Roasted Tomato and Asparagus Pasta

Before
&
After

A version of this pasta is what made Scott fall in love with me. Last week I took advantage of asparagus being cheap(er); here's the recipe if you're interested:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 good sized garlic cloves; minced
salt
fresh ground pepper
1 large handful fresh basil; leaves rolled up together then cut into thin strips
1 lb cherry or grape tomatoes (kept whole)
1 bunch asparagus; end snapped off then snapped/cut into 2 to 3 inch segments

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Put all the following, in order, into a large mixing bowl. Toss until the veggies are well coated. Spread out onto a cookie sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes or everything starts to look a little burned.

15 minutes before the veggies are due to be done, cook your pasta. Shorter pasta shapes work better for this one.

Scrape it all (including all the oily juices) onto the cooked pasta and toss. Freshly grated Parmesan on top always helps. This pasta is good hot and at room temperature.

We Like to Party

Saturday morning we had a little birthday party with some of Eve's best friends. The theme was dinosaurs and involved party hats, stickers, "dinosaur eggs" (yogurt-covered almonds) and carrot cake cupcakes.

Our main activity was a exploring our apartment looking for hidden dinosaurs.

Not all the kids realized what was going on.

Everyone knew what to do with the cupcakes however.

... even the dinosaurs.

Thanks to everyone for coming!

Candles, bicycles, dishes! Oh my!

All in all, it was a good birthday I think. The real highlight was spending two hours at the doctor's office. That appointment was for me. Eve had hers this morning which was only 45 minutes max . . . thank goodness.

Scott and I had been thinking about getting Eve a little tricycle for quite a while now but when we saw this little bike with training wheels we just couldn't resist. I asked if they had any in adult sizes but unfortunately they don't.

Plenty of room to grow into this one. Note the cute bell on the handle bars.

Eve LOVES the dishes and wood vegetables you gave her. She had a complete break down when I put them in the dishwasher but all in all, I think this will be one of her favorite things to play with. Thanks again!

We must have relight the candles, sung Happy Birthday and watched her blow them out again 7 or 8 times. She went to bed asking for birthday candles and woke up asking for them too.

After Scott showed Eve how you suck off the bottoms of the candles when you pull them out of the cake, she then proceeded to eat all of ice cream using her two candles. Wick side down too.

Happy Birthday Eve

I know it's only been two years but it seems like she's always been with us.
I can't imagine life without her.

Last night Eve set up two chairs on the floor and informed me that it was time to "checkout." After Scott and I figured out what it was she was talking about Scott immediately got the shopping cart and he and Eve loaded it up. I've gone to a grocery store 3 times already this week - no wonder this is what she pretends play at.

Cart contents: yogurt, mustard, one red onion, one lemon, peanut butter and one Gossie board book.

Swiping the card.

When she was done loading up Scott's bag she then asked if he wanted some stickers, which of course he did, and then said "Have a good one." She was very upset about having to stop playing "Trader Joe's" and get ready for bed. I have a feeling I'll be grocery shopping for the better part of today once she wakes up.

A Winner

We made these Friday night and they were divine. I roasted the yams and made up the pesto the day before so it was super easy but still pretty fancy pants.

Yam and Cheese Sandwich with Pumpkin Seed Pesto
from the Cafe Flora

1 large yam (about 1 pound), peeled and sliced in rounds, about 1/8 inch thick
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon paprika
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 medium onion, sliced in rounds about 1/4 inch thick
4 sticcola rolls, or other chewy rolls or buns with a tender crust
Pumpkin Seed Pesto (recipe follows)
4 slices fontina or provolone cheese
Sweet hot mustard, Dijon, or your favorite mustard
A couple handfuls spinach leaves

Get Ready. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the yam in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and the paprika. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss again.

Roast the Yam. Spread the yam slices on on a rimmed baking sheet large enough to accommodate them in a single layer without crowding. Roast until tender, but not mushy, so that a sharp knife easily pierces the yam slices, about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, and set aside. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Brown the onion. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the onion in a single layer, trying to keep the slices intact. Cook undisturbed until one side is browned, about 5 minutes.

Flip the onion rounds over - it's ok if they fall apart at this point - and continue to cook. Flip the onion occasionally until it's tender and browned evenly all over, about 5 more minutes.

Toast the Bread. Slice the rolls in half, and lay them, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Bake until lightly toasted, 2 or 3 minutes.

