hurrayic

When you're in a hurry

A good pb&j sandwich, an old standby for sure, can help you in a pinch.  We've been known to eat them at noontime and dinnertime too.   My previous sandwich was a hit with the kids, so I made another version: crunchy natural peanut butter, homemade strawberry jam, blueberries, toasted slivered almonds on whole wheat. 

And yes, I like a little bread with my gobs of jam, please...

guess what I made

Can you guess?  It's pretty easy to figure it out...

 

Now do you know?

It's green goodness in a jar...

 

Made on Saturday morning using basil & parsley from our garden.  Packed in both little & bigger glass jars.  Froze both batches.  Will make more...

 

note to self: getting up earlier than everyone else has its benefits~ should do more often

Recovering

Whew!  This past week was full.  Good, but full.  Full, as evidenced by our kitchen table having become a dumping ground for some of the week's festivities.  (not to worry... the handcuffs aren't real, but a prop used during a skit for VBS) Of course, we really didn't need to use the table for eating this past week anyway since grab-whatever-you-can-find-from-the-fridge-and-go was the norm. 

This weekend, although still busy, was a welcome relief.  As everyone else slept in late on Saturday, I arose early and made a blueberry banana oatmeal bake...

... enjoyed a portion of it during quiet, uninterrupted reading on the back porch...

...checked in on the amazing growth of our veggies...

...was amazed even further of the growth of our last-minute addition of cucumbers (we'll wait & see if growing them in pots was a wise idea)...

...finally planted these (with other flowers) in our front yard...

no, this is not from the Indian restaurant but rather to show you how yummy the oatmeal bake (from this book) was

...and enjoyed an impromptu lunch out with my husband at an Indian restaurant. 

 

Oh, and yes we took the kids out to see this movie (we rarely go to the movies because with 6 of us, it's more economical to a. borrow it from the library and b. buy it on dvd).  We practically had the entire movie theater to ourselves (best way to see it).  Very funny!

What did you enjoy this past weekend?

 

{this moment}**

listening to many Lego car crashes

& being rewarded with the occasional flip over

 

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ Soule Mama

{this moment}** a single photo with a few accompanying words  ~ hurrayic

 

Tortellini Salad with Asparagus, Broccoli & Lemon

Last week, another evening sitting outside for dinner and enjoying the last remnants of the beautiful spring weather, called for another interesting salad.  (That, and I was actually in the mood to cook ~ it's a mood that vascillates, and I'm rolling with it at the moment!)  I just received Heidi Swanson's new Super Natural Every Day cookbook from the library and was practically drooling (figuratively and literally) over the pages.  (Good thing the book was covered in that library plastic!)  I know this is one book I would like to add to my collection. 

When I spotted her Tortellini Salad (no picture included, unfortunately, but left to the imagination), I readied the asparagus, broccoli and lemon in the fridge & grabbed some tortellini from the pantry.  Of course, I changed the recipe partially of necessity and partially out of preference.  It was simple and lovely, if a pasta dish can be called lovely...
... of course some people didn't appreciate its loveliness.  Notice my 10yo's (picky boy) plate: apple sausage, pita (with NO homemade baba ghanooj), grapes and ketchup (a staple of his diet).  He DID like the berry & yogurt smoothie I whipped up in the blender though.

Tortellini Salad
adapted from Super Natural Every Day

4 little pkg (8 oz. each?) spinach & ricotta tortellini
1 big head broccoli, chopped into little trees (include some stems, too)
1 bunch asparagus (trimmed & cut into 1" pieces)
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 lemon (zest this & squeeze the juice out - will use both)
olive oil
lots of fresh ground pepper
pinch of salt
****

Cook the tortellini according to manufacturer's instructions.  About 30 seconds before pasta is done, add the broccoli & asparagus.  Basically you're blanching it, not cooking it - so it still needs to be crunchy.  (I found it needs a bit more time than that so I left it in the boiling water for about 45-60 seconds.)  Pour pasta, broccoli & asparagus into colander and run cold water over it to cool.  This will help stop the cooking.  Put into bowl or platter.  Squeeze lemon juice over top, stir in minced garlic, drizzle with olive oil (add enough so that it's covered, but not dripping)  Season with pepper & salt.  Top with zest. 

****I forgot about the pine nuts and avocado that Heidi recommends, but both would do well with it.  She also had sprouts in the salad; I opted out of those.  I'm thinking some parmesan cheese might be nice too!

A Little Sewing: New Shirt

ignore the ugly blue wall-to-wall

Maybe I could become a cat burglar or a ninja?  I certainly have the wardrobe for either profession what  with all the black-colored bottoms and black-colored tops that adorn my closet.  As I was trying to locate a top (other than black) to wear with one my black skirts, I realized that my summer wardrobe needs a little color.  Just a tad.  A smidge.  (I don't like to wear bright colors...usually.) 

So I dug out this sewing pattern and am beginning to stitch up another quick shirt.  The batiked fabric (not bright, but colored) I bought several years ago.  After dropping off my son for work this morning, I came home & finished up the elastic neckline and the hem.

Since I didn't add elastic around the sleeves, they're longer in length.  That's okay.  Hides my hello mabels.  I'm having a slight construction problem however, and since I'm not an experienced seamstress, I'm not quite sure how to remedy it.  Here's the problem, maybe any of you with more experience could help? 

