Caraway seeds
Soft pretzels for serving (in Munich, they always serve Obatzda with thinly sliced red onion rounds, too, but I wasn’t sure how to eat them)

Let the butter and cheese come to room temperature, mash the first seven ingredients together and top with caraway seeds. Best if it rests for a day in the fridge so the flavors can meld.

I left my heart at the farmer's market

2009-10-09T22:22:00.000-07:00

Farmer's market season is winding to a close in the Seattle area, which makes me very sad because I didn't visit nearly as many (make that none, to be exact) as I intended this summer. Since last weekend marked the second to last at the Woodinville, Wash. location, I decided to spend some time there with my friend Rebecca on Saturday.

The weather was gorgeous and the woman working the Classic Kettle Korn booth couldn't have been nicer. She invited me to take some close-ups of the corn when she found out I was just there to have fun with my camera. I also picked up some phenomenal $5 flowers (I still can't get over the amazingly low price) and the last pint of fresh blueberries I will probably enjoy for many, many chilly months. That's OK, though, onto the squash and root vegetables!

Crazy about Kladdkaka

2009-10-09T22:17:00.000-07:00

While Morgan’s Swedish cousins were visiting this summer, they made a really simple and incredibly delicious dessert. Imagine two thin and perfectly chewy fudge brownies, filled with fresh whipped cream and blueberries. I have made it several times since they left — it’s so fun to discover a new, easy and tasty recipe that everyone loves. One of the best parts is how well the leftovers hold up in the refrigerator. This also makes it really dangerous because it tends to stick around and tempt you night after night. We took it up to our family cabin on Fourth of July and unfortunately, the refrigerator was turned up a bit high and the whipped cream began freezing. It thawed when we took it out, which left a bit of a runny and grainy texture, but that didn’t stop anyone from going to town! The cake is good enough to eat on its own without the filling, too.
I hope you like it as much as we do!

Kladdkaka (Swedish sticky chocolate cake)

Ingredients
Cake (this makes one cake — to make the “sandwich” you will need two cakes)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 “good pinch” of salt
2/3 cup plain flour
100 grams melted butter (about 1 Tbsp. less than a full stick of butter)

Filling and topping (this fills two cakes and makes one “sandwich”)
1 cup heavy cream
1 pint fresh blueberries
Powdered sugar for whipped cream and dusting cake

Directions
Preheat the oven to 395 degrees F.

Mix all the cake ingredients in a bowl until moistened, make sure to not whisk / add air! Place a Silpat mat or parchment paper on a large baking sheet and pour (or "plop," rather, it's quite thick ...) the mixture into a round. Literally, just put the batter directly onto the mat and it will form a circle on its own. Don’t use a pan, or it will get too thick. Bake for 15 minutes.

The cake should seem very soft when you take it out; the outside edge will harden as it cools down. The center should be very gooey, but not to the point of being wet / raw.

Set cake(s) on wire racks to cool.

Once cakes are fully cooled, whip the cream to desired thickness and sweeten to taste with powdered sugar. Fold-in washed blueberries.

Spread whipped cream and blueberries on one cake, layering the second cake on top, making a “sandwich.” Dust with powdered sugar.

Slice into wedges and serve.

Store any leftovers (what a novel thought …) in the refrigerator.

Hillary's Pasta Salad

2009-09-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

Pasta salad is Morgan's absolute favorite "thing" in my regular repertoire. We usually have it at home as a main course, but it's also our side dish go-to for pot lucks and barbecues.

I love it, too, but it's so easy that I feel a little disappointed when he says it's his favorite. I put so much more effort into other dishes, but I guess the upside is that he's easy to please. I've tweaked this over the years to get it just right and it gets rave reviews. (Didn't have an avocado the day the photo was taken, so that's missing in this shot).

This is a staple in our house and the leftovers are perfect for lunches.

Hillary's Pasta Salad

Salad Ingredients:
1 16 oz. box tri-colored rotini pasta
8 oz. light Italian dry salami, diced
8 oz. pepper jack cheese, cubed to 1/4" (small cubes)
1/2 red onion, finely diced (optional)
1 large cucumber, peeled and diced
1 red, yellow or orange bell pepper, diced
1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced black olives, drained
1 12 oz. package whole grape tomatoes (Do NOT cut these up, or they will get slimy and gross and your leftovers will be contaminated with mushy tomatoes.)
3 Tbsp. chives, minced
1 jar (6 oz.) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped

Dressing:
12 oz. balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (I like Good Seasons Italian, made with olive oil and balsamic vinegar)

Add the following to the bottle of salad dressing and mix well (the Good Seasons cruet makes this step especially easy, since you can just add and shake):

2 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. white pepper
1 Tbsp. dried basil
1 Tbsp. dried oregano

Topping:
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 avocado, diced

Directions:

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil.

Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain and rinse twice in cold water.

While pasta is cooking, whisk together dressing ingredients in separate bowl until well-blended, or shake up your Good Seasons cruet. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cooked pasta, salami, pepper jack cheese, red onion, cucumber, red bell pepper, olives, whole tomatoes, chives, artichoke hearts and dressing.

Toss well to evenly distribute the dressing.

Top with diced avocado and Parmesan cheese.

Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

Summer Leftovers

2009-09-26T13:13:00.000-07:00

I was sorting through our summer photos and came across the main course from my brother’s birthday dinner that I haven’t yet shared with you. Since there will be a few more weeks of warm-ish weather, I figure it’s not too late to give this one last whirl in at attempt to stretch out the last few days of sun.

Ethan specifically requested something healthy, so I instinctively turned to my summer issue of Eating Well. We enjoyed this dish, but I felt the watermelon made for too “wet” a salsa. It ran all over our plates and was super messy, even with serving it in the butter lettuce leaves. Next time I’ll make it with mango, or a firmer melon, like honeydew. The watermelon lent nice color, but that’s about it. Definitely had to eat the salsa right away, too, as the watermelon turned to mush by the next day and I had to throw it out. And, it made a ton, so I was sad to see it go to waste. I’m guessing Mango would hold up for at least two days.

So, yes, I recommend this recipe, but with some modifications.

Grilled Shrimp with Melon & Pineapple Salsa

4 servings

Active Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 1/4 hours (plus marinating time — 4 to 24 hours)

Equipment
Four 8- to 10-inch skewers

Ingredients
1 pound raw shrimp, (16-20 per pound), peeled and deveined (see Note)
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger, divided
2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño, divided
2 cups finely diced firm ripe melon (note: the print edition of the magazine recommends watermelon — too watery! I think mango or a firmer melon, like honeydew, would work and taste better)
1 cup finely diced fresh pineapple
1/4 cup finely diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint, plus 4 sprigs for garnish
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 large lettuce leaves, such as Boston, romaine or iceberg (I used butter lettuce)
4 lime wedges

Preparation
Combine shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño in a medium bowl.

Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 24 hours.

Combine melon, pineapple, red and green bell pepper, onion, vinegar, chopped mint and salt in a large bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon ginger and 1 teaspoon jalapeño.

Refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

About 20 minutes before serving, preheat grill to high.

Thread the shrimp onto skewers, piercing each twice, once through the tail end and once near the head end.

Grill the shrimp until pink and just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes per side. When cool enough to handle, slide the shrimp off the skewers.

To serve, arrange one large lettuce leaf on each dinner plate. Spoon salsa onto the lettuce and top with shrimp. Garnish each serving with a lime wedge and a mint sprig, if using.

Tips & Notes

Make Ahead Tip
Marinate the shrimp (Step 1) for up to 24 hours. Cover and refrigerate the salsa (Step 2) for up to 4 hours.

Note
To devein shrimp, use a paring knife to make a slit along the length of the shrimp. Under running water, remove the tract with the knife tip.

Nutrition
Per serving: 211 calories; 8 g fat (1 g sat, 5 g mono); 168 mg cholesterol; 16 g carbohydrates; 19 g protein; 2 g fiber; 352 mg sodium; 501 mg potassium.

Tour d’Omdal 2009

2009-09-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

We went to Europe for two weeks at the end of August, starting with Morgan’s cousin Helena’s wedding in Sweden (we spent most of our time in Stockholm, but the wedding and reception took place in Vaxholm and Finnhamn); followed by stops in Paris, Brussels and Munich. It could not have been a better vacation and I'm so excited to tell you all about it!

Stockholm
It was great to see Sweden first-hand and experience some of Morgan’s heritage. I failed to meet one Swede who didn’t speak near-perfect English, which amazed me and made it much easier on my end — props to that socialist education system. Although, I have to say I choked a bit on the 25 percent tax. At least my money is helping contribute to an easy English-speaking tourist experience, though, right? Morgan was able to speak / practice quite a bit of Swedish in restaurants and asking for directions, too, which was nice and the Swedes were all very patient and helpful. One waiter even taught us how to be “cool” and ask for another beer without sounding like we were ordering from a 1960s Swedish grammar manual. Don’t ask me how, because I already forgot. I think maybe we ordered too many.
Helena and Daniels’s wedding was absolutely gorgeous and the reception was held on an island in the Stockholm archipelago. We took a chartered ferry to the site and spent the night in a large youth hostel. Dinner was held in an old, rustic barn that was decorated so beautifully — like something out of a magazine. We feasted on crayfish, a summer delicacy that as far as I can tell every citizen is required to love, lest they be deported. Now, don’t get me wrong, crayfish are tasty. They are similar to mini lobsters, but man, (and please pardon me in advance for sounding like a gluttonous American), it is a seriously long journey to satiety. You have to work very, very hard to get a full belly on these little guys and slurping on claws so energetically that your eyeballs may pop out just really isn’t my thing. After three, I moved onto the roast beef option, which was delicious and filled me up enough to continue throwing back the obligatory schnapps and attempting to sing traditional Swedish drinking songs in my best Greta Garbo-inspired accent. It. Was. Awesome. (And by “it,” I mean everything.) Paris
Next up was Paris, which we arrived in the afternoon following the wedding. A little more of a language barrier, but I was able to bust-out enough of my now anciently-learned French to get by. We took a taxi to our hotel from the airport and the sight of the sparkling Eiffel Tower literally brought tears to my eyes when we rounded the corner into the city (it’s rigged with lights that make it shimmer for 10 minutes twice each evening). I can't fully describe the magic, but Paris is every bit as romantic as fabled. We only had three days there, unfortunately, which was way, way too short. I’m already longing to return and immerse myself in food — and by food, I mean wine and cheese — history and ambiance. It’s truly a dreamy place and I think everyone should go there at least once. Brussels
Paris was followed by Brussels; a quick one-day stop via the Thalys train. Morgan’s cousin Helena and her new husband, Daniel, were gracious enough to let us stay in their flat (they’re currently living in Belgium), since they were still away for the wedding and associated activities. Brussels was filled with eating, drinking, more eating and then a little more drinking. The food here is good, folks. The scenery is just OK and can be done in a day (someone told us the Mannequin Pis, along with the Glockenspiel in Munich, were only famous because of Rick Steves and I now tend to agree), but it was definitely a good thing we didn’t stay longer or none of my pants would have fit for the trip home. Street waffles, chocolate, beer, lambic, more beer … you get the picture. A foodie heaven, for sure. I discovered stoemp served with Belgian beer-beef stew and my quest is to find and master a good recipe this winter.
Munich
Our final stop was in Munich to visit Morgan’s friend, Natalie, who lived with his family in the early 2000s while completing an internship in Redmond, Wash. She has a terrific flat near downtown and was nice enough to put us up for four nights in her bed, while sleeping on the couch. We owe her in a big way and hope she will visit us in Seattle so we can repay the favor. Although Paris was the most “romantic” stop on our trip, Munich wins the most fun award without so much as a challenge. Natalie was a great host and kicked off our time in Munich with an authentic beer garden stop on our first night. The next morning, we went on a really entertaining bike tour — mostly entertaining because my bike didn’t fit during the first half of the ride and I almost crashed into a delivery truck. It is really hard to get started on and skillfully ride a bike when your feet can’t reach the ground. FYI. Thank God, a very kind and generous woman whose bike didn’t have a high cross-bar traded me and the rest of the afternoon was much more successful. The tour also included Morgan jumping into the Isar River (wearing his shorts) with a bunch of naked locals watching from the shore (those Munichians really like to take their clothes off), trying to ride the bikes through traffic after yes, you guessed it, another beer garden stop and making friends with some Americans from Florida over more beer. We also bought some stylish European clothing (I'm in the process of getting my items hemmed since no European women are apparently shorter than 5'9") and finished off the trip with an afternoon at Hofbräuhaus (more beer).