Make the Sandwiches. Spread each of the 8 halves right to the edges with 1 or 2 tablespoons of Pumpkin Seed Pesto. Layer 4 halves (the bottom halves) with 5 or 6 slices of roasted yam, one-fourth of the onion, and finish with a slice of cheese.

Bake the Sandwich Halves. Put all 8 sandwich halves on a lightly oiled baking sheet, and bake until the cheese melts, about 5 minutes.

Serve the Sandwiches. Remove the sandwich halves from the oven. Spread the top halves with sweet hot mustard. Top the bottom halves with spinach leaves, put the sandwich together, and eat!

Pumpkin Seed Pesto

1/2 cup raw green pumpkin seeds, hulled
Salt
6 to 8 large fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped (about 3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup fresh parsley sprigs, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
Freshly ground pepper

Toast the Pumpkin Seeds by tossing them n a dry saute pan over high heat until they start to pop. Add salt to taste, and set aside to cool.

Mix all the ingredients. Put the pumpkin seeds, sage, parsley, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse several times until the mixture resembles coarse meal. With the machine running, add the olive oil through the feed tube, processing until the mixture is chunky (like chunky peanut butter). Season with salt pepper to taste.

If Scott had to eat just one dinner for the rest of his life...

... it would be homemade pizza.

Whole wheat crust. Intense tomato-garlic sauce. Roasted eggplant and red peppers. Mushrooms. Artichoke hearts. Oh so good.

If I had to eat just one dinner for the rest of my life...

... it would be cous cous.

Here's one version:

1. 3 medium red bell peppers
2. 10 ounces instant couscous (about 1 1/2 cups)
3. Salt
4. 1/4 cup olive oil
5. 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
6. 1 teaspoon ground cumin
7. Pinch of cayenne pepper
8. Freshly ground black pepper
9. 1 pound ripe beefsteak tomatoes--peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 -inch dice
10. 1 large seedless cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
11. 1/2 cup Moroccan or other small, oil-cured black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
12. 2 scallions, white and tender green, minced
13. 1 large garlic clove, minced
14. 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Roast the bell peppers over a gas flame or under a broiler, turning, until charred all over. Transfer the peppers to a paper bag and let steam for 10 minutes. Remove the skin, cores, seeds, and ribs and cut the peppers into 1/2-inch dice.
2. In a saucepan, bring 2 1/4 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the couscous and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and let stand until tender, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.
3. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Add the roasted peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, olives, scallions and garlic. Pour the dressing over the couscous and toss to combine. Let stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours. Just before serving, stir in the parsley.

Any thing worth doing is worth over doing

In Scott's words:

When Eve came into our room this morning, politely asking for some "grola", she was in such a sweet mood that I assumed it must be at least 6:00. "Whoops, slept through the alarm again," I thought. Rebekah then turned to me and said, "Scott, it's 3." I tried to explain the significance of that fact to Eve, but unfortunately we have not yet taught her the concept of linear time, so negotiations were complicated.

After realizing that logical reasoning was futile, we got up (okay, so half the reason to write this post is to let everyone know that--for once--I actually got up to help with Eve in the middle of the night) and fixed Eve a bowl of granola. Alright, so my contacts weren't in, and I mostly walked around like a zombie bumping into things until Rebekah escorted me to a chair, but I was present.

Eve proceeded to cheerfully down "a large bowl of oatmeal" Wee Gillis style, and I kept wondering where Gillis' parents were, and how they had managed to pawn their childrearing responsibilities off onto all of their relations.

When Dinfast (the mid-night equivalent of Brunch) concluded around 4 am, Eve snuggled up in her bed and went back to sleep, with Mom laying down beside her and me on the floor as per our usual routine. Rebekah was "too hungry to sleep", and decided that an intense yoga session was in order. If I hadn't been so tired, I might have attempted to point out the logical disconnect required to consider strenuous exercise a practical remedy for hunger pains, but as it was I nestled down and tried to sleep.

I have been pretty stressed at work recently (I'm [mostly] running a project, which is a nice opportunity, so it's mostly good stress, but stress nonetheless) and my body responded by serving up dreams involving me forgetting to do my homework and showing up to class late--recurring themes for me.

I woke up just before 7 to a sloppy Eve kiss. I looked at her, and she said "Monkey wakes up early!" with such enthusiasm that I couldn't help but smile. Of course my smile was quickly replaced by a proper grimace as soon as Rebekah gave me "that look" and said, "We've been up... for a while..." I have no idea how long "a while" actually is, but I do know that Rebekah has now been up for the equivalent of a full work day, and it's not even lunch time yet.