I added about 1 1/2 " to the side seams and to the underarm seam so that it would fit me (around wise).  So far, okay.  The original neckline calls for it to have tighter elastic so that it sits up closer to my neck.  Not a flattering pattern for me. Therefore, I loosened the elastic so that it's more of a scoopneck look.  When I did that, the armholes hang lower.  Does that make sense?  What do I do so that the armholes are higher up under my arms? 

Well Water

One thing is for sure these past few weeks, the needles have experienced a pleasant workout. (Should I dare be mentioning pleasant and workout in the same breath? Hmmm...)  Knitting while waiting has been a frequent pasttime.  Waiting at the dentist's office, waiting to pick up my son from his job, waiting for the train to pass at the railroad crossings (somehow the trains around here must know I'm late and like to pass by at the most inopportune moments), waiting for traffic to clear up, waiting for piano lessons to conclude...so a few projects tucked away in my knitting bag is a good thing. 

One of the recent knitting wips is another lacy baktus.  It's a very simple pattern, an easy stitch (as long as I don't forget where I am in the process, ahem...), and the yarn is beautiful.  It feels so soft and knits so smoothly.  The color is called well water.  Appropriate, I think.  Well water & knitting...both delightful and necessary!

Ravelry info.

Oh!  Happy 1st Day of Summer!

Baked Eggplant with Tomato Bruschetta

We've been scarfing down a bit of tomatoes recently, and tomato season is not even in full swing yet.  These are store-bought Romas that I turned into a bruschetta (oh btw, Trader Joe's makes an excellent tomato bruschetta which we recently discovered tastes wonderful on fried eggs, but I'm getting off track).

I used the fresh bruschetta as a topping on baked eggplant rounds.  I adapted a recipe for the eggplant from here.  It has a unique flavor.  My daughter loved them as did, ahem, most of us. 

Baked Eggplant with Tomato Bruschetta
printable version

2 large eggplants, cut into 1/4" rounds (discard ends of course)
1 1/2 cups seasoned, no salt bread crumbs
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
lots of fresh ground pepper
1 egg, mixed with about 1/4 cup water
Bruschetta recipe (below)

Preheat oven to 475 F **  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.  Spray with oil or brush on a little bit.  Mix together dry ingredients in a bowl.  Mix egg & water together.  Dip each eggplant round into egg wash and then into the breadcrumbs.  Place on sheet.  Bake 10-15 min each side or until the eggplant is slightly crisped.  While baking, make the bruschetta.  When ready to serve, you  can stack the eggplant or just serve unstacked!  Enjoy.

Bruschetta
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs Roma tomatoes, deseeded & diced
handful of fresh basil, snipped
handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley (stems removed), snipped
olive oil (you decide how much)
salt & pepper to taste (we're heavier on the pepper than the salt)

Mix all together, making sure to cover the basil and parsley with olive oil (keeps basil from turning brown if not using right away).

**the original recipe had me setting the oven to 440F but I found that I had to turn up the heat to make them crispier. 

Arugula Salad with 'Pesto' Dressing

We've been eating outdoors the past few nights since the weather has been glorious, the lighting has been breathtaking and the insects have been cooperating.  (Plus it helps to have a new table from Ikea to enliven our rather dingy back deck.)  I'm sure as summer arrives all of that might change, but for now, we're trying to take advantage of it.

I had some arugula on hand and made a simple salad: arugula topped with cannellini beans and cucumbers. 

What made the salad so tasty was the dressing.  Imagine pesto but without the cheese or nuts, drizzled atop the greens.  Of course, adding in the cheese and nuts certainly would have been okay...I guess we could have tolerated those additions (smile).

I'm thinking this pesto dressing would be nice on potatoes or veggies too.  I adapted the recipe from The Wholesome Kitchen.

Pesto Dressing

big handful of flat leaf parsley, big stems removed
big handful of fresh basil leaves
5 Tbsp evoo
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp dried dill
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper

Place all in a food processor and process until well combined. 

Something New

Where once stood a small dead tree surrounded by a mass of weeds, unknown bulbs and ugly paving stones (I guess the previous owner thought they were attractive?), now stands a useful little firepit.  This past Saturday, my husband spent most of the morning, afternoon and early evening digging out the dead tree and all the weeds in order to create a firepit.  Yes, the ugly paving stones are still surrounding it, but now they don't seem quite as unsightly. 

Of course, the kids wanted to christen the new addition to our backyard straightaway but were forced to wait patiently for the appearance of twilight.  My 13yo gladly offered to retrieve the box of matches from the kitchen cupboard while I scrounged around for some marshmallows (not too old) and some sticks (short bamboo skewers to the rescue). 

After a few false starts (wood was a wee bit wet) and a run to the recycling bin for newspaper, we managed to celebrate our first small fire in our very own newly recycled firepit.  We stuffed our mouths with scorched marshmallows, watched and waited until the last of the glowing embers died out (didn't have to wait too long ~ I said it was a small fire) and retired to the house, our clothing and hair enveloped in a faint smokey woodsey scent.  Wonderful.  I can see many long nights in our future...