yum, yum kidcupcake!

Fox In The Water

2009-10-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

When Sadie first started talking, Peter taught her to say "cheers." He showed her how to "cheers" her water to ours and so on. Now, Sadie says "cheers" to everything and I mean EVERYTHING. If I am wearing socks and she is wearing socks, "cheers." If Peter is eating cereal and Sadie is eating cereal, "cheers." If I have a pen in my hand and Sadie is watching TV "cheers."
The other day we went to the zoo with my dad. Sadie was riding on his shoulders when up walked another little girl on her dad's shoulders......."cheers" says Sadie as she's waving to the girl.

I usually take at least one picture a day of Sadie to send to Peter while he's at work. Now, when I say "Sadie can I take a picture." She'll say "cheese daddy!" If she sees a camera she'll say "camra, ni picta fa dada."
When the home phone rings she says "hoppaaaaaa!" Hoppa is what she calls my dad.
If my cell rings, she says "daddeeeeeee."
When we ask if she has had fun today she says "gama hoppa." No idea why grandma/hoppa would be an answer to a yes or no question, but it is.
Sometimes she'll say "gama hoppa" so many times she starts to cry.
Seriously kid, if you want to just go live with them, it could be arranged I'm sure.

Our pediatrician asked me a few visits ago if Sadie was mimicking me yet. At the time she was just starting too. Now she does it with everything, brushing my hair, putting on makeup "Sadie makeup, mommy makeup" she says.
I made a little kitchen for Sadie to play with out of an old TV stand and some pots and pans so she could cook while I cook. "I maka something." "I maka din din" "I maka soup "she'll say.
From day one, while she would sleep in the sling, I would cook with her on my chest, talking her through the whole process. Now it's funny to hear and see what she has picked up over time.

At night sometimes we read Dr. Seuss. One of our favorites is "The Fox in Socks" or "fuckin sok." This makes us laugh so naturally we ask her to say other things.
Fox in the water = "fuckin water"
Fox in the bushes = "fuckin bushes"
We shouldn't laugh but sometimes, we just can't help it, you know?

I like to tickle Sadie. She's very ticklish and her laugh cracks me up. When we tickle her she giggles and then says "more tickee you" when we stop. Sometimes she even grabs our hands says "I tickee you" and makes us tickle her.

Now that Sadie is starting to repeat everything we say, one of my favorite things to do is play music for her and see what she does.
Kings of Leon's song "Use Somebody" is one her most favorite. Every time it comes on she'll scream "sombaya, sombaya I love this song." She giggles and sings along the best she can.
Another fave is Lady Gaga. Yes, I know, Lady Gaga. I'm a little ashamed to admit that I like to listen to pop radio stations, but I do when we are in the car. I just can't help myself.
When we walked into Trader Joes the other day Kings of Leon was on the stereo and Sadie screams "sombaya, sombaya, mommy sombaya I love this song."
Of course this brought the house down. I was just thankful it wasn't Lady Gaga and I'd be outed.

Almost every night we have a dance party, just the 3 of us. Sadie will make us do a group dance, then she does a few somersaults and then we get to do our own thing. Sort of how they do it on Yo Gabba Gabba, which by the way I am realizing is teaching my kid A LOT.
Sadie counts to 13 in English and Spanish, she says her ABCs and and can beat box almost as good as Biz Markie!

I try really hard to go to the park as much as we can so we can run around and have fun. It's hard though, sometimes I just don't want to and we end up sitting on the patio playing with sidewalk chalk listening to noises.
I mistakenly thought Sadie was saying something else when she was trying to say that she heard a bus. To my surprise girl said "no mommy, listen BUS." Seriously?

One night while we were hanging out at Gary and Dwain's, Sadie and Addie were playing princess with Addie's costumes. Sadie dressed up in tiara, heels and wand and pranced around the house like she had been wearing heels from day one.
This made Peter very uncomfortable, of course. :)

I'm still having a hard time getting Sadie to sleep in her bed all the way through the night. As it is, I have to lay down in her bed (which is way more comfortable than our bed) and wait for her to fall asleep. Then sometime in the wee hours of the morning this little bird appears, blankie and monkey in hand ready to take over "mama dada bed."
It's hard to lay down the law when she's standing there with a huge smile on her face waiting to snuggle up in between mommy and daddy. I hate being the enforcer.
She'll say things like "mommy ni ni too" or "mama sleepy, daddy sleepy, Sadie sleepy" while she's crawling up and into the bed.

I often worry that there isn't enough in the house to keep Sadie occupied. I always look for new toys and games to bring home to show her. One thing that never gets old for her is my crimping iron from 1985. She drags it around the house like a pet. "pink" she calls it. She lays on the floor and talks to it, wraps herself up in the cord (yeah, yeah, I'm watching her, don't worry) and tries all the time to bring it to bed with her. She'll even grab a few more of my curling irons from the cabinet, lay them out, roll around with them and talk to them for hours. If I had a video camera, and she didn't stop doing things once I tried to capture the moment, I would take a video for you to show you how funny it is.