No self-respecting local will set foot in Hofbräuhaus, so Natalie didn’t join us there. She is very proud of the fact that she has never once visited and didn’t want to break her streak. That’s OK. More beer for us (like we needed any more at this point)! There is a lot of beer in Munich if you haven’t already gathered. They need help drinking it, so we obliged. Don’t judge. When in Rome … or Munich … or Belgium … or Paris … or Stockholm.
Europe, I ♥ you.

America, the land of Corny McFatterson

2009-07-29T18:44:00.000-07:00

I watched a funny, disturbing and occasionally nauseating documentary a few weeks ago, “King Corn.” The film traces the invasive nature of corn into America’s food system — mainly via high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) — its role in the obesity epidemic and the seemingly backwards and frankly, upsetting government-subsidized program that fuels the growth of trillions of bushels of “non-edible” corn in Iowa each year. The mountains — literally — of excess corn go on for days because the silos are so full … Why isn’t the government subsidizing the growth of heirloom tomatoes, radicchio, and kumquats? I am convinced they are afraid we would wither away to mere shadows of our former corn-fed selves. Especially disconcerting is the revelation that the average American’s biological makeup is about 40 percent corn-based. That is, the amount of your body made from corn, a.k.a. your corn carbon count. “You are what you eat” is right on. Corn is in everything — even Tylenol!

I like to think I eat fairly well; watching what I put in my mouth and reading ingredient lists, but this film set-off screeching alarm bells and has caused me to become especially cautious / conscious as of late — issues such as buying local and eating non-processed foods are becoming more of a priority. The film also profiles the slow extinction of the American family homestead and it’s terribly, terribly depressing. I encourage you to support your local family farms — even if your pocketbook and/or your husband complain! On the upside, however, some corn has its place. We just need to steer farther away from the variety that finds its way into our food via the HFCS highway and stick to the unprocessed stuff. Here’s a great recipe that I’ve made a few times this summer (including for my brother's birthday dinner) — thanks to my friend, Jen, a fabulous cook, who introduced me to it. The salad is crisp, tangy and refreshing and pairs perfectly with just about anything else you throw on the grill. It may be the most perfect summer side dish I’ve ever encountered. Bobby Flay definitely moved up a notch in my book with this one.

Grilled Corn and Tomato-Sweet Onion Salad with Fresh Basil Dressing and Crumbled Blue Cheese

Ingredients
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 ears corn, grilled in the husk, kernels removed
1 sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Walla Walla), halved and thinly sliced
1 pint Sweet 100 tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, halved
8 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
Fresh basil sprigs, for garnish

Directions
Combine the vinegar, basil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and oil in a blender and blend until smooth. Can be made two hours in advance and refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before using.

Combine the corn kernels, onion and tomato in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat, season with salt and pepper. Let sit at room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Top with crumbled blue cheese and garnish with basil sprigs just before serving. Salad can be made one day in advance and served cold or at room temperature.

Summer Rundown

2009-07-19T21:34:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since we last chatted. Some of it actually before we last chatted — things I just haven’t shared yet. Sorry I've been so absent. Summer = sun in Seattle = as little time in front of the computer as possible. So here's my quick and dirty list, recapping summer 2009 so far ...

1. I acquired one sister.
Morgan’s brother, Peter, found an excellent candidate for the sister I’ve been patiently awaiting for 30 years. And, like the wise man he is, asked her to marry him. She said, “Yes!” So they got all dressed up, exchanged rings and said their “I dos” at a lovely country church in Bow, Wash., followed by a fantastic reception on Samish Island. Welcome to Omdalhood, Emily! And thank you, Peter, for my new sister. Excellent choice.
Photo credit: Jean-Marcus Strole Photography and Design
2. I met my “new” Swedish relatives.
They’ve technically been my “family” for nearly two years, but I hadn’t yet met most of Morgan’s extended Swedish family on his mom’s side. They bundled up and traversed the north pole to attend the wedding and we were thrilled to have them stay with us for two weeks. It was incredibly fascinating learning more about their culture and customs (especially Jantelagen) — I could have talked to them for days on end. They even taught me table manners so I don’t embarrass myself when we visit them in Stockholm next month. I hope they were real table manners and the whole lesson wasn’t some cruel joke. I don’t want to get 86’d from the wedding for not toasting in the correct order (Very important. Can’t mess up.). 3. We spent Fourth of July on Samish Island. Classic Americana at its best.
I love the old-time parade on the island each year. Anyone can participate, which makes for a fun, festive and varied celebration. The parade participants throw treats at the kids and I’ve officially decided there’s nothing better than watching a two-year-old scramble for candy.
4. We’re crossing the pond.
Yes, I am horribly cliché and said "crossing the pond." Sue me. As I mentioned above, we’re off to Europe next month, with planned stops in Stockholm, Paris, Brussels and Munich. I may die of anticipation before boarding the plane. I’ve been waiting for this trip nearly as long as I had been waiting for a sister. My biggest plans are to eat and drink copious amounts of cheese, chocolate and schnapps. When I’m done with that, I’ll probably eat and drink some more.

I also plan to take my bazillion years of rusty French language education on a serious test drive. Unfortunately, the only things I can say in Swedish are, “Bork, bork, bork,” a la the Swedish Chef, my favorite Muppets character; and Jag älskar dig (I love you). Between those two phrases, I will probably end up in a mental institution, or find myself fleeing for the embassy, lest I get arrested for an indecent proposal. I am completely reliant on Morgan for that leg of our journey.

If you have traveling tips for any of our planned stops, please share.

5. My name is Hillary, but you can call me Nebuchadnezzar.
The hanging gardens are coming along quite nicely. It’s probably an exaggeration (probably, however, not certainly) to claim they rival those of Babylon, but who am I to say? We enjoyed a delicious cucumber last week and the tomatoes look like they’re well on their way to gracing our plates. The squash took off like maniacs, but many started to rot while still very small, before we learned they were not being properly pollinated by the male flowers. Hopefully we will still get a few good ones out of the crop, now that we know how to "mate" them by hand. We will definitely be hanging the bags higher next year, too, as the tomato vines are already brushing the ground. 6. I made an awesome dinner for my brother's 26th birthday, but I'm going to spread the recipes out over several posts. We'll start with dessert, because I know that's what everyone really wants to do, anyway.

Blueberry-Nectarine Crisp

INGREDIENTS
Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling
2 pounds large nectarines (about 6), pitted and diced
4 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.

For topping:
In a medium bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon and melted butter. Mix until crumbly. Set aside.

For filling:
In a large bowl, toss the blueberries and nectarines. In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar with the cornstarch, nutmeg, and the remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and toss this mixture with the fruit.

Transfer filling to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle topping evenly over filling. Bake crisp until nectarines are tender, filling bubbles thickly, and topping is crisp and brown, about 40 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Note: I was in a huge hurry when I made this and forgot to toss the fruit with the cornstarch, etc., but it was still awesome.

And that's that.

Nebraska Crack!

2009-06-08T19:44:00.000-07:00

Our friends, the Korbs, up and left us last year for what I affectionately refer to as Corn Land, U.S.A., a.k.a., Omaha, Nebraska. Michelle also refers to this as “the middle coast,” to make herself feel better about living in the Midwest. Were I her, I would do the same. I kid, I kid …
As much as I enjoy making fun of Nebraska, it actually holds a very special spot in my heart. My mom was born and raised in Corn Land and I “vacationed” there quite a bit as a child. We would pack up our 1984 Chevrolet Caprice Classic station wagon, “Big Blue,” and hit the road, stopping at every monument and national park along the way. And oh my, the education! I was well-versed in the history of each battlefield between the Pacific Ocean and Chimney Rock by the time I was six-years-old. Not everyone gets the opportunity to drink a handmade sarsaparilla while gazing over the field where the Battle of Little Big Horn was fought, or see the Crazy Horse Memorial when it was just a nose. Gotta say, Disney World was a little more up my alley in those days.

I do have really fond memories of Nebraska, though, once we finally arrived. Hosing down the trampoline with my cousin Lynn to lay out in the scorching sun, riding the four-wheeler up to the neighboring farm and having the farmer force me to attempt milking the cow, driving my aunt’s car through the cornfield with a newly-minted driver’s permit and being allowed to walk to the corner store all by myself as a nine-year-old because it was a classic, small town, American main street where nothing bad could ever happen. Ahhh, I miss that place.

We miss the Korbs terribly, too, but thankfully they left behind one of my all-time favorite appetizer recipes which originated in their new home, aptly named “Nebraska Crack.” It’s sweet, it’s salty, it’s tangy and it’s — you guessed it — as addictive as crack. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Nebraska Crack

“Salsa” ingredients
1 can yellow sweet corn, drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
8 oz. (one small package) crumbled feta
1 red pepper, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped

Dressing
¼ cup light olive oil
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
Garlic powder, salt & cayenne pepper to taste

Tortilla chips for serving (Tostitos Scoops work best)

Directions
Mix oil, vinegar and sugar in a bowl. Dissolve sugar well by stirring. Add black beans, corn, onions and red pepper. Crumbled feta into bowl. Mix all ingredients together. Serve with tortilla chips.

(Note: I made a few modifications. The original recipe calls for a half cup each of olive oil, sugar and vinegar, but I like mine a bit drier -- make it however you like! I also added the green onion and used cayenne instead of black pepper.)

Burpless cucumbers and new knees

2009-05-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

Bonjour! I’m back from extended hiatus. The unforeseen long break can — for the most part — be blamed on my archaic laptop. Well, that and my serious lack of patience. The poor, old girl was taking upwards of five minutes (I kid you not) to open a photo. And that was only when she didn’t completely freeze in the process. I decided to simply walk away until I had time to perform a clean install of XP, hoping that everything would return to sunshine and rainbows. Luckily, it did the trick and I’m back in business. The last two months have been fairly docile, however, so you haven’t missed much. I survived my 30th birthday and have been enjoying the foray into my fourth decade, including a weekend trip to Los Angeles to celebrate with my college friend, Melanie — a little birthday gift to myself. We had a fabulous time and I even had two celebrity sightings; Nicole Richie, eating (!) at a Mexican restaurant (she struck me as surprising normal — I always knew Lionel couldn’t completely fail as a father) and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, just hanging out at a bar, having a beer, surrounded by fawning, skinny blondes. OK, I fawned a little, too, but from across the room … and since I’m a brunette it doesn’t count.

In news from the home front, Morgan had his ACL reconstructed at the beginning of May as the result of a several-month-old soccer injury, so we’ve been sticking around the house for the past few weeks. Physical therapy starts next week and I’m very much looking forward to having a good-as-new husband within the coming months. Seeing him endure surgery and the beginnings of what is foretold to be fairly long recovery (six full months for sports; a full year to 100 percent) has made me incredibly appreciative of my knees. I’ve been taking two or three spinning classes at my gym each week and long walks after work. Good knees are a blessing and should be used to their fullest! It has finally thawed a bit, too, since my report of snow on the tulips; we’ve actually hit the low-70s a couple times in the past few weeks. And with the fear of frost passing, we have decided to try our hands as vegetable gardeners / “As Seen on TV” testers for the Topsy Turvy Tomato Planter. The bags were on sale for $9.99 at Walgreens and because we already planted a failed trough of asparagus shortly before Easter, an attempt at growing things above ground seems like an excellent idea. We picked up starts of cherry tomatoes, yellow summer squash and burpless cucumbers at the most awesome nursery in the entire universe, Flower World. It’s 15 gorgeous acres of every plant, tree, shrub and any other type of foliage you can possibly imagine. If you live within 500 miles, I strongly suggest making the trip. I found the “burpless” cucumber name quite amusing and looked up its origin. Apparently they have less of the bitter compound found in traditional American cucumbers and are actually supposed to produce fewer burps. I’ve never found the standard variety cucumber to be particularly belch-inducing, but perhaps some people have this issue. Who knows. Anyway, I’ll keep you updated on the vegetable progress. Hopefully there won’t be terrible disappointment to follow … please send good veggie wishes my way!

Winter fare theatre

2009-04-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Since we've now waded ankle-deep into April and are still wearing long johns to fend off the damp chill, I present to you yet another installment of winter fare theatre. Please don’t give up hope. I’m sure we’ll get to the pineapple and popsicles soon … but for now, it's OK to keep using the oven. I’ve been doing a lot of vegetable roasting lately, namely broccoli and brussels sprouts. Roasting is my favorite way to prepare broccoli and my second favorite way to prepare brussels sprouts (60-second sprouts are still my favorite). The dry, high heat brings out the natural sweetness in the vegetables and produces a really intense, concentrated flavor. The trick in this “recipe” (if you can call it that — sorry for the lack of measurement) is to add the balsamic vinegar before you roast. It creates a sweet, syrup-like glaze on the vegetables. Enjoy!

Roasted balsamic broccoli & brussels sprouts
Serves four as a side dish.

Ingredients
1 pound each broccoli florets and brussels sprouts (cleaned and halved)
Enough olive oil for a light coating (probably a little less than 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (approximate)
A few big dashes of garlic powder
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Line baking sheet with heavy aluminum foil.

Toss all ingredients together and roast for 18 to 20 minutes, turning/mixing once during cooking.

New study: Cold weather slows human aging

2009-04-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

And by new, I mean “I just made it up.”

It’s still cold here. This week we’re running about 10 degrees below average. The flowers aren’t as far along as they should be. Thankfully, I am fairly certain that cold weather slows human aging, too. This is very good news, considering the plan is for me to turn 30 in nine days. But since it snowed this morning, that can be put off a little longer.

I’m not quite ready to give up this decade (or trade in my Clearasil for anti-aging potions). I thought I had prepared myself. My plan was to gracefully embrace 30. To wear it proudly and begin commanding the respect I deserve for entering into full-fledged adultdom.

“30 is the new awesome, 30 is the new awesome …” I repeated it until I [thought] I truly believed it. But then, last week, something awful happened. I remembered my 15th birthday. The 15th birthday that seems so recent in my mind. I had an outrageous realization — I will be twice as old as I was on that birthday. And since time is moving much faster now than it did in ninth grade, I’ll be close to 45 years old before this year's candles are even extinguished.

So for once, I’m thankful for snow in April. Because it’s going to keep both the flowers and me young for a little longer.

The second love of my life: Alvin the Roomba

2009-03-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

The original intent of this blog was to feature all things domestic — gardening, home improvement, sock darning, etc. … I obviously like to cook more than participate in any of those other activities, though. So since nearly all of my posts have been centered in the kitchen, today I’m going to share with you the second love of my life, “Alvin” the Roomba, our iRobot 560 vacuuming robot. Alvin came to us as a Christmas gift from my parents. He makes us so happy. I can barely remember what life was like before he arrived. I seem to recall it being pretty similar, but with a greater volume of dust bunnies. I named our Roomba because to me, he’s not just a vacuum. We can’t have pets due to allergies, so he’s as close to a furry friend as our house will ever see.

Alvin vacuums our downstairs Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. His close attention to detail and gentle temperament with our furniture have earned him a special place in our hearts. Dust allergies have already improved and we’re no longer embarrassed to show the bottoms of our socks.

A few weeks ago, while I was lying in bed with a cold that I believed had the potential to take my life, I heard Alvin play his start-up song — similar to the theme from the original Mario Brothers — and back out of his dock. He began whirring away, sweeping up the previous day’s grime, almost as if to say, “No, no. You rest. Let me take care of the house.” If only he could have delivered orange juice and Sudafed to my beside.

Since we have all hard floors downstairs (the only place we use Alvin), this machine works especially well in our house. Our friends who have Roombas circulating on carpeted areas, however, report mixed reviews. If you look into getting an Alvin of your own, check out the different models and make sure your floors are properly suited.

Next on my wishlist: The Scooba.

Trifle of love

2009-02-24T18:10:00.000-08:00

According to Webster, a trifle is something of little value, substance, or importance. It can also be a dessert. It cannot, however, be both. So for the Valentine’s Day wine tournament we attended the weekend before last, I made a very valuable, substantial and important dessert. I call it my, “Trifle of Love.” This is a recipe I’m especially proud of because I created most of it myself, with just one idea from Paula Deen. Shhh. Don’t tell Morgan — he’s not a fan. We get into it whenever I watch her show on Food Network:

M: Uggggggghh! Paula Deen. Turn it off!
Me: You’re just jealous because I don’t feed you real butter.
M (in his best Paula voice): What-ev-uh, honey.
This trifle has three main components: cake, fruit and cream. For the cake layers, I used a chocolate fudge cake mix (my mother taught me to only use Betty Crocker cake mix and I swear by it), substituting half the water with sweet Marsala wine (Paula’s tip). For the fruit layer, I used three sixteen ounce bags of frozen strawberries and one ridiculously expensive ($9) pint of fresh strawberries. And for the cream layer, I combined heavy whipping cream, mascarpone cheese, cocoa powder, sugar, vanilla, and a liberal amount of sweet Marsala wine — this resulted in a nice, fluffy tiramisu-like flavor and texture. I left the frozen strawberries whole, and they turned out a bit slimy when thawed, so I think next time I’ll chop them up a bit. They still tasted good, though. Here’s the full recipe, as best I can remember:

Ingredients
1 chocolate cake mix (I like chocolate fudge)
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 ¼ C. sweet Marsala wine, plus extra for sprinkling over cake layers
2 8 oz. tubs mascarpone cheese
¾ C. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 Tbsp. real vanilla extract
3 16 oz. bags frozen whole strawberries, thawed
1 pint fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and halved

Place thawed strawberries in bowl with sugar, mix thoroughly and set aside. Prepare cake mix according to instructions on box, substituting half the water with sweet Marsala wine. Set aside to cool completely.

Add together in a large mixing bowl: mascarpone cheese, whipping cream, vanilla, cocoa powder, sugar and ½ C. wine. Stir lightly until all ingredients are moistened. Whip with a electric hand mixer until consistency is that of extra thick whipped cream, about three to four minutes. Set aside.

Cut cake into 1-inch cubes. Place half of the cake cubes in the bottom of a 3- to 3 1/2-quart trifle bowl or other straight-sided glass bowl. Place thumb (or if your thumb isn’t big enough, as in my case, your index and middle fingers) over the opening of the Marsala wine bottle and “sprinkle” wine liberally over the cake.

Drain strawberries from sugar/syrup that has developed. Using one half of strawberries for first layer, roughly chop and place on top of cake, making sure some fruit can be seen through sides of glass.

Spread half of cream mixture over strawberries.

Repeat with another layer each of cake sprinkled with wine, strawberries and cream, finishing with fresh strawberries on top of trifle.

Tapas, Franco-American style

2009-02-08T19:03:00.000-08:00

Our friends Paul and Jen hosted a really fun “Around the World” tapas party last weekend. Each couple was supposed to pick a country to represent and make a corresponding tapa.
Our original plan was Swedish meatballs with lingonberries, but I’ve never made them before and Morgan wasn’t up to cooking. I fortuitously found some more crab in our freezer from last summer's catch — I mistakenly thought it had all been used on the whiskey crab soup a couple months ago — and decided to try my hand at mini crab quiche using my regular crab quiche filling. I did top each quiche with a pinch of pungent shredded parmesan, too, (not in the original recipe) which added a nice nutty flavor and pretty deep-brown finish. Since France was already taken with Jen’s mouth-watering boeuf bourguignon — seriously, I’m drooling a little just thinking about it — we said the quiche were Franco-American and went with the good ol’ U.S. of A.

I know any baking aficionados may have an attack over this, but I really can’t tell a big difference between store bought pie crust and homemade, so I bought some refrigerated dough, cut circles with a large wine glass and pressed the crust into a 24-count mini muffin tin. The glass was the perfect size to make a nice edge around each top to hold in the filling. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a little extra crust? I used about two and a half crusts for the entire pan. Since most boxes come with two crusts, make sure to buy two boxes if you try this.

Aren't the Bahamas supposed to be warm?!

2009-02-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

"I’ve been away for so long, so long …it’s a nice day to start again!” Billy Idol’s White Wedding seemed like the perfect way to start this entry. It’s been nearly a month since I’ve posted and I’ve missed being here to share stories with you. So thank you for your patience.
I hope everyone has settled into a nice 2009 groove and the year is treating you well. We spent a week in mid-January in Freeport, Bahamas, and I’ve been scrambling to catch up with my life since we returned, hence the lack of activity here. Freeport is on Grand Bahama Island (most recently making headlines for the Travolta family tragedy) and is located about 55 miles off the coast of Florida. Morgan’s incredibly generous aunt and uncle gave us a week in their timeshare at the Taino Beach Resort as a wedding gift and we thought winter would be the perfect time to use it for a respite from drab Seattle.

We had a lovely time despite the much-colder-than-average temperatures (the high on "Bahama-Obama Tuesday," as we dubbed it, was only 61 degrees) and kept ourselves entertained by spending a lot of time in the hot tub (always warm) and taking the water taxi into town each day to shop, eat and drink. Oddly, one of our favorite restaurants turned out to be an Irish Pub, Shenanigan's! We did get one nice warm day and spent as much time as possible at the pool and on the beach.
Before we left, I did some research and came across a teriffic blog, frankandmeg.com, which gave us a really accurate portrayal of what we were going to find on the island. And since they appear to love food, I was certain of their trustworthiness. Upon recommendation, we had to try the conch salad at Billy Joe’s Conch Shack. It was definitely fresh (they "Conch Man" cracks the shell, pulls out the conch and chops it up on the spot) and had some of the best vegetables we encountered during our entire trip. The fresh lime dressing was fabulous, too.
I must say, however, that a few bites of raw conch are enough for me. It's very rubbery (if you haven't had it, think raw calamari) and the texture didn't quite agree with my palate. We both agreed that it was best suited as a side dish versus a main course. I was really hungry that day, too, and am embarrassed to admit that we hit up Subway afterward (mea culpa, mea culpa). I have never felt so shameful eating a club sandwich.

My favorite part of the trip was a swim with the dolphins -- something I've wanted to do since I was a little girl. My expectations were completely met the moment my dolphin, Kayla swam up to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. The water may have only been 70 degrees and the air 65, but I didn't want to get out! Unfortunately, we don't have any good pictures of the dolphin experience because I didn't want to ruin my camera (they like to splash!). The memories make up for it, though. I told Morgan that I'm looking into quitting my job and becoming a dolphin trainer. Hopefully he will move with me, because I don't think there are any openings around here ... I think he misses his pirate girlfriend, though, so it won't be hard to convince him to return.

Healthy comfort food. Yes, it can be done ...

2009-01-07T21:24:00.000-08:00

Whoa. Two healthy posts in a row … what’s come over me?! Actually, I try to keep us on the straight and narrow most of the time, but most of those recipes aren’t necessarily of the drool-inducing variety that I aim to post here. So lest you think that Morgan and I mainly subside on macaroni and cheese, fudge and cookies, I give you Eating Well’s Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash. This one is for to my beloved and far-too-distant friend Jamie, who is pregnant and craving comfort food. The best part is that this definitely falls into that category while still being low-fat and nutritious! The squash is packed full of folic acid for the baby and filled with sweet and slightly-spicy goodness for the mommy-to-be.

I used my marvelous new Escali food scale (a Christmas gift from my kind brother, Ethan) when making this to keep with the nutritionals provided by the magazine. Five ounces of turkey sausage turns out to only be about a link and a half of the Jennie-O variety — much less than I expected. It looked pretty meager in the pan, but after adding the beans, onions and tomatoes, it was plenty. Just enough in every bite for a really satisfying flavor.

The recipe calls for Swiss cheese, but since it's the one cheese I dislike (vehemently) and it seems very un-Southwestern to me, I substituted pepper jack. I also made the entire amount of filling, but only one squash for the two of us — a half each. I was planning to freeze the leftovers to use at a later date, but we liked this so much, we decided to have it again the next night.

Since the squash takes 45 minutes to bake, I asked Morgan to get it started while I was at the gym. He thought it was going to be an involved process and started whining about having to add the brown sugar and spices before putting it in the oven. The surprise in his voice was pretty amusing when I told him that acorn squash was naturally sweet, and that I didn’t put anything on it. And for that alone, because I married someone with a sweet tooth the size of Mount Rushmore, this one definitely makes the weekly rotation!

Southwestern Stuffed Acorn Squash
3 acorn squash (3/4-1 pound each)
5 ounces bulk turkey sausage
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups chopped cherry tomatoes
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Several dashes hot red pepper sauce, to taste
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (I use pepper jack)

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

2. Cut squash in half horizontally. Scoop out and discard seeds. Place the squash cut-side down on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, lightly coat a large skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add turkey sausage and cook, stirring and breaking up with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring often, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes, beans, salt and hot sauce, scraping up any browned bits. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until the tomatoes are broken down, 10 to 12 minutes.

4. When the squash are tender, reduce oven temperature to 325°. Fill the squash halves with the turkey mixture. Top with cheese. Place on the baking sheet and bake until the filling is heated through and the cheese is melted, 8 to 10 minutes.

Nutrition Information: Per serving (one half squash): 259 calories; 7 g fat (4 g sat, 1 g mono); 29 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrate; 15 g protein; 7 g fiber; 482 mg sodium; 884 mg potassium. Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (80% daily value), Vitamin A (45% dv), Calcium (20% dv), Iron (15% dv).

A cure-all salad

2009-01-05T21:24:00.000-08:00

Happy 2009! I hope you all had some time to yourselves over the holidays, filled with family, friends and good food. If you're like me, you maybe enjoyed a little bit too much good food. And perhaps you feel a tad exhausted; in recovery from the commotion instead of energized for the new year. I've discovered a little bit of a remedy, though. (Yes, I admit "discovered" may be kind of an exaggerated claim ...)

Anyway, here's what you do: buy a bounty of veggies and make yourself a big, yummy salad. Now, I’m a huge comfort food fan, but fresh vegetables somehow have a way of melting the frost that settles onto your bones during winter and providing a nice pick-me-up. They have a way of telling your body that somewhere in the world, there is sun, there is photosynthesis happening, and that there is hope for spring.

So break out the avocados and tomatoes and lighten up! It's going to be a great year, I can already feel the ice melting ...

Oh, fudge!

2008-12-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

Note to self: if you've already made a recipe and it worked out OK, don't mess with it.I learned my lesson. I decided to make fudge for all of my and Morgan's co-workers this week, a recipe I've made many times successfully, but failed miserably. My thermometer has a candy attachment that I've been dying to use, so instead of cooking the base for five minutes as the recipe instructed, I used my thermometer and cooked it to softball stage, 235F. And I promptly ended up with a separated, oily, crumbly, inedible mess.

Take two.

Followed the recipe to a T and voila! Perfectly smooth, creamy, delicious fudge. I found the cutest little red boxes at the Container Store and now just have to escape the snow storm we're having and make it into the office for delivery!

Aunt Teen's Creamy Chocolate Fudge

Ingredients
1 (7 ounce) jar marshmallow creme
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil. Set aside.

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine marshmallow cream, sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt. Bring to a full boil, and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and pour in semisweet chocolate chips and milk chocolate chips. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in nuts and vanilla. Pour into prepared pan.

Chill in refrigerator for 2 hours, or until firm.

Makes 48 (read: 17) cookies

2008-12-14T16:52:00.000-08:00

I have a baking issue. I have never made cookies and ended up even remotely close to the yield on the recipe. This weekend was no exception -- in fact, Morgan and I only got 17 cookies out of a recipe that supposedly makes 48! We did use an ice cream scoop instead of spoons to drop them on the baking sheets, but they didn't seem that big. They did take a few extra minutes of baking, too, but were worth the wait.

We cozied up to warm cookies with big scoops of vanilla ice cream in front of a Christmas movie while the first snow of the year was falling. And the farm across the street was so pretty (sans the power lines) when I got up this morning, I had to take a picture to share!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield: 4 dozen 2 1/2-inch cookies (Ha!)

2 cup(s) milk chocolate chips
1 cup(s) butter or margarine, at room temperature
3/4 cup(s) sugar
3/4 cup(s) brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoon(s) vanilla
2 1/4 cup(s) unsifted flour
1 teaspoon(s) baking soda
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
1 cup(s) walnuts, or pecans, chopped

Directions

Heat oven to 375ºF. Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixer bowl, cream butter with sugar, brown sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually blend dry mixture into creamed mixture. Stir in nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375ºF for 9 to 11 minutes, or until golden brown.

Snack Attack!

2008-12-08T16:55:00.000-08:00

I anxiously await citrus season every year and am so excited when the Satsumas and Clementines arrive at the market. My gag reflex was triggered when even thinking about eating another apple over the past few weeks. I am [semi] officially on an apple strike until next September. I also seem to have stopped eating “real” meals since we finished off the Thanksgiving leftovers and instead have opted for snack plates filled with Cuties, smoked almonds and light mini Babybel cheese wheels. There’s something about peeling off that red wax … puts a smile on my face every time!

What are your favorite snacks? Please do share!

Pumpkin bread penance

2008-11-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

I need to apologize. I know I promised you an abundance of Thanksgiving photos, but I got so wrapped up in my schedule and preoccupied monitoring how much time was left on the turkey, that I just plain forgot. Ooooh, it was good, though. I was brimming with pride over the success of the bird.

As Morgan was putting away the last of the leftovers, I realized what I had done (or failed to do, rather). What kind of food blogger forgets to take pictures on the most important food day of the year? I'll do better next year, promise.

As a small gesture of reparation, here's a really yummy pumpkin bread recipe. I made it last week as my first foray into baking for the holiday season. I looked on Allrecipes.com for the most highly rated pumpkin bread recipe. Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread definitely deserves its 2200-plus reviews with an average five-star rating. It's a really moist bread with a nice density (I prefer my sweet breads to be more dense than cake-like) and perfect balance of the four classic pumpkin spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Easy-Bake Pasta

2008-11-24T21:17:00.000-08:00

Good things come to those who mix together random foodstuffs from their freezer and pantry and bake them. Mmmm. This is for Joy, who says my recipes look yummy, but she doesn’t have a lot of time to make them. I guarantee she (and everyone else) has enough time for this one. I made it last week when I wanted something warm and yummy to curl up with in front of Thursday night TV. And now I have enough in my freezer for many weeks to come ... and after this Thursday (Happy Thanksgiving!) I will have a lot of other leftovers, too. Not so impeccable timing on this one, but hey, what can you do?

It definitely hit the spot, even though the current writing on Grey’s Anatomy did not.

Easy-Bake Pasta

Ingredients
1 lb. pre-shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
2 jars of your favorite spaghetti sauce
1 lb. uncooked pasta
1 bag frozen sliced zucchini
1 bag frozen yellow squash
1 C. shredded parmesan, divided

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Boil the pasta for ¾ the recommended cooking time.

Drain the pasta and mix with everything but the parmesan.

Pour the mixture into two lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dishes.

Top each pan with 1/2 C. shredded parmesan.

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and bubbly.

Eat one batch and freeze the other into meal-sized portions in Ziplock bags, once it has cooled.

Bake from frozen for one hour covered, 15 minutes uncovered.

Tip: If the Ziplock is stuck to the pasta when you take it out of the freezer, just run the sealed bag under luke warm tap water to unstick. The pasta will pop right out.

Crab-a-roni crash and burn

2008-11-24T16:13:00.000-08:00

First, a sincere thank you to everyone who rallied behind my Crab-a-Roni and Cheese recipe in the comfort food contest. I really was touched by the number of votes I received.

Unfortunately, however, I am now in the running to tie the Buffalo Bills for four consecutive second place finishes (a.k.a. first loser). First it was the burger contest, then the taps & apps challenge, now this. Seriously. It's getting ridiculous.

I'll still make a batch and post photos for you. It will be hard to eat through the tears, but I will persevere in the resilient spirit of Team O.

Tell your mama, tell your friends ...

2008-11-21T16:00:00.000-08:00

... tell anyone whose heart can comprehend.

OK, enough of the Janet Jackson lyrics. I am currently in second place in the Comfort Food Contest -- down by 50 votes. If you can help me out by directing anyone and everyone you know to the site by Sunday at midnight (I guess that's technically Monday)to cast a vote for "Crab-a-Roni and Cheese," it would make me very happy. And as another incentive, I promise to share lots of good Thanksgiving pictures with you next week (I will anyway, but I'll be happier doing it if I win this contest).

Have a great weekend!

http://marxfood.com/vote-for-your-favorite-comfort-food-recipe/

Vote for me (pretty, pretty please)!

2008-11-19T16:19:00.000-08:00

I am one of 27 finalists in the Marx Foods Comfort Food Recipes Contest! I really, really want to win, so please visit their site by clicking on the image below and vote for "Crab-a-Roni and Cheese."

If I win, I will make you a batch. Or at least take pictures of it and post them for you to drool over (and I'll share the recipe, too). Promise.

Tick-tock goes the Thanksgiving clock

2008-11-18T17:47:00.000-08:00

I am hosting Thanksgiving for the first time this year. On Friday, though, instead of Thursday, so we can spend time with both of our families. I am so excited I can barely stand it.

Here is my menu and schedule in all their glory. I love menus and schedules. Their ability to keep me sane goes unrivaled. This holiday was made for me!

--
Appetizer
Roasted-corn and hickory bacon gougeres; served with chive crème fraîche

Main Course
"Good Eats" roast turkey and gravy
Baked stuffing with cranberries
Smashed sweet potatoes with apples
Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
Green beans with caramelized onions and toasted almonds
Spinach salad with apples, blue cheese, cranberries & candied walnuts
Cranberry-orange relish
Rolls (guests)

Dessert
Pumpkin chiffon pie (guests)

Week of Nov. 17
Purchase turkey

Monday, Nov. 24
Begin thawing turkey

Tuesday, Nov. 25
Grocery shopping

Wednesday, Nov. 26
Make ahead:
Cranberry relish
Gougeres
Mashed potatoes (caramelize extra onions for green beans)
Sweet potatoes
Roux/broth for gravy
Salad dressing

Thursday, Nov. 27
Make ahead:
Brine turkey
Baked stuffing with cranberries

Friday, Nov. 28
Cooking Schedule:

10:30-10:45 a.m.
Boil water for green beans; assemble and refrigerate salad

10:45-11 a.m.
Boil green beans, cold shock & refrigerate

11-11:30 a.m.
Rinse, prep turkey

11:30-noon
Turkey on high; prep & set out appetizers

Noon-1:30/2 p.m.
Turkey on low

1 p.m.
Turn potatoes on low in Crock Pot

1 p.m.
Stuffing & sweet potatoes in oven

1:45 p.m.
Uncover stuffing & sweet potatoes

≈2 p.m. (when turkey reaches 161degrees)
Remove turkey from oven to rest, make gravy; melt butter & reheat green beans, toss w/ almonds; dress salad; re-whip potatoes

Between 2 & 2:30 p.m.
Enjoy!

Whiskey crab soup to the rescue

2008-11-16T16:47:00.000-08:00

The dark, wet and cold have officially settled in. They made a rather brazen entrance and promptly unpacked their belongings, very much like an unwanted house guest intending to stay awhile. If it were up to me, we would skip straight to April. Sure, I’d miss Thanksgiving and Christmas, so let’s just keep a week of winter holidays and fast forward to Easter.

There is a small saving grace, though. Soul-warming comfort food. It ranks right up there with bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens; just a few of my favorite things.
In college, one of the best places for a little winter pick-me-up was the Cliff House restaurant in Bellingham. None of us could afford to eat a full meal there (unless parents were visiting), but thankfully their whiskey crab soup was available by the bowl at the bar. I have been looking forward to making it for a few months, but needed to make sure we were far enough into the depths of the dark season to make it truly worthwhile. This week, the local flooding, chilly temperatures and 4:30 p.m. sunsets were all signs that it was definitely time.

I used up the last of our crab from this summer’s cabin adventures and the end result — a tangy, creamy, slight-spicy delight — made me feel as thought I will probably be able to survive another Seattle winter. Probably. If I don’t mildew before the sun comes out.

Side note: I couldn’t find fish boullion and substituted a bottle of clam juice. This requires increasing the salt and other spices quite a bit. I added another Tbsp. each of Old Bay (mostly salt) and cayenne. Adjust to your own taste if you need to substitute for fish boullion, too.

Oh, and do me a favor. Don't make this if you plan on using imitation crab meat. It's an insult to the recipe and you'll be better off just eating a can of Campbell's. I know, I'm a crab snob. My husband turned me into one the first time he took me crabbing. So sue me (or him).

Whiskey Crab Soup
Courtesy The Cliff House, Bellingham, Wash.
8 cups water
1/4 cup fish base (or 4 cubes fish boullion)
3/4 cup butter
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cup Red Sauce (see below)
2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp. white pepper
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 1/4 cup lump crab meat
2 cups heavy whipping cream (1 pint)
1 cup milk
1 oz. sherry
1 oz. whiskey

Instructions
First, make red sauce.

Red sauce ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups shredded carrots
1 T. minced garlic
1 T. dried basil
1 cup chopped red onions
3 large cans (84 oz. total) diced tomatoes

Red sauce instructions
Cook oil, carrots, garlic and basil over high heat, stirring occasionally, until tender; 5-10 minutes. Add onions and reduce heat to medium. Cook until very tender; about 15 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 20-30 minutes over high heat, stirring often. Remove from heat and let cool. Puree and chill.

Note: This makes 4-5 cups of red sauce. Freeze excess in pre-measured Ziplock bags for future batches of soup.

Soup instructions
Bring water and fish base to a boil.

Meanwhile, make a roux with the flour and butter. To make the roux, start by melting the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan until it foams and bubbles. Add the flour all at once, whisking constantly until the two are combined and a smooth consistency has formed. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes. At this point, the roux will develop a light brown hue and a nutty flavor; this will be used to thicken the soup.

Add roux to boiling stock. Whisk well over high heat until roux is completely incorporated and mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.

Add red sauce and stir well.

Add next 5 ingredients (Old Bay through Tabasco) and stir well.

Add crab and cook 5 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes, until heated through.

I smell a winner

2008-11-13T17:43:00.000-08:00

The fine folks at Marx Foods are holding another competition. I dare you to enter (you have until this coming Monday). I love me a show down ...

The legend of Chef Missy

2008-11-11T19:36:00.000-08:00

I thought of something really sad today. When the Seattle SuperSonics packed up and skipped town for less-green pastures (a.k.a. Oklahoma City) earlier this year, Squatch, the Sonics mascot, essentially died. R.I.P., Squatch.

Reminiscing about our beloved Bigfoot mascot got me thinking about other Northwest legends and myths, too. Things a part of me has always believed in, but never seen (or, in the case I am about to describe, seen very little of) in real life. Like my friend Missy’s remarkable culinary ability and Suzy Homemaker-like crafting skills.
To her credit, she says that she just doesn’t really like to cook, not that she can’t. I was starting to wonder, though, when I was helping her find a recipe for a dinner party last year and she specifically asked for something with no more than five ingredients. Well, Mis, the jig’s up. You should have never made that mouth watering pumpkin roll and decorated your party tables with such darling centerpieces — I liked the one you gave me so much that I hung on to it for three weeks! A rogue seed sprouted from the bottom on Sunday, though, and I think it may be on it’s last leg. Great things are expected of you now. Kind of like Brooke Burke being judged as a professional on Dancing with the Stars. Yes, your pumpkin roll is that good. I ate three pieces and am still paying for it at the gym, nearly a month later. So readers, if you’re looking for a dessert other than pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, this is a fabulous option.

Missy’s (or Libby’s) Pumpkin Roll

Note: This recipe is for a roll cake. Missy’s, pictured above, is a variation (another sign of true kitchen genius). She made two cakes, filled them and cut them into squares.

Cake Ingredients
1/4 cup powdered sugar (to sprinkle on towel)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup walnuts, chopped (optional)

Filling Ingredients
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Powdered sugar (optional for decoration)

Heat oven to 375°F. Grease 15x10x1-inch jelly-roll pan; line with parchment or waxed paper. Grease and flour paper; set aside. Arrange clean thin, cotton kitchen towel on counter; sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt in small bowl. Combine eggs and sugar in large bowl; beat until thickened. Add pumpkin; beat until well mixed. Stir in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle with walnuts, if desired.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes or until center springs back when lightly touched. Immediately loosen cake from edges of pan; invert onto prepared towel. Remove pan; carefully peel off paper. Roll up cake in towel while hot, starting with 10-inch side. Cool completely on wire rack.

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup powdered sugar, butter and vanilla in small bowl until smooth. Carefully unroll cake; remove towel. Spread cream cheese mixture over cake. Reroll cake. Wrap in plastic food wrap; refrigerate at least one hour. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired..

Tip: Be sure to put enough powdered sugar on the towel before rolling up cake so it will not stick.

Remember to vote, Tuesday, Nov. 4

2008-10-30T17:46:00.000-07:00

As if you haven't been badgered enough already ... Too bad. It's really important; especially right now. So here's one more plea / reminder.

Please vote. Voting is your right, responsibility and obligation as an American. So make sure to cast your ballot on (or before if you vote absentee) Tuesday, Nov. 4. Questions about your voter registration status, poll site, or ballot? Washington state voters can visit the State’s general election site. For residents of states other than Washington, please visit canivote.org for answers to questions about your state’s voting process.

P.S. I’m not overtly endorsing anyone here, as this is an equal-party blog, but I do plan on limiting my diet to blue-only foods this Tuesday.

What is it with me and second place?!

2008-10-27T16:39:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun at the weekend before last's (I know, I know ... I'm not very timely) Fall Taps & Apps challenge, hosted by the Cudworths — the best party planners on the Plateau. Each couple (11 total; 22 individuals) had to enter a fall-inspired appetizer paired with a beer. We all voted for our first and second choices, but were not allowed to vote for ourselves. Voting was based on the use of fall-inspired ingredients and the success of the pairing combination.
I poured over recipes, trying to find the ultimate fall-inspired appetizer-beer combination, so that when the flavors combined, a spell would come over the participants and they couldn’t help but vote for us. There were great plans to test a few different recipes, but, as has happened with many of my great plans lately, I didn’t quite get around to executing.

We ended up blindly entering, i.e., this was my first try, Hickory-Bacon and Roasted Corn Gougeres, slightly modified from a slightly modified recipe (I couldn’t help myself and had to utilize all the bacon grease — it’s great for roasting the corn). They're like savory cream puffs filled with the flavors of a twice-baked potato. We paired them with Deschutes Brewery’s Black Butte Porter. Thanks to my friend Ryan for the beer recommendation.

Overall, the event was a resounding success. Although I’m having a little bit of “always the bridesmaid” syndrome with another second-place finish; we did come away with 1) two blown-out pastry bags and a new, hard-learned culinary skill; 2) very full, happy bellies and 3) really cool pint glasses adorned with mini chalkboards as our prize. For a moment, I considered throwing a tantrum and demanding a do-over, but that was mainly because the food was so awesome and I didn’t want the party to end!

I’d like to give a shout-out to Curtis and Emily Adamson (Emily works at Marx Foods, a fabulous Seattle specialty food company, making her an automatic contender), who tied us for second place. Their BBQ pulled-pork sliders with Newcastle Brown Ale really gave us a run for our money. And congratulations to Kat and Keith, who took home the grand prize with their entry of mini bratwurst burgers paired with Chimay Grande Réserve. Yum.

Hickory-Bacon and Roasted-Corn Gougeres
5 thick-cut, hickory-smoked bacon slices
3/4 cup corn (from 2 medium ears; or frozen kernels, thawed)
1 cup water
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 to 5 large eggs
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar (5 ounces)
3 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
Crème fraiche or sour cream for dipping

Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally, until crisp. Drain and cool on paper towels, reserving bacon grease in separate container (I like a Pryrex measuring cup with a spout for pouring). When cooled, finely chop bacon.

Wipe skillet clean. Add corn and 1 tsp. of reserved bacon grease, and pan-roast over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until kernels are mostly golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Bring water to a boil with butter, salt and remaining reserved bacon grease in a heavy medium saucepan, stirring until all the fat is completely melted (you should have at least two Tbsps. of bacon grease, making eight Tbsps. fat total, when combined with the butter. If you don’t have a full two Tbsps. of bacon grease, add more butter until the fat total equals eight Tbsps.). Add flour all at once to boiling water-fat-salt mixture, reduce heat to medium and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture pulls away from side of pan, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly, about 3 minutes.

Add 4 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. (Batter will appear to separate at first but will then become smooth.) Mixture should be glossy and just stiff enough to hold soft peaks and fall softly from a spoon. If batter is too stiff, beat remaining egg in a small bowl and add to batter 1 teaspoon at a time, beating and then testing batter until it reaches proper consistency.

Stir in bacon, corn, cheeses, chives, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray baking sheets with nonstick spray. Fill a pastry bag fitted with 1/2-inch plain tip with batter and pipe about 35 (3/4-inch-diameter) mounds, or spoon mounded teaspoons, 1/4 inch apart, onto each sheet.

Bake, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until puffed, golden, and crisp, 25 to 30 minutes total. Transfer to a rack (still on parchment if using). Make more puffs on cooled baking sheets. Serve warm or at room temperature with crème fraiche or sour cream for dipping.

Holy crap! I like brussels sprouts!

2008-10-09T22:03:00.000-07:00

I’ve been trying to incorporate a greater variety of vegetables into our meals lately — things we’re convinced we don’t like, but need to give another try. The experiment is going pretty well. Last week, I discovered that cauliflower isn’t actually the spawn of Satan, as I once considered it.

So I was in Safeway Monday night, looking for a new veggie adventure and spotted some very cute, but lonely-looking brussels sprouts. I’ve tried them a few times over the years, but never with much luck, i.e., flared nostrils and a strong gag reflex. After gazing at them a bit — they really are quite adorable — I decided to give it a go. I remembered a recipe I stumbled across a few months ago on This Week for Dinner and figured that worst case, the sprouts could enrich our compost bin if the experience was similar to past encounters.

Turns out, I’ve just never had brussels sprouts prepared in a way I find appealing. Until now. The 60-second brussels sprouts recipe is a totally new way (to me, at least) to eat these little delights. You don't cook them long enough for the sulfur compounds to begin releasing, so they don't get bitter and smell funky. One minute over super-high heat leaves the sprouts with an al dente texture and a bit of natural sweetness. Morgan wasn’t home when I made them, so I still need to see what he thinks, but I’m pretty certain they’ll begin joining us for dinner on a regular basis. Give them a try!

Ya sure, ya betcha

2008-10-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

We spent this past weekend helping Morgan’s mom with the Scandinavian Heritage Festival at the Puyallup Fairgrounds. She’s the main event organizer and Morgan is in charge of sound for the performances — mainly Scandinavian folk musicians and dance troops from around the Northwest. I sold raffle tickets and backed-up Peter (Morgan’s younger brother) and his fiancé Emily at the beverage stand. The event is held in conjunction with Oktoberfest Northwest, which takes place in the adjacent hall. Eating festival food all weekend can leave a little to be desired in the health realm, but who can resist unlimited Swedish meatballs and Danish pancake balls a la the fabulous Scandinavian Café of Camas, Wash.?! Certainly not me. On Sunday, we took a break and ventured over to Oktoberfest for lunch. I had some weiner schnitzel, spätzle (small German dumplings — some people refer to them as noodles, but I think dumplings is a more accurate description) and Paulaner Weizen.

I adore spätzle and am thrilled each time I see it on a menu, which isn’t very often. I must note, however, that this particular spätzle left a great deal to be desired. In fact, it was borderline inedible, closely resembling a homemade glue mixture of flour and water, boiled into a mushy mess. The Tyler Florence recipe I’m linking to above is what I make at home and it’s incredible. I’m going to make some this week to compensate for the disappointment. Plus, I’m in fall-induced comfort-food mode and spätzle fits the bill quite nicely.

The other white (and really quite tasty) meat

2008-10-01T20:31:00.000-07:00

We had friends over to dinner Saturday and made roasted pork tenderloin with apple cider jus. I found the recipe on a terrific food blog I’ve been reading, Je Mange la Ville. We loved it and even the two toddlers gobbled it up.
I haven’t had much luck with pork in the past — always a little dry and chewy — but this came out absolutely perfect; no knife needed, super juicy. Most of the credit goes to my new meat thermometer (Component Design DTTC-S) and current favorite kitchen gadget. Since the thermometer probe goes in the oven and connects to a console/base on the outside, you never have to open the door to check on anything. There’s even an alarm to tell you when your meat has reached the correct temperature. My mom has owned one for awhile, but until now, I didn’t realize quite how superior it was to my lame “traditional” thermometer. It rules.

We served the pork with fresh green beans and caramelized red onion mashed potatoes. A really great dinner for a fall get-together with lots of laughter, good friends and good wine.

Side note: The jus is a nice balance of sweet and savory. It’s supposed to be thin and we all liked it that way, but I threw a little Wondra Flour into the leftover sauce to make more of a gravy on day two (follow the Kettle Gravy directions on the side of the Wondra canister and use one cup of the leftover jus as the broth). I made about one and a half the recipe for the sauce so we would have extra. It was really good in its thickened-form, too, served over brown rice.

Roasted pork tenderloin with apple cider jus
Serves six hungry adults and two voracious toddlers
4 cups apple cider
2 cup low-salt chicken broth
1 large white onion, chopped
12 whole allspice
3 large rosemary sprigs (two for the sauce (whole), one for the pork (minced))
4 cinnamon sticks
4 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 one-pound pork tenderloins, well trimmed
Olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper

Mix first eight ingredients in medium saucepan. Boil until mixture is reduced to 3 cups, about 45 minutes. Strain, pressing on solids to extract liquid. Discard solids. Return liquid to saucepan and boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Whisk in the butter and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slather pork with olive oil, salt and pepper generously and coat with the minced garlic and rosemary.

Brown on all sides on high in a oven-proof pan. Finish roasting in the preheated oven, 20-22 minutes or until the pork reaches 145 degrees.

Cover with foil and let rest for five to 10 minutes. Pour any pork drippings from the rested meat into the cider sauce.

Slice and serve with the jus drizzled over the top.

Caramelized red onion mashed potatoes
Serves six
12 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
One red onion, finely diced
3/4 cup low fat milk
8 oz. light cream cheese
6 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until tender and deep golden-brown, stirring often, about 20 minutes. Transfer onions to small bowl. Add milk to skillet — burner should be turned off.

Meanwhile, place quartered potatoes in large saucepan. Add enough cold water to pan to cover potatoes by 1 1/2 inches. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain. Return potatoes to pan and stir over medium heat until dry, about 1 minute. Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Bring milk in skillet to simmer, scraping up any browned bits. Add hot milk and cream cheese to potatoes. Mash potatoes. Stir in caramelized onions, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

One shoe at a time ...

2008-09-24T20:52:00.000-07:00

I was going to share a new recipe with you today, but it’s a possible contender for our entry in an upcoming beer and appetizer pairing contest and I don’t want the competition stealing my secrets. So for that, you’ll have to wait and instead settle for a little anecdote about yesterday's oh-so-ridiculous morning.

For the past several weeks, each buzz of the alarm clock brings with it a noticeably colder and darker awakening. Yesterday was the worst yet. I was super sleepy, the house was chilly and the last thing I wanted to do was get ready for work. So I trudged through my routine, dragged myself to the vanpool after scraping *ice!* off my windshield, plugged in my headphones and started to fall into my commute-induced coma when I noticed something was off. Or on, rather. As in, I put on two different boots and left the house without noticing. Even a year ago, I probably would have freaked out and nearly died of embarrassment on the spot. I can tell I’m getting older and relaxing a bit, though, because I got a good laugh out of it. And a nice reason to scurry to the mall and pick-up the new pair of Söffts I had been eyeing.

I would also like to point out to my husband that the new shoes were a necessary purchase, as appearing completely catawampus during my afternoon meetings was an unacceptable option (on second thought, maybe I’m not quite as mature as previously mentioned).

I was also going to justify the purchase by claiming the shoes as Scandinavian (he's Swedish). Well, they certainly sound Scandinavian, don't they? Turns out they're just plain American, i.e., the company is Boston-based and my shoes were made in China. Dang!

Running to eat chocolate cake

2008-09-16T18:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I was sitting at my computer, gazing out the window, when a neighborhood mom trotted past our house pushing a double baby-jogger. She was not, however, jogging. She was running. Fast. Pushing two children. I’ve seen her a couple times since then and I’m totally inspired. One more person to idealize on my quest to become more fit.

I’m also signing up with a few girlfriends to run the 5K Winter Pineapple Classic in Seattle on Sunday, November 16. The race has obstacles like hula-hooping and Mai Tai drinking (well, the hula-hooping part is true, at least) to give you a rest every half mile or so. Definitely my kind of sport!
Like most things I do in life, I wrote a plan to prepare for the race. I love writing plans and making lists. Part of the plan is to tell you I’m doing this, so I’ll feel guilty if I don’t stick to my workouts. I don’t always follow my plans and lists, but they’re certainly nice to have and I find them oddly comforting.

I’m going to train using Robert Ullrey’s free podcasts that follow the Couch to 5K nine-week training schedule; I’ll also be doing some strength work a la Turbulence Training. And I’m going to try to eat “cleaner.” Less sugar, more veggies, fewer refined carbs, etc.

The plan appears simple in writing. Here’s the catch: I keep making things like this incredibly delicious Earthquake Cake, which throws my “clean eating” agenda out the window. It’s hard to be upset, though, when it tastes so, so good. (A very roundabout way to share a dessert recipe, I know.) Think cheesecake meets German chocolate cake, but better. I’ll just have to run little bit harder this week to make up for the butter and cream cheese, because I’m certainly not giving them up completely. Everything in moderation, right? Enjoy!
Earthquake Cake
1 cup coconut
1 cup chopped nuts
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter (1 stick); softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Grease a 9-by-13-inch pan. Sprinkle nuts and coconut on bottom of pan. Mix cake mix as directed on box. Pour over nuts and coconut.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla with a hand mixer on low to medium-low until well blended (add the sugar about a half cup at a time to prevent a powder explosion). This mixture will look like thick cheesecake batter.

Drop by spoonfuls over the chocolate cake batter, leaving at least a one-inch margin around the sides of the pan (this prevents the cheesecake from bubbling over).

Weave a butter knife in an s-pattern through the batter to create a swirl, but be sure to not disturb the nuts and coconut — keep the knife very shallow. Sprinkle with the chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Easy like Wednesday evening

2008-09-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

During the week, I’m all about simplicity, i.e., any half-decent looking dish with only five ingredients is worth trying. I adapted this one from a Sara Moulton (Food Network) recipe, which I liked, but found a little bland and more tedious than necessary.
The episode showcasing this recipe was a five-ingredient theme, and I strongly suspect garlic was cut from the roster to meet the ingredient cap. It definitely needs that key sixth ingredient, though. And it screams for more cheese. A lot more cheese. In fact, let's get crazy and double the cheese! And while we're at it, we'll zest and juice the whole lemon. Lemon shouldn't be allowed in the title unless you can taste it!

In late April of this year, I couldn’t find any asparagus in the local stores due to a cold snap that ruined a lot of Washington’s spring harvest. I did, however, find a bag of frozen spears at Fred Meyer and gave the recipe a go with those — they worked perfectly! Nice discovery and good to know it’s possible to get some [relatively] fresh flavor during the upcoming winter when I grow tired (and a bit crazy) of squash and root vegetables.

Pasta with asparagus-lemon sauce
1 pound fresh, medium thickness asparagus, tough ends trimmed
Zest and juice of one large lemon
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound penne, malfade, or preferred shape
1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Cut asparagus into 1-inch pieces; reserve tips separately. Cook asparagus stems in 5 to 6 quarts boiling water with 2 tablespoons salt until very tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a colander, reserving cooking water in pot, and rinse under cold water. Drain asparagus well and transfer to a food processor or blender.

Cook asparagus tips in same boiling water until just tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to colander, reserving boiling water in pot, and rinse under cold water. Drain tips well and set aside.

Cook pasta in boiling asparagus cooking water for about three-fourths of the recommended cooking time (very al dente). Reserve 2 cups cooking water and drain pasta.

Puree asparagus stems with zest, lemon juice, garlic cloves, olive oil, and 2 cups asparagus cooking water. Sauce will be very thin. Transfer sauce to a 4-quart saucepan and set aside.

Add pasta and asparagus tips to the asparagus sauce and cook over high heat, stirring, 3 to 5 minutes, or until pasta is almost al dente and sauce coats pasta but is a little loose (the cheese will thicken it slightly).

Stir in Parmigiano-Reggiano and salt and pepper, to taste and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.

My big, fat, Greek meal

2008-09-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

I will use just about anything as a vehicle for Trader Joe’s tzatziki dip (including one desperate snack attempt with saltines and pretzels — neither of which were a very good combo, but worth a shot nonetheless).
TJ’s tzatziki is a creamy, refreshing blend of Greek yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, dill and mint. There must be some sort of witchcraft involved, too, because the cucumbers stay crunchy! I find this as amazing a feat as I did the sparking Wint-O-Green Life Saver in the fifth grade science fair. Don’t worry, I won’t go around babbling about tzatziki as I did triboluminescence. (It is fun to say, though, isn’t it?!)

My favorite combination is a whole wheat pita filled with grilled chicken and χωριάτικη σαλάτα — a.k.a. Horiatiki salata, a.k.a. Greek salad — all topped with tzatziki.
Even though I’ve never been to Greece, I like to think of myself as a Greek salad purist. I’m a firm believer in a one-to-one ratio of lemon juice and olive oil for the dressing. Nothing else. The owner of Orexi in Bellevue (“orexi” means appetite in Greek) told me this is the “true” way to make Choriatiki. Americans like to add lettuce and vinegar, but it’s just not right; they don’t belong in there! Just the veggies, olives, cheese and dressing. Mmmm. My orexi gets worked up just thinking about it — here’s how I make mine:

Choriatiki, a.k.a. Greek Salad

Salad
·2 cups diced bell peppers
·2 cups (about 12 oz.) cherry or globe tomatoes, cut in half (they hold their shape better in the salad than full-sized tomatoes)
·One red onion, finely diced
·One English cucumber, diced (skin-on)
·9.5 oz. jar pitted Kalmata olives, roughly chopped
·8 oz. crumbled Feta cheese (I use Trader Joe’s Light Feta)
·2 Tbsp. fresh oregano, chopped
·1 Tbsp. garlic powder
·Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing
·¾ cup olive oil
·¾ cup lemon juice

Directions
Add the oil and lemon juice to a container with a tight-fitting lid. Shake until very well blended.

Place the veggies, olives, cheese, oregano and dressing in a large mixing / salad bowl. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and garlic power. Stir well. Allow to macerate for five to ten minutes (if you can wait). Stir again. Enjoy!

P.S. You may want to use a slotted spoon to serve the salad, as the dressing is thin and tends to go all over the place.

Name that white flower

2008-08-29T07:17:00.000-07:00

The first summer at our house is winding to a close (long, depressing sigh). Throughout the past few months, each time I wander into our yard, a new plant or flower seems to have sprouted. We’ve been continually blessed by the garden fairy. Although, this also leads me to believe we did something very, very bad to deserve the mole infestation.
Back in March, some friends (who have a yard that rivals the Hanging Gardens of Babylon) told us to be careful about digging and cutting things back, and to wait and see what might appear. This was very sound, yet slightly ill-timed advice. The “President’s Day Massacre” had already occurred, resulting in mid-century military haircuts for three prominently placed grass/palm-looking bushes. And yes, “grass/palm-looking bushes” is as accurately as they can be described using my horticulturally-challenged vernacular. Also completely destroyed were some Grape Hyacinth (identified post-mortem) that I mistook for rogue blades of grass.

Minimal damage all-in-all, considering the plans I had for what turned out to be my very favorite flowers — featured in the photos. The leaves looked so pointy and menacing sans blooms; I was sure we were facing an invasive weed. Thankfully I left them alone because my arms got tired. That, and because pruning isn’t really very fun.
My goal for next year is to confidently name and describe plants to visitors, and prevent conversations such as this:

Friend: “Those are really pretty.”
Me: “Thanks, we really like them, too.”
Friend: “They smell good. What are they called?”
Me: “Um, white flowers, I think.”

Perhaps you can help me. Name that white flower!

Team O, circa 1965

2008-08-24T14:11:00.001-07:00

I had entirely too much fun playing with Yearbook Yourself this morning. I imagine we both liked malts and danced to You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' at our senior prom.

Nectarine sorbet

2008-08-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I learned a couple things this week. First, when you watch an egg roll perilously toward the edge of your kitchen counter from across the room and yell, “Stop! Stop! Stop!” the egg will not listen.

Second, pouring a little Gewurztraminer over fresh nectarine sorbet makes me very, very happy. I didn’t have a lot of luck taking a great picture of the sorbet. It was prettier than it looks here, so don’t let the photography deter you from making it. Really refreshing and perfect to celebrate the last few weeks of summer (which make me very sad, so this helps ease the creeping autumn blues).

Nectarine Sorbet
6 or 7 very ripe nectarines
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. raspberry liqueur

Dice the nectarines, don't bother peeling them. The peel will add a lot of color and flavor to the final product, without making it grainy or lumpy.

Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for ten minutes.

Add the sugar, stir until it's dissolved.

Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.

Puree sorbet base in a blender until it is very smooth (I blended mine on high for about two minutes).

Pour through a fine sieve and chill very well, preferably over night.

Freeze in an ice cream machine for about 15-20 minutes.

When finished, the sorbet will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer sorbet, transfer to a freezer safe container and freeze at least two hours. If freezing longer than two hours, allow to soften for 15 minutes on the counter until serving.

The wine
2006 Three Blondes Gewurztraminer from Icicle Ridge Winery in Leavenworth, courtesy of Brian and Christie Lounsberry.

Like dirt water for chocolate

2008-08-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

We spent last weekend in Portland with the Cudworths. Missy and I had a fabulous time shopping on 23rd and stopped to enjoy some seasonal beers at McMenamins while the boys played in a golf tournament.

That’s Missy’s beer on the left, Copper Moon, a pale ale; and mine on the right, Purple Haze, made with Marionberries. Mine was light, fruity and very girly. I just learned last week that a Marionberry is a type of blackberry. I always thought it was its own fruit. Or a congressman from Arkansas.

We also visited Moonstruck Chocolatier, my very favorite chocolate shop. A visit to Portland mandates a stop at Moonstruck. Pictured is a Bailey’s Irish Crème truffle, which lasted for approximately 23 seconds following its time in front of the camera. Their creations are not only delicious, but clever. Right now they’re featuring political truffles — donkeys and elephants! And my personal favorite, the milk chocolate lab. Although the puppies are almost too cute to eat.

Moonstruck makes the most amazingly smooth, melt-in-your-mouth milk chocolate. I know it’s en vogue to snub milk chocolate, but I’m taking a stand in its defense. I prefer milk chocolate’s flavor and texture to that of dark. I recently tried some “high-end” dark chocolate with a texture that can accurately be described as remarkably similar to a gnawed on bar of Ivory soap. If you’re in the 77 percent cocoa mass club, that’s OK. You’ll come around sooner or later and realize that just because someone at FruFru Foodie Magazine told you super-dark chocolate is superior, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true.

Our stay wrapped up with a luau (held at the previously mentioned location in the “Flush valves and flappers” post) and we helped decorate by pinning strawberries on the pineapple palm tree. I ate a lot while I worked — seems to be a recurring theme with me. We were also treated to our first traditional Fijian kava drinking ceremony.

Fijians commonly hold social gatherings centered around a drink called "grog," made by pounding sun-dried kava root into a fine powder and mixing it with cold water. Kava is known for being anti-yummy, i.e., it tastes like sour mud, but the group bonding experience of passing around coconut bowls and drinking dirt water was fun.

“Bula!” (That's what you say when you're finished.)

Flush valves and flappers

2008-08-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

I generally don’t take pleasure in others’ misfortune. That is, unless you’re the lady at the independent shipping store who yelled at me for asking to use the packing tape without “offering” her $.75. If you're reading this, Elphaba, I will not be sad if you wander into oncoming traffic. Or if you’re the bank customer who, while I was working as a teller in college, demanded I smile at you. A little misfortune sprinkled in your direction would be OK, too.

At any rate, when bad things happen to other people, I usually feel guilty for simply having thoughts like, “Thank God that didn’t happen to me.” Then I go through the process of convincing myself that these types of thoughts will send me straight to Hell and that I have probably cursed myself into similar circumstances for said feelings.

Can you tell I’m Catholic??

All of this leads me to this weekend’s “adventure in domesticity” or rather, “misadventure in domesticity” at the home of some friends (who shall remain nameless) near Portland, Ore. And yes, I admit to having a “Thank God this isn't happening to me” moment. They lost water pressure to their toilet in the middle of a large party and several guests, including me, were relegated to using bushes and shrubs around their newly renovated and very well-manicured backyard.

So for the penance of the "happy my toilet works" thoughts, I rolled up my sleeves and tried to help fix the problem. (Thanks, dad, for the crash plumbing course.) Unfortunately, the issue lay with the pipes and the only quick-fix was a hose through the window.

At least I got to show off my knowledge of flush valves and flappers. Something I don't get to do very often.

And I can't help but post a photo of the note hung on the wall, too, since I'm a girl and the one who originally suggested our makeshift solution. It puts a grin on my face that makes my cheeks ache. Don't worry, no one had to come running to rescue me.

The Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive

2008-08-07T18:56:00.000-07:00

I’ve been driving by the Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive since my freshman year at WWU in Bellingham. I would take the long way home to enjoy the roadside view overlooking Samish Bay and slow my car to a crawl so I could read the fluorescent writing on the menu outside the front door as I passed.

During college, I could barely afford to eat the Reser’s bean and cheese burritos that made up 90 percent of my diet, let alone abalone or swordfish. Not that I would have tried either of those things back then, anyway. I was a vegetarian (“nothing with a face” was the rule) and although I’m sure it’s world-class, selecting gnocchi from the Oyster Bar menu would be truly unconscionable.

So for the past 10 years, I’ve been drooling over this place and trying to come up with a reason to eat there. I guess I could have just gone without a motive, but when you work something up so much, it makes sense to have a reason. The Oyster Bar is a reason kind of restaurant. And then, two years ago, when Morgan and I were freshly engaged, we came up with a really good reason. Our rehearsal dinner. Voila, reason! Unfortunately, they couldn’t accommodate our ridiculously huge guest list for the evening. The restaurant is intimate (read: very, very small), and our wedding party plus spouses, dates and family members were beginning to look a bit like the Osmonds and therefore would require something more closely resembling a large barn.

So the reason search continued …

But then, last week, something special happened. We had our first anniversary and I finally got my wish. A date with my husband of one year; crab cakes; a palette cleansing white grape sorbet with champagne; blue marlin with a rhubarb and lavender gastrique; king crab legs infused with tequila and lime, served with blood orange butter; and cappuccino crème brulee for dessert.

And, yes. Everything lived up to my decade’s worth of cravings and imagination.

P.S. The marlin looked prettier before I got started. I’m still kind of new at this and forgot to take a picture before my first bite!

We're off to Portland for the weekend. See you back here next week!

Coconut and Funfetti don't mix

2008-08-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

For my brother Ethan’s birthday this year, I made the most delicious cake ever. Yes, ever. The Rave Reviews Coconut Cake. I got the recipe from my mom, who clipped it out of the Bremerton Sun in the early 80s. A lot of the appeal, for me at least, is the nostalgia. I remember no other food making my dad as happy as this cake.

It’s a simple recipe. The base is a boxed yellow cake mix (don’t scoff, it really does taste good), so I can’t claim to have slaved for days over this thing. Frosting it was a bit tedious, though. I haven’t frosted many triple-layer cakes in my life and it can be a little tricky. Especially if you eat half the frosting before you’re finished.

Ethan loves Funfetti cake, too. He actually asked me if I could make the coconut cake with Funfetti as the base. Since this is possibly the worst culinary idea he’s ever had (sorry, dude, it’s true), but I know how disappointed he would be to not have Funfetti on his 25th birthday, I also made him some cupcakes to share with his friends. As you can see below, I’ve been feeding him for years. I am such a good big sister (and I guess he’s a pretty good little brother, too).

Crab hands, ewwww!

2008-08-06T08:53:00.000-07:00

We cracked 10 more crab last night. It was the last of the bunch we caught on Saturday night. Now we have about 14 cups of lump crab meat in our freezer!

Oh, the possibilities …

The only downfall is that I don’t want to even think about crab for at least two weeks because I can’t get the smell off my hands and it’s totally grossing me out. I tried toothpaste, lemon juice mixed with black pepper and a Wonder Bar. Everything helped a little, but it’s still there. I hope no one gets close enough to me at the office to notice.

Crabbin’ at the cabin

2008-08-04T21:42:00.001-07:00

The second part of our week-long vacation was a stay on Samish Island. We had a ton of fun at the family cabin and caught a lot of crab. I made Morgan’s favorite, crab quiche. It was so good that even our friend Missy, who was so disturbed about boiling the crab that she set one free (and named it Juan-Carlos), even liked it!

This year I decided to try the Reynolds Handi-Vac to preserve the extra meat we didn’t eat during our stay. Upon first use, I’m pleased to say that it rules. I can’t wait to make Whiskey Crab Soup a la the Cliff House in Bellingham. Stay tuned for that recipe!

Crab Quiche

Ingredients
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup milk
1 1/4 cup lump crab meat
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 deep dish 9-inch unbaked pie crust (I use a frozen, pre-made crust)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, beat together eggs, mayonnaise, flour, garlic powder, cayenne and milk until thoroughly blended. Stir in crab, cheese, and onion. Spread into pie shell.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

Happy one year anniversary, Team O!

2008-08-04T21:35:00.000-07:00

We made it through our first year of marriage. Hooray!

To celebrate, we strapped tremendously heavy packs to our backs and slogged through the woods for three days. Romantic, eh? Actually, it kind of was — except for the stagnant, muddy creek that was our only drinking water source. We purified it, of course. Regardless, it was absolutely wretched.

We truly felt like a team when the gnats swarmed us and we had to strategize how to get into the tent without being followed by the little nasties. There were so many, our lantern looked like it had a thick coating of tar the next morning from all that had flown into it and burned. Sick!

There were good parts, though, too. I promise. Like the petroglyphs carved by Native Americans hundreds of years ago. Those were indeed very, very cool. And the mist on the ocean in the morning was so refreshing and peaceful. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the true roar of the Pacific when you’re sheltered in Puget Sound.

The best part was just spending time with Morgan. It’s one of my favorite things to do, which is good since we’re married. Hopefully someday we’ll have at least 50 anniversary stories to share with you.

Making lemonade with a second place burger

2008-07-25T21:24:00.001-07:00

I took second place in Marx Foods' Burger Recipe Contest this week. There were 119 recipes, so I'm pretty proud of beating 98.3 percent of my competition. Can't say I'm not disappointed, though. The winner was awarded 10 pounds of super high quality/trendy burger meat. I'm not, however, very adventurous with my meat choices. Should I have won, I would have picked a 10 pound box of Kobe beef burgers. I could have picked kanagroo or llama, too, among other things. Check out their selection, it's really wild.

I really, really wanted those burgers. I can even taste them if I think about it hard enough. Can you believe I was a vegetarian for seven years? Once Morgan started lacing my food with bacon it all went downhill.

My Stuffed Caprese Sirloin Burgers with Roasted Garlic Aioli were taken down by Hoisin Ginger Burgers with Lime Pickled Onions. Lime pickled onions?? Really?? OK, I guess they sound kind of good. Pair something with a lime and I'll eat it, but I'll never be down with gruyere cheese.

Here's my non-award winning recipe:

Stuffed Caprese Sirloin Burgers with Roasted Garlic Aioli

Burgers (makes six)

3 pounds ground sirloin (80:20 meat-to-fat ratio)
2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
2 tsp. each, chopped fresh oregano and basil (buy a full bunch of basil and reserve at least 12 remaining full leaves to top the burgers -- two for each burger)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely diced white onion
3 ounces thinly sliced fresh mozzarella
2 medium-sized Campari tomatoes, sliced
Olive oil, for brushing

Buns

6 Focaccia burger buns

Roasted Garlic Aioli

1 large head garlic
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 pasteurized egg yolks
1 raw clove garlic, minced
Juice of 1 small lemon
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of ground cayenne pepper
1-1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Making the burgers:

Combine all burger ingredients except cheese and tomato slices in large bowl.
Mix thoroughly, then shape into 6 thin patties.
Put 1/2 ounce mozzarella on three patties.
Top with remaining patties and press edges to tightly seal.
If a bit misshapen, gently flatten until patties are about 4 1/2 inches in diameter.
Refrigerate, covered, until cold, about one hour.

Making the aioli:

To roast the garlic, preheat the oven to 300 F.
Cut a thin slice off the very top of the head to expose the cloves.
Set the garlic head in a shallow baking dish and pour the oil slowly over and into the head.
Season with the salt and pepper.
Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 1-3/4 hours, until the garlic is very soft and tender.
Don’t rush; older garlic may take longer.
Drain and reserve the oil, and set the garlic aside.
After the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze the pulp into a food processor or blender and add the egg yolks, minced raw garlic clove, lemon juice, water, salt, and cayenne pepper.
Puree until smooth. With the motor running, add the reserved roasting oil and the additional 1-1/2 cups oil in a slow, steady stream and continue processing until emulsified. Refrigerate until needed.

Grilling the burgers:

Preheat a gas grill to medium-high or prepare a charcoal grill. Brush burgers with olive oil and grill to desired doneness, flipping only once, about 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. To test for doneness, insert an instant-read meat thermometer through the side of a burger into the center. The internal temperature for medium rare is 145 F; 160 F for medium and 170 F for well done.

Serve burgers on buns with aioli, tomato slices and reserved basil leaves.

Mac & Cheese with the Lounsberrys

2008-07-23T19:12:00.000-07:00

We spent last Friday night with the Lounsberry family eating Beecher’s “World’s Best Mac & Cheese” and fawning over Jake (he is terribly cute). There was also a fair amount of time spent reminding George he is still loved with lots of petting and picture-taking. I can tell he really likes Jake and they’re going to be best friends. And because George is so extremely large, I think Brian and Christie have already managed to avoid the common fifth birthday ask of a pony.

Macaroni and cheese is one of my three favorite foods. It ties with tiramisu and good sandwiches. This particular batch came straight from the Pasta & Co. freezer (sibling company to Beecher's Handmade Cheese in the Pike Place Market), but I have made it at home in the past. I also really like the NY Times version — both recipes are posted below. Let me know if you make them and what you think!

World’s Best Mac & Cheese
Serves four as a side dish

6 ounces penne pasta
2 cups Beecher's Flagship Sauce (recipe follows)
1 ounce cheddar, grated (1/4 cup)
1 ounce Gruyere cheese, grated (1/4 cup)
¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Oil or butter an eight-inch baking dish.

Cook the penne two minutes less than package directions. (It will finish cooking in the oven.) Rinse pasta in cold water and set aside.

Combine cooked pasta and Flagship sauce in a medium bowl and mix carefully but thoroughly. Scrape the pasta into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the cheeses and then the chile powder. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Let sit for five minutes before serving.

Note: If you double the recipe to make a main dish, bake in a 9x13-inch pan for 30 minutes.

Beecher’s Flagship Cheese Sauce
Makes about 4 cups

¼ cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
14 ounces semi-hard cheese, such as Beecher's Flagship, grated (about 3 ½ cups)
2 ounces grated semisoft cheese, such as Beecher's Just Jack
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ to ½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottom saucepan over medium heat and whisk in the flour. Continue whisking and cooking for 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Cook until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Add the cheese, salt, chile powder and garlic powder. Stir until the cheese is melted and all ingredients are incorporated, about 3 minutes. Use immediately, or refrigerate for up to three days.

Note: A single batch of sauce makes enough for a double recipe of macaroni and cheese.

--

New York Times Macaroni and Cheese
Accompanying article: Macaroni and Lots of Cheese
(Warning: This is the "creamy" recipe. Do not attempt the “crusty” recipe. It’s sick. If you choose to not heed this advice, don't call me when you break a tooth.)

Serves six as a side dish

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cottage cheese (not low fat)
2 cups milk (not skim)
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ pound elbow pasta, uncooked

Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use one tablespoon butter to butter a nine-inch round or square baking pan.

In a blender, puree cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. Reserve ¼ cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Dream Dinners, the Suburban Solution

2008-07-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

I’ve been going to Dream Dinners (DD) once a month since May. Next week will by my third trip. DD is a meal-prep business, usually based in a strip mall (you know you're a suburbanite when ... ) where you can go and assemble meals, store them in freezer bags and take them home to enjoy all month long.

I’ve been impressed with the quality of meats and produce; and level of sanitation (very important in my book). Everything is very fresh, the kitchens are hygienic and sometimes they feed you dessert and give you a chair massage. Indeed, this is hard work!

The “meals” usually consist of just the main course, i.e., meat and a fancy sauce or marinade, but sometimes a side dish is included, too. When the dish is straight-up meat, like tonight’s savory grilled porkchops, I usually steam or sautee some veggies and make either rice or potatoes to go alongside.

Initially, I was incredibly skeptical of the concept. We tried some killer enchiladas at a dinner party, though, and I was sold. I still love to cook, but on week nights when we’re pressed for time and have other activities, these meals are a lifesaver. And grilled citrus salmon is so much healthier than a corndog or bowl of Lucky Charms (sadly these things can be found in our house and are the usual busy-night substitutes).

DD is economical, too. My bill for next week (which I prepaid online) came to $135 for 12, three-serving meals. Sure, I could knock-out 36 servings of boneless skinless chicken breasts in a simple marinade for that cost, but I would rather see a medley of meats and produce grace our table. Yummy in my tummy.

Welcome Waffles

2008-07-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

I created Team O as a place for Morgan and I to chronicle our day-to-day lives and the adventures that occasionally arise. I despise the kitschiness that is scrapbooking, but can appreciate the memoir aspect and think this works just as well.

One thing that seems to preoccupy us quite a bit is food. We like to eat and cook. Well, I like to eat and cook; Morgan likes to eat. Look for recipes and feel free to stop by and share your own, too!

This weekend I made blueberry waffles. Nothing too special, just the recipe from the Bisquick box with an oversized cup of berries tossed into the mix. So simple and soooo good.

The other cool thing about homemade waffles is how well they freeze and reheat. They triumph over Eggo waffles in taste and in cost. Just let them cool, place them in individual sandwich bags (to prevent them from sticking together) and then in a gallon-size Ziploc freezer bag. Pop them in the toaster when you want to eat them. Don’t thaw first; just like an Eggo.

Basic Bisquick Waffles
2 cups Original Bisquick mix
1 1/3 cups milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 egg

Stir ingredients until blended.

Pour onto center of hot greased waffle iron; close lid.

Bake about five minutes or until steaming stops.

Carefully remove waffles.

Eat.

Makes about 12 (four-inch) waffles.