winter solstice

ours was filled with marshmallow making. we packaged them up with some hot cocoa and delivered a little solstice gift to neighbors and friends. we were lucky enough to have our first snowfall a few days ago, so a snowy walk ensued. then we snuggled up and read this, a favorite series around here.

happy winter!

relaxed

sam surprised my sister and i with a day at the spa today. massages and facials. it was my first facial ever... and well, let's just say it will not be my last. i feel so very thankful that even though our lives are brimming with to-do's (especially now during the holidays...), i have a husband that remembers his wife likes to be pampered, just a bit. i am so very blessed.

today's reflection: best new food

crock pot meals have to be my favorite new food. a student that i had when i taught second grade gave me one as a thanksgiving present one year and i never used it much, but recently it has made a resurgence. it all started with this delicious and so easy recipe that i found: crock pot salsa chicken. sam has also been into cooking indian food and he is getting really, really good. so that is sort of a new favorite too.

ps. in the picture maeve has on a hand knit sweater and hat my friend lynn gave her. i love the color and the sparkly buttons. thanks lynn! i dream of being such a skilled knitter one day...

28::19

we made this delicious and easy focaccia.  see the birthday crown?  calvin wants to wear it everyday since his birthday, which is so adorable... but he also wants cake and presents daily.  who wouldn't?

mojito salmon

have you tried the mojito salmon from trader joe's? i am not a salmon lover, but i have been trying to incorporate salmon into my diet (and my family's diet) over the past year or so. my attempts at making it in a variety of ways have been, well... less than stellar. not matter how i make it, it still tastes so... salmon-y.  well while shopping at trader joe's i spied 'mojito salmon' in the frozen section. i like mojitos... so i decided to give it a try.

it was delicious! and so frickin' easy. i highly recommend it. everyone ate it and calvin did not even ask for ketchup!

the party and the day after

our halloween party was a success. the little ones had fun and played well together. all of the moms and dads got along as well. i did not want to go overboard on decorating because a) we don't have a lot of money for decorations and b) the decorations you can buy at party stores are often a bit cheezy and get thrown away so quickly. so i went for the less is more approach and ordered these little paper trees from here. i punched holes in each one and hung them on some baker's twine. i also got 10 helium balloons with extra long strings on them so that the little ones could reach them easily. i just threw them in the livingroom and i was done. oh and i also put up the birthday bunting i make for calvin's first birthday. i liked how it turned out... festive without being overdone.

it was a potluck. everyone brought delicious food. i tried to make the chedder cheese cobwebs out of this months food magazine. see photo above. they looked great until i cooked them. then they turned into chedder cheese blobs. they actually tasted okay and they were gone by the end of the night. we also made the acorn squash quesodillas and the kale and swiss chard gratin. they were perfect.

saturday morning sam and calvin spent a long time palying the guitar. it is amazing to me that right when calvin picked up the guitar he started strumming and singing. no particular song, but definitely sing-songy words came out. then today at breakfast he started singing 'a bushel and a peck'. i melted right there. then when he got to the end, he pointed at me when he sang "about you, about you". i choked back tears as my little one kept singing.

kale and swiss chard

my friend lisa is always touting kale and swiss chard as being the best-for-you foods ever. i like them raw in salad... but that is about it. cooked...well... they taste like dirt to me.

then one day i was chatting with crissy and she was making a kale and swiss chard recipe that she claimed was delicious. i asked for the recipe and she promptly sent it (on retro cabbage patch stationary no less...).

then sam and i were at the farmer's market over the weekend and there sitting on a wooden table of one of the vendors were kale and swiss chard. so decided to give crissy's recipe a shot.

it was frickin' delicious. so good i have already made it twice more. calvin loves it too. here is the recipe (which is a tweaked version of a recipe from yoga journal):

Kale and Swiss Chard Gratin

1 large yellow onion

2 tbsp butter plus 2 tsp

1 head kale

1 head swiss chard

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup milk ( i used soy)

4 tbsp freshly grated parmesan cheese

3 tbsp breadcrumbs

1. cut the onion in half lengthwise; then slice it into the thinnest slices possible

2. in a large, heavy bottomed skillet with a cover, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium high heat. when it foams add the onions, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pan, letting the onions sweat, stirring them occasionally until they are nearly dissolving.

3. cut the kale and swiss chard into very thin slices and add them to the onions. fitting all of it into the pan will seem impossible, but it will wilt considerably. put the cover on and cook until the cabbage has wilted, about 10-15 min. remove the cover and continue to cook, stirring until the kale and chard are soft, another 10-15 min.

4. preheat oven to 400 degrees

5. spray baking sheet with olive oil spray and set aside

6. sprinkle the salt, pepper and flour over the greens, and stir. increase the heat to high, stirring still and then add the milk, a little at a time, continuing to stir, creating a sauce for the vegetables.

7. when it has thickened, in about 5 minutes, spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking dish. mix the cheese and breadcrumbs together and scatter over the surface. dot with the remaining butter, and bake until the top is crusty and golden and the edges are bubbling, about 20 minutes. serve hot from the baking dish.

*it keeps in the fridge and seems to keep getting better.

enjoy!

making::food

i have not been doing much sewing lately... but i have been busy in my sewing sketch book with holiday gift ideas (i know it seems too early to be talking about it, but i always seem to be crunched for time the last few days before christmas, staying up until the wee hours on the sewing machine, so i am hoping to get an early start this year to avoid the stress).

we have been doing a lot of cooking. this months food magazine is a good one and we have already made a few recipes. over the weekend we made broccoli and corn chowder (delicious!). it was easy, very tasty and everyone ate it. we made lots and froze some. i love finding it in the freezer in a months time and with a simple re-heat, voila! dinner's ready.

we also made acorn squash quesadillas from smittenkitchen. (the camera battery died just after i snapped the above shot so i don't have any other pics...follow the link for her great step-by-step photos) they were sweet and yet spicy. we had never used acorn squash in anything but soup before and these turned out super good. so tasty in fact that i think we are going to make them for the halloween party that we are having. i am going to try making them ahead of time and then just re-heat them in the oven. i tried it in the toaster oven and it worked. hopefully the oven will provide the same results and allow me to increase the quantity. (fingers crossed)