We are trying really hard to make sure the foods Sadie eats are healthy and nutritious. We save sweets for weekends and/or special occasions. On more than one occasion, I have offered french fries to Sadie, thinking I am being the "cool" mom who lets her kid eat junk food. In one of the Hello Kitty books we have there is a picture of a pink cake.
Whenever I say "we are going to have a treat today Sadie." She says "pink happy birthday cake?"
And guess what? My kid hates french fries. Actually, I think she might hate potatoes all together, but definitely fries. She is happiest with tofu, mushrooms and broccoli.
She eats Indian food, Mexican food, Japanese food, cake and cookies, but no french fries????
I guess I shouldn't complain, but I mean REALLY!

enjoy,
xoxo

september 2009

Wha Hama?

2009-09-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Sadie is sleeping in a toddler bed. She climbs in and out on her own. In the morning the first couple of times she came out of her room and said "no, no, no." No idea why.

At her 18 month check yesterday the doctor said she's probably ready for potty training to really start happening. Sadie is in the 80Th percentile for height and head circumference and 10Th percentile for weight. So, essentially she is tall and thin with a big head. We have nicknamed her "lollipop chicken".

I started looking for Halloween costumes the other day (damn they are expensive). I can't decide if Sadie should be a chicken or a lollipop. A chicken on a lollipop? A chicken with a lollipop?
Maybe we'll just nix the whole thing and wait until she's old enough to ask for a costume.

August was a pretty busy month. We went to the Oakland Zoo. Sadie pet a goat and didn't' cry this time. She jumped and played all over the place. My mom was there so this meant that she really didn't want to have anything to do with me.

The weather here is still sort of weird, some days are hot and some aren't so hot. So we just continue to play on our patio with water and sidewalk chalk.
Sadie is really into "hap"-ing me clean, sweep and water the plants.
I've taught her how to take the water and scrub the chalk off the patio and to water the plants fairly well.
Usually it ends up being messier than when it started but who cares?

We also took a trip out to NYC and NJ. Lifetime played a few shows. Sadie and I went to the first show at Webster Hall. We sat in the dressing room and looked down on the stage. Sadie rocked it in her pink headphones and screamed "yay daddy, daddy, daddy!" almost the whole time Peter was on stage.
I wasn't sure about the headphones at first. We had been practicing at home with them and then during sound check she wouldn't keep them on and kept crying when the music went on. But true-to-form Sadie pulled out all the stops once the club got crowded and people started ooh-ing and aw-ing all over her.

I think Sadie really enjoyed the city. There were so many things for her to look at. Our hotel was next to Century 21. I couldn't' wait to get in there and do some shopping. When we walked through the doors there were so many people, Sadie started yelling at all of them. So I turned around and walked out.
Instead, we cruised Soho and ate some pretty tasty Japanese food for dinner.

The following day, Peter was off the entire day so we went over to visit a friend at his shop. He took Sadie on a scooter ride around the place. She really liked this and kept asking for more.
We spent almost the entire day shopping and came home with NOTHING! It was sort of unbelievable.
That night we went over to L'il Frankies Pizza in the east village. One of our most favorite places to eat. On the way over there all we could talk about what how great their pizzas and sauce are. What did we order?
Pasta of the day! Doyeeee, no sauce!
My pasta was taglioni with wild mushrooms and a huge dollop of marscapone cheese. Sadie ate half of it at least. It was so freaking good!

We came home and crashed in our big hotel bed.
The hotel had a terrific view of ground zero and Jersey City. We had so much fun looking out the window at everything.

Sunday morning we got up, packed and headed out to Penn Station. Peter went off to Philly for a show and Sadie and I took the train down to the Jersey Shore to stay with Matt and Jana.
We had so much fun, hanging out on the beach while everyone surfed. Sadie and I jumped in the water, played in the sand and squished the fish eggs that washed up on shore.
Sadie kept asking to talk to the fish in the water which made for some interesting explanations.

It was such a relaxing time, eating, drinking, hanging out. I'm still thinking about how badly I want to swim in the sauce from Vics. Seriously dude, this sauce, holy crap. We had fried raviolis with sauce, pizza with sauce (duh) and Jana had mussel moulinere with extra sauce. I'm not kidding when I say I want to bathe in it. It was THAT good.

Jana and I cooked up a bunch of stuff and of course didn't photograph most of it. But, if you're interested check out her blog. I"m sure she'll have something up there about our visit.

Of course, Sadie did many funny things while we were there. She kept saying "wha hama?" Which means "what happened?" She said this for EVERYTHING. So many times that we just started saying it too.
Sadie is slightly afraid of boys, mostly men. Which is a good and bad thing. She's kind of afraid of her daddy sometimes too, not a good thing.
When we first arrived at Matt and Jana's, there were a lot of boys around. Matt, his brother and their friend Brian. At first Sadie was scared and would hide behind me or Jana.
By the second or third day she was saying 'hi' them and then she started asking for "Matt." She even went into the tv room one night and asked him for ice cream. They sat in there eating chocolate ice cream and pretzels for quite a long time. So cute!