You women, and Rebekah particularly, are amazing to me. I have so much respect for the sacrifices mothers make.

Oh, and did I mention that Rebekah baked 12 loaves of rustic European bread yesterday, and that it was the best bread I've eaten in my whole life? In Eve's words: "Awesome bread, this is awesome, this is so good!" Just part of another day's work for a supermom.

In my own words:

PART ONE

My sister gave me an amazing bread baking book for Christmas and I have been wanting to try out a recipe ever since. A couple of weeks ago I picked one out and got all the ingredients. Tuesday, yesterday, was decided as the Big Baking Day.

The process started Monday night actually which should have been a sign of things to come. It actually wasn't that bad. I had to pull the dough out and knead it by hand every hour or so starting at 11 o'clock but I was planning on staying that day anyway.

We did run into some trouble when it came to the part where I needed to shape the baguettes. We made it through however and knowing that I had an hour before I needed to bake thim I decided to try and put Eve down for a nap.

An hour goes by and Eve is still tired and still awake. Plus she's been off since last Thursday anyway (teething?) so I knew I was in trouble. I put the first three loaves on the paddle and put them in the oven but Eve was all over me so I then tried to hurry and I messed up a couple loaves.

This was straw. I had been working on these things for almost 24 hours now and when Eve touched the outside of the oven door (500 degrees and with a pizza stone in it) and burned her finger I lost it. I was so frustrated and upset at myself for making my daughter cry just so I could bake some bread ... I burst into tears. I'm usually very determined to not use tv as a baby sitter which made me cry even more when I thought about how messed up my priorities were but I was desperate and determined to finish what I had worked so hard on.

I put on Disney's Robin Hood in order to finish baking the baguettes and continued to cry until I realized that Eve was doing ok, fingers and all and that watching half an hour of Robin Hood wouldn't undermind all the good things we had taught her. Plus the bread was turning out ok and that helped too.

I pulled out the last three loaves, turned off the oven, grabbed Eve and rushed out the door to go pick up Scott from work.

P.S. I had washed the mascare mess off my face before.

PART TWO

3 am Eve wakes up asking for "gola." I look at clock and decide to try just giving her a bottle of milk and laying her back down. She prevails. I'm sitting at her little table with her on my lap eating while I read "Green Eggs and Ham" - something I'm afraid she has insisted on for a week or two now whenever she eats granola; think Pavlov's dogs.

Meanwhile Scott is a sweetheart and is sitting up with me. Eve wolfs down her food evidence that she really was hungry. We go back to bed and thankfully she falls right asleep. Half an hour later she wakes up again. I go lay down with her and she falls back asleep.

By now I'm pretty hungry myself and decide that if I tried to fall back asleep I'd lay awake for an hour at least. So I get up and do yoga which tempers my appetite temporarily. I then make some pancake batter all ready and tackle the ironing waiting for Scott to wake up so we can have breakfast.

However, Eve wake up and come stumbling in wanting to be held. I hold her while finishing Scott's Sunday shirt and then go wake him up.

It's now 4:30 in the afternoon. Eve and I have had two naps today, she's still asleep and we're having baguette sandwiches for dinner. Thank goodness.

A week with Grandma

My Mom was here visiting last week (you know when it rained everyday?). Highlights were going to various toy stores (Izzilla toys, Booty Land, Precocious, Urban Kids Play), going out to eat (The Flying Apron, The Essential Bakery), book stores (Fremont Books, Elliott Bay), the plant conservatory at Volunteer Park, the Aquarium and of course the Theo Chocolate Factory .

I tried to show my Mom a good time but the fact of the matter is, she spoiled us.

Grandma and Eve's fingers at the Aquarium

Watching the sea otters

Smelling the gardenias at the plant conservatory

Boom Noodle

Scott will never let me take my camera out to eat with us again

The view outside our apartment the day she left. At least my Mom will be coming back when our little Bambino arrives the end of May and hopefully we'll have some warm sunny days then.

A highlight at the zoo

I'm way behind in my posts but a couple of weeks ago it was sunny so we decided to go to the zoo. Zebras, giraffes, elephants, monkeys, hippos and one of Eve's favorite things was the leaves, Go figure. After we left she did talk a lot about the hippos and how the giraffes have a long long neck.

The end of the leaves.