Flying with a toddler sucks. No matter how cool your kid is. We took a red-eye flight going out to NYC. Sadie slept, we didn't.
On the way back, Sadie and I flew in the afternoon. She whined and squirmed and kick and screamed the whole way. I was THAT mom. Humiliated and and too pooped to really do anything about it. When Sadie kicked the seat in front of us, the first few times I told her to stop. After that, anything to keep her from pulling at my shirt and swatting me in the face would have to do.
Of course, there was nothing on TV. I sort of banked on the thought that she would sleep. She usually does. Poor kid. It wasn't her fault at all. Even at home she doesn't sit still.

I suppose it could have been worse. Sadie didn't scream and cry and make a scene, she just drove me nuts. Maybe the lady in front of us too.

When we returned home, Peter and I went with some friends to Brassica Supperclub, an underground vegan dining experience. It was fantastic. The theme that night was mexican. We enjoyed every minute of it. Peter, enjoyed dessert and kept talking about it days after. He always seems to love every one's desserts except mine. It drives me nuts. At least he loves my savory cooking the most though...........
It was a really pleasant night, the whole thing lasts about 3 hours so you have time to really enjoy your food and talk with your friends and just relax. It's something we haven't done in a long time.
I look forward to the next time!

enjoy!
xoxo

august 2009

ooh-ooh

2009-07-27T21:33:00.000-07:00

Just as our nightly bed time routine was settling into a holding pattern, Sadie decided to go and mix it up.
One night, after reading, or trying to read about a half dozen books or so, I started to rock Sadie to sleep like I usually do.
Normally, I sit and rock her for about 3 songs on the ipod and then put her in her crib. If she cries, she cries, if not, I consider my self lucky. After about 20 seconds of the first song she leans forward, points toward her crib and says "yeah, yeah, yeah."
I ask her if she wants to lay down and she says "yeah, yeah, yeah" again.
My little girl is all growns up! She doesn't even need mommy to rock her to sleep anymore.
It was kind of sad in a way. Even though I have a few extra minutes now at night where I don't have to rock her I kind of feel sad that she doesn't want to sit with me.
It's gotten to the point now where she just sits in the rocker with me long enough for me to get a kiss and then points to her crib and says "yeah, yeah, yeah" or "nigh, nigh."
Once she's in the crib, she gathers all her dolls and shoves them under her like a hen sitting on her eggs and reaches for her blankets.
I tuck her in and leave.
Later, before we go to bed, Peter will check on her. She's usually facing the opposite direction bum in the air, deep in sleep mode.

During nap time though, Sadie insists on sleeping in our bed. The only way she will fall asleep is if I lay there with her, listening to classical music and close my eyes. Sometimes we lay down together and I stroke her hair. Other times, I close my eyes, pretend to be sleeping while Sadie rolls around on the bed trying to fall asleep. Almost always I fall asleep for a while too. Almost always when I wake up Sadie is sleeping on me somehow. I love this and hope that it never changes.
Although, now that I have made it public knowledge, with my luck it will change.
I'm actually contemplating erasing this whole paragraph, but I guess I'll take my chances.

It's really exciting now that Sadie is starting to talk. She says things sometimes that completely catch us off guard, make us laugh and sometimes make us cry.
We were sitting in Zachary's the other day waiting for our pizza. Sadie was looking around at all the other tables yelling "pizza! pizza! pizza!" She just kept getting louder and louder until finally our pizza arrived and she was able to stuff her face with some deep dish spinach and mushroom pie.

Here's a little list of things she says:
oy you - I love you
peez - please
teeses - trees
teet teet - birds
sigh - sky
bot - belt
seet - sheet
tost- toast
oht - out
dada work - she says this a lot
hot
ding dong - belly button
eye bow - eye brow
neck, nose, eyes, ears, arm, knee, feet
moof - mouth
ahbow- elbow
shoe
tuck -truck
bus
pogo - pogo stick, sometimes comes out as "pogogogogo"
dude

It's always surprising how many words she has and how many things she knows the word for.
She mimics us all the time both verbally and physically.
When I put on my makeup, Sadie has her own makeup brushes that she uses to put on her makeup. When Peter does push ups at home, Sadie does them too. He always says to her "wanna get ripped?" Sadie points to his push up bar and says "wopped."
In the morning when we drive Peter to work we always say "shhhh" in the hallway so that Sadie doesn't scream her head off while running down the hall to garage.
Now when we go to drive Peter to work, she runs down the hall and stops every few feet and says "shhh, shhh" Then she squeals in delight and starts running again......

Something funny that we did one day was make fun of her for the way she would start backing up to sit down like a mile away from where she is about to sit.
We would say "beep, beep, beep." Like a truck backing up. What do you, a few days later, Sadie started copying us. Now every time she wants to sit in our laps, she says "beep, beep, beep" and backs up on us.

It makes me so happy when I see how much Sadie loves my old Cabbage Patch dolls. She drags them around, takes them for walks in her little stroller, feeds them and sleeps with them. "Seyee" is what she calls "Scotty" my original cabbie. I can still remember the day I got him. My mom, grandma and I went to Mervyn's to find him. There were 3 dolls left on the shelf. I had to have a boy doll, I remember this specifically and Mervyn's was the only one that had them.
The other day my mom came home from Salvation Army with a new Cabbage Patch kid for Sadie. Brand New with tags. $2.50 the price tag said. My mom even got a senior discount so the doll cost something like $1.25! Who would have thought!

On the hottest day of the summer so far, my mom and I took Sadie to the Alameda County Fair. It was $2 Tuesday and worth every penny. Except for the brutal heat, the fair was pretty cool. We went to the petting zoo, animal sale and barnyard play area where the kids could pretend they worked on a farm. Sadie wasn't real into the petting zoo. She didn't want to touch anything and when the misters came on to cool everything down, all she wanted to do was stand under them and get wet. My poor mom was almost soaked.
Sadie experienced her first ICEE and fell in love with a little courtyard full of flowers and low curbs for her to sit on. Girl loves to find things to sit on.
She struck up a conversation with an older lady sitting nearby and she was just happy as a clam.

About a week before we were to leave on a plane to Portland to see Mookie, Pop-Pop, Jif, Evan, Riley and Mallory, we started telling Sadie she was going to fly on a plane to see everyone.
One day, she pulled out a book that Mookie had made for her with everyone's pictures in it. She just started going through it and saying everyone's name. It was really cute to watch.
When we arrived in Portland on the way home from the airport she already had Mookie and Pop-pop's name's down "mook" and "pop-pop." She managed to get Mallory's "mayee" but didn't really show any signs of going for Jif, Evan or Riley. Next time, I guess.
We had a great time in Portland. It was really hot so we drove out to the beach and played in the sand. I was kind of worried about how Sadie would react to the beach since we hadn't been yet. She loved it, of course and now I can't wait until we hit up Bradley Beach, NJ next month!
On the way back from the beach we stopped off the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I love cheese, in case you didn't already know. :)
In fact, Tillamook is one of my faves. mmmmmm cheese!!! It was so cool to see all that cheese and eat some too!
What I really enjoyed was seeing that the cheese in Kosher and vegetarian!

I also got to visit Sweet Pea Baking Company for some vegan treats. I have to say, maybe I was just really excited about it because I have some of their recipes and really enjoy them, but it was just sort of "mehhh" for me. Nothing really jumped out and hit me like "wow this is good!" But, I'm glad I got to go because I've been obsessing over it for a long time.
After Sweet Pea we drove to The Enchanted Forest. If you have kids and are in the Portland area, YOU MUST GO HERE!!!! It was SO much fun. It put Fairyland here in Oaktown to shame a hundred and fifty times over. In fact I'm even embarrassed that Fairyland exists now. Sadie really enjoyed herself too. She ran around through tunnels, slid down some slides, rode on a train and ate some delicious amusement park french fries.

Now that we're back from Portland, life is all about drinking smoothies, eating udon noodles and saying "no" way too much. Sadie says it all the time and well, we try not to but seriously, how else do you get your point across?

enjoy!
xoxo

july 2009

ABC Chicken

2009-06-24T22:06:00.000-07:00

The fact that Sadie is walking is old news by now. The fact that she's talking is pretty old news too. Everyday she just gets funnier and funnier with the words she's saying. She has this word "day-soo," we have no idea what it means. I assume she uses it when she wants to know what something is, or she knows but can't say it. She says it a lot and we say it back to her sometimes which brings the giggles.
When I brush her teeth I always sing the ABCs just to sort of distract her while I'm poking around in her mouth. Now, because I have done it so many times, she starts singing the song when I say "do you want to brush your teeth?"
She also sings the ABCs pretty much any chance she gets. It's really quite funny because she's saying the letters but not in any particular order. Sometimes, if you don't sing along with her, she'll just sing louder and louder until you start to pay attention.
We've made some friends in our building and have gone to story time at Barnes and Noble, played at the park and been swimming a bunch. Sadie is really funny around other kids. She gets real quiet and just sort of stares. It's always confusing to me. She's crazy loud at home and when we're out together but once someone her own size comes near she freezes!
I recently upgraded some of the toys in the house. I could tell Sadie was getting a little bored because she kept getting into everything. The house was a crazy mess, I was starting to drown in my chores.
I bought a little basketball hoop and basketball for her to play with. Each time she slams the ball into the basket, she jumps and claps and turns around so that we can clap and cheer for her. Sometimes, she even does a little dance when she makes it in the basket.
I also bought a baby stroller so Sadie could push her baby around. She doesn't really push baby around though. Mostly, she stacks our shoes in it and pushes those around.
Another thing we got for Sadie is sidewalk chalk. Not only is it more fun for mommy to play with it, it is really, really messy. It always starts out under control and then before we know it, chalk EVERYWHERE!
I tried giving Sadie some crayons. She's slowly coming around to them. At first she just pounded on the paper and broke a lot of them, but now she's starting to become more aware of what they can do.
People laugh at me because I ask Sadie a lot of questions. She says "yeah" and "no" really well so I usually trust that she knows what she's talking about. For instance when getting dressed, I hold things up and she she says "yeah" or "no" to them. This makes for some pretty awesome outfits, I must say. Sadie likes to rock the dress over the jeans look. One of my favorites for years. It looks better on Sadie than it does on me, but I don't care!
My dad took us to a plant show in SF a few weekends ago so that we could buy some succulents. There were so many cool things there. I scored a bunch of new plants. Our patio is looking so good! Now that the weather is getting nice, we spend a bit of time out there on the weekend. Peter and Sadie like to enjoy their coffee out there. In the mornings, Sadie and I water the plants together. Well, I water, she tears the leaves off. :(
Not having cable or a tv for that matter really hasn't been a problem for us. Until recently, we didn't let Sadie watch much tv. Occasionally, we would show her some Pocoyo on Netflix. Once that started to really grate on the nerves, I found a few Yo Gabba Gabba! episodes online that we could watch for free. Those too started to grate so we finally broke down and downloaded season 1 from Itunes.
At first, Sadie didn't seem to be that into them. She kind of only liked the episode with Jack Black from season 2. Then all of a sudden, she started singing the songs and going crazy when DJ Lance would come on the screen. Now anytime we say the words "shake" "jump" "wiggle" or "dance" she goes nuts and dances around in circles.
The other day my mom and I were in Toys R Us with Sadie and she was going crazy over the Yo Gabba Gabba toys they had there. Every time we pushed Brobee's foot and he started singing, she danced in a circle.
We even have a Yo Gabba Gabba book we read at night. Sometimes Sadie is so crazy for DJ Lance she refuses to put the book down and ends up sleeping with it!
Now that we've been watching a bit of tv (can I call it tv if it's on a computer screen?) with her it's just amazing to see how much she's absorbed. She says so much now and does even more!
My birthday was last weekend and Peter taught Sadie to say "happy birthday." They both came into the bedroom to wake me up and Sadie said "hap-pee buduh" then the rest of the day she just kept saying "hap-pee, hap-pee!"
Most of her words end in "ck" whether they have that sound in them or not. At times it can get a little tricky when out in public. Especially with the word "fork." It always sounds like something else...........

enjoy!
xoxo

june 2009

Springtime flowers and "for lovers only"

2009-06-09T21:21:00.000-07:00

I just HAVE to share these photos with you. I forgot how beautiful the flowers around town are in the spring here in Emeryville. The entire perimeter of Pixar Studios is covered in pink roses. There are lemon trees, jasmine blooms, roses, snap dragons, peonies, poppies, you name it.
I of course, always forget to bring my camera with me when I go out for a walk with Sadie. Luckily, my phone takes pretty decent pics.
Here are some photos I took the other day while walking home from the dry cleaners. The colors were absolutely amazing. So bright and fragrant were the flowers, it just warmed my heart and put a big smile on my face. I just love flowers. In the ground and in my vases at home. I try to act tough and say that I don't care to be brought flowers but that's just a lie. I love them! I want them! I need them! Any old occasion will do too. Wednesday, Saturday, Mother's Day, Veteran's Day, pretty much any day, for any reason is just fine by me.

Now on to some food..........
When I was a kid, I used to think crepes were "for lovers only." Don't ask me why, I have no idea. It's just what I thought. I thought that crepes were something you made for your lover in the morning. Coffee, crepes, fresh squeezed OJ all eaten while in a silk negligee with matching robe. Where I got this idea I really couldn't say.
As I got older and went out into the world I realized crepes weren't just for lovers but for anyone who cared enough to eat one. I had no idea they could be savory either. In my mind they were always filled with fresh fruit, a sweet cheese and whipped cream. Maybe a little chocolate sauce drizzled over the top.
My first job out of culinary school we made chocolate crepes. It was there that my love for making crepes began.
I loved to put all the ingredients into the blender, buzz it up and let it chill in the fridge until ready to use.
Carefully, I would coat my pan with non-stick spray and gently ladle some batter into the pan, tilting it ever so slightly, keeping it just hot enough to cook but never letting it get too hot. Quickly, I would flip the crepe over, cook the other side and dump it out onto a piece of wax paper. On to the next and the next and the next.

There are so many things you can do with a crepe. Ham and Swiss, Brie and spinach, peanut butter and jelly, fresh fruit, whipped cream, or my personal fave Nutella and just about anything with it!

A few weeks ago, Tracy and Ian came over for vegan brunch. I love to experiment when they come over. Partly because they eat everything I put out and partly because I just like to experiment.
Usually, I just make plain crepes, ap flour maybe a little sugar if I'm doing a sweet one. This time I decided to step it up and make buckwheat crepes. Half of the crepes were made savory and the other half I added some sugar too so that we could fill them with fruit, chocolate ganache and Soyatoo whipped topping.
I was so overjoyed when everyone went crazy for my crepes! They were so easy and really tasty.
I have a crepe pan. I've used it for many years. I believe it was my mom's before I took it. I ahve since learned to use a small non-stick frying pan or skillet which I find is sometimes easier.

BUCKWHEAT CREPES WITH POTATO MUSHROOM SPINACH FILLING AND TAHINI-DILL SAUCE
makes about 10-15 crepes depending on the size of your pan
Adapted from Veganomicon, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero
***the crepe batter has to chill overnight******
You will need:
1 1/2 +2 Tablespoons soy milk
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 Tablespoon arrowroot flour
1/2 tsp salt
non stick cooking spray
softened non hydrogenated margarine
a silicone basting brush
small offset spatula or a butter knife
wax paper
baking sheet lined with foil and lightly sprayed

Filling (can be made the night before as well)
1/2 pound Yukon gold potatoes
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, diced finely
1 tsp carraway seeds (optional but really taste good!)
1/4 pound mushrooms, any variety, thinly sliced
1/2 pound spinach, cooked, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Tahini-dill sauce
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup water
1 glove garlic, minced
juice of one lemon
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp paprika, the spicy kind
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup light packed fresh dill
a blender or immersion blender
a sauce pot

First make the crepe batter
combine all the ingredients in a blender, scrape the sides and blend well
pour into an airtight container and chill overnight

when you are ready to make the crepes:
cut a bunch of squares of wax paper to place the crepes on in a stack
(this prevent sticking)
Heat your pan over medium-high heat.
lightly spray the pan and brush with margarine
pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the crepe batter into the pan and tilt in a circular direction until the batter has spread out.
as the batter is setting, hold the pan slightly off the flame so you don't burn the batter
once there are no wet spots and the edges begin to lift, take your spatula or knife and gently run it around the edge
carefully slide under the crepe and flip it over to the other side
*you can set the pan down and use two hands for this*
cook just a few seconds more
lay onto wax paper, continue

Make the filling:
peel and coarsely chop the potatoes
boil them in a pot for about 20-25 minutes, drain set aside
cook spinach, drain, set aside until cooled and chop
in a large skillet heat the oil over med-high heat
add the onion and saute until translucent
add the caraway seeds and mushroom
saute until very tender and most of the liquid has absorbed
add the potatoes and spinach
season with salt and pepper
remove from heat, set aside to assemble the crepes

Heat your oven to 250-300*F.
lightly spray a foil lined baking sheet
place one crepe down on the sheet and spoon about 3-4 Tablespoons of filling just off center of the crepe.
Gently fold over so the seam is on the bottom
continue until all crepes are made
place in the oven (if you have cooked the crepes so that they are a little crisp, brush with margarine or spray, so that they don't dry out)

Make the sauce
if using a blender-place all ingredients in a blender, puree and heat in a saucepan until warm
if using an immersion blender-place all ingredients in a sauce pan, heat and puree

Place crepes on a place and ladle sauce over the top.
serve warm.

*if you want to make sweet crepes - omit the salt, add 2 Tablespoons sugar and some vanilla extract if you like.

enjoy!!!
xoxo

Are you my chicken?

2009-05-26T15:36:00.000-07:00

We went down to San Diego a couple of weeks ago to visit my family and to celebrate my granny's 80th birthday. Of course Sadie loved all the attention and was on her best behavior. She was also completely attached to my mom leaving Peter and I with a bit of time on our hands. We were able to go down the beach, walk around and have some lunch just like the old days. During that time Sadie really turned a corner in the walking department. She kept following my mom everywhere, walking behind her like a little duck.

Now that she's walking it seems like she's turned into a completely different person. She's talking a bit and mimicking what we say a lot which is just plain creepy. Over night, she went from starting to walk to going full speed ahead! We even had to buy the kid a pair of "real" shoes. Girl is into everything now, and I mean EVERYTHING.

The shoes that Sadie was wearing before she really started walking were this really cute pair of mary jane sneakers that I found at Target. Once she really started going we realized they were too small. We had two pairs of Vans waiting for her at home. One pair was a hand-me-down with pink flamingos on them. The other pair are black with red and white trim and a skull and crossbones on the ankle, they were a gift from Jana. Unfortunately, I think the poor kid has my skinny feet and the things wouldn't stay on. So we picked up a pair of red Converse with laces for her. My parents bought her a pair of light pink Salt Water Sandals. They are the cutest things ever. My mom still has my first pair. Sadie keeps pointing to her "soose" and saying "sigh". Which means "mom put on my damn shoes and take me outside!"

On Memorial Day we went to Children's Fairyland. I used to go there as a kid and have very fond memories of it. When Peter and I first lived together we lived on the other side of the lake from the park. I was very excited to take Sadie there. Sadie was really into the little plastic key they give you to put into the boxes. She wasn't that interested in the what came out of the box once the key was in, but she kept going up to each box and trying to put her key in. She was sort of overwhelmed by most of the things at the park and was too small for a lot of the rides. She did enjoy seeing the animals and didn't know what to do when the pony came over to her.
It was a nice day but Peter and I decided the park may have seen better days. The only way I could think to describe the place was like a drag queen the morning after. Once sparkling and beautiful now just tired, dirty and faded. The kids running around the place didn't seem to mind, so I guess that's all that matters.
That night we grilled some corn on the bbq. It was quite tasty. At least I think it was. Sadie ate my entire ear of corn and part of Peter's! She thought it was just the neatest thing.
BTW-if you want to know how fast your kid's digestive system works, let them eat corn-on-the-cob.

Sadie's started playing dress up with my clothes recently. While I'm in the shower I usually lay out some clothes for her to play with in the bathroom. This keeps her occupied and away from the toilet (which she can flush). She used to make a ton of noise in the bathroom, now she just babbles and tries to put all of the clothes on.
I never know what she's going to have on upside down and inside out when I step out from behind the steamy shower curtain.
The other day she had on my tank top. She even put it on correctly. Later, I gave her a belt, bracelet and purse. She thought this was just the funniest thing ever. Another time, she kept going into the closet to get my bra and put it around her neck.

Today, Sadie had her 15 month check-up. She is in the 75th percentile for both height and head circumferance, but only in the 15th percentile for weight. Skinny Minnie this kid is! What's funny about that is that she eats ALL THE TIME. When it's not mealtime, she's snacking on something. I don't know if it's because we don't feed her cow's milk or what. She definitely eats. During our visit to the doctor, Sadie was her usual self, flirty and giggly. She made everyone laugh and fawn all over her. Little ham.
The nurses kept saying, "oh I wish all the babies could be as happy as this one!" One of the nurses stood outside our door, while we were waiting for the doctor. She kept saying to any doctor or nurse passing by, "oh you gotta come in here and see this little girl, she's so happy!"

enjoy!
xoxo

may 2009

Babycakes NYC brownies

2009-05-21T21:51:00.000-07:00

I have had the hardest time finding a good vegan brownie recipe. I've tried a lot and they all seem to either be too cakey or just plain yucky tasting. A lot of times they turn out great and then the next time I make them they don't work out at all.
The best brownie I have ever made was a recipe from the back of the King Arthur Flour sack. Not vegan.
I'm not vegan which is always funny to me. I just love the challenge of vegan baking. I've also been hit with a bad case of the guilties Ever since I took an interest in all things vegan and vegetarian, I haven't been able to use eggs, milk or regular butter.
It would be so much easier if I could. But, I can't.

Anyway, there's a little bakery in NYC called Babycakes. They are an allergen-free, vegan bakery that is very popular.
So popular, in fact that Erin Mckenna, the owner of the said bakery has just published a cookbook.
Now, I haven't actually been to the bakery. Once on J.Cro's birthday a few years ago, Kate brought some cupcakes from the bakery to try. I don't even really remember what they tasted like. But, I was intrigued by the fact that this bakery was vegan. Not just any old vegan-type place. These baked goods were being made with ingredients I had never thought to use.

When I heard that a cookbook was coming out, I placed it on my Amazon wish list. (my birthday is June 21st FYI) :) :)
I've done this before though, placing a book on my list, buying it and then coming to find that the recipes suck. Too lazy to return the book, I tuck it under other cookbooks that I don't use much and say "I'll just come back to this one." I usually never do.

After reading the Babycakes blog one day I saw that Erin was on The Martha Stewart Show making her chocolate brownies.
I quickly did a search for the episode online and printed out the recipe.

I went to the store, bought my ingredients, and skeptically mixed everything together.
Carefully, I placed each tray of brownie bites into the oven, trying to time them just right so as not to over bake them.

What I ended up with was pretty good brownie. A little, cakey but very tasty.
Peter ate 3, and that's major for him. He hardly ever eats my treats. Not because they suck (well sometimes because they suck) but because he's not much of a sweets person.

Don't be alarmed by the Garbanzo/Fava bean flour. I was only able to find Garbanzo Bean flour. I decided to mix Garbanzo bean and All purpose flour together just for the hell of it because I don't have any food allergies and can use AP flour.

I guess, by going after vegan baking, what I'm trying to do is just find a healthier way to indulge. Experimenting with new ingredients, textures and techniques is just an added bonus!

You can find the brownie recipe here.

If you're interested the Babycakes cookbook can be found here.

enjoy!
xoxo

Walking Chicken

2009-05-04T09:32:00.001-07:00

Here's some videos I uploaded to YouTube recently.
They aren't the best quality, but at least you can see Sadie in action.

Sadie is walking!
We saw her take a few steps here and there a couple of times while sitting in the living room. Then one morning Peter and I were talking in the bathroom and all of a sudden here comes Sadie walking down the hall!
She's still hanging on to crawling for dear life but she's walking more and more everyday. I kind of thought by the end of last week, she would have been over crawling and completely walking, but I was wrong.

Sadie is very cautious, which I have been told, so was Peter as a kid. She's constantly looking around to make sure someone is there to watch her or that it's safe to go forward with her plan.
When we were at the park the other day, Sadie finally got up the nerve to climb up the play structure so that we could slide down the slide.
She would only climb the steps if I was behind her and she didn't go to the top until I was there waiting for her.
We slid down the slide together a few time and then we started going side by side which was so much more fun!
I still can't get over how much she hates the swing. Cries and yells every time I put her in it!

I was always teased by my family for talking a lot when I was a kid and I think Sadie is going to have the same problem. It's so exciting when we hear a word we recognize.
Here are some of her words-
Mana = banana
Meenow = a cat meowing
Pop Pop = started out with Hop on Pop, when I would say "hop on pop" she repeated "pop pop pop" Now she points to her Pop Pop in a picture and says his name
Gassess = glasses, which she hates and rips off our faces any chance she gets.
zis = what is this?
Dayee = daddy
mama = duh!
sayee = Sadie
bah = ball
She repeats what we say and knows her body parts too. What a smart chicken! (I know, I know, all babies do this, but ours is better than yours, didn't you know?)

After I get Sadie off of crawling and on to walking I think we're going to go for potty training.
She's already sitting on her potty before a bath and some other times. Lately, though
she's been going over to her rocking chair and sitting in it when she has to poo.
This is funny and worth mentioning because, she will suddenly disappear and we can hear her grunting from the corner. It used to happen in the corner by the door to the patio. Then she discovered her chair.

When we were in Arizona, my great aunt and uncle gave Sadie a stuffed monkey. It has been by her side ever since. She added a giraffe into the mix and for a long time she had to have each one in her grip in order to go to sleep.
Until one morning. I went into get her and she was yelling at the giraffe. I don't mean talking loudly, I mean YELLING. She handed me the giraffe and said "no" while shaking her head and using hand gestures. I thought she was just talking crazy so I put the giraffe on her chair for later. Once out of the crib, she threw the giraffe off the chair, shook her and waved her hands while saying "no." And that, my friends was the end of that. Giraffe has not been allowed in the crib since.
We have no idea what happened. There were a series of replacements, most of them just rebounds. Baby joined the party about a week ago and looks to be holding strong. Monkey remains the steady, steady though. Sometimes we have Brown Bear, sometimes we have Pop. There have been times when I am trying to rock Sadie to sleep either for a nap or at night and there are so many dolls on top of us. To top it all off, we have to have her pink blanket somewhere there too.
In the morning, we can hear Sadie talking to her dolls. It's pretty much one of the only times where she will actually play alone for an extended period of time.

Both Peter and I read to Sadie all the time. She has books all over the apartment. At night we read together the three of us. Peter is way better at it than I am because he makes funny voices and ad-libs. I tend to read the stories as they are written and all my voices sound the same even if I'm trying to make them sound different.
We have several books in heavy rotation and let me tell, I think we can recite almost ALL of them with our eyes closed. Sometimes I start to fall asleep while reading to her. After the third time reading through a book in a row, it's sort of hard not to!
It's always amazing to me when Sadie remembers a sound or part of a book before we turn the page to that part.

enjoy!
xoxo

april/may 2009

Vegan Cholent - An old Jewish stew that's not traditionally vegan

2009-04-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

I was raised Jewish. Both my parents are Jewish, I went to Sunday school and I had a Bat Mitzvah. Now compared to others we really weren't that Jewish. I mean, we went to temple on the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. I don't remember my parents ever fasting on Yom Kippur, I've only done it once or twice. Occasionally we went to temple on Shabbat, but hardly ever and we really never celebrated Shabbat. As kids, because we went to Hebrew school on Sundays and then on both Sunday and Wednesday, we celebrated almost all the Jewish holidays or were at least aware of them.
Traditional Jewish foods were served mostly during holidays. Once-in-awhile my mom or grandmother would make a kugel or matzoh brie (my family calls it "fried matzoh") on a random day. Brisket or chicken was a given at all family gatherings as was lox and bagels (yes, I know that's not really "Jewish cuisine" per se).

During Passover I started looking around for interesting recipes that maybe I could incorporate into our family Seder next year.
I came across a recipe for Cholent in both Veganomicon and my granny's old "Jewish Home Beautiful" book at the same time.
As I have mentioned in previous posts I am just fascinated by old cookbooks. This book in particular is interesting to me because not only does it have old recipes for dishes I am familiar with, it also has some recipes I have never heard of and an interesting introduction and fore ward about how a "Jewess", yes a "Jewess" always keeps a beautiful home and displays a beautiful table no matter how fancy or casual it may be. There are even pictures of how your table should look for each holiday!

Now maybe my mother or one of my grandmothers have made Cholent for me before and either didn't call it by it's name or I just wasn't paying attention. Who knows.
The name "Cholent" doesn't exactly make one's mouth water upon first glance either.
But when I came across the recipe in both books I thought it may have been fate or at least a sign that I needed to read the recipe.

Traditionally, Cholent is a beef stew that is slow cooked in the oven over night. It is prepared Friday before Shabbat begins and eaten Saturday afternoon. Women put eggs in their shells into the mixture to let them hard boil, the juices and flavorings seeping right in. Before serving the Cholent, the eggs were eaten.
You can read more about Cholent here.

The following recipe is from Veganomicon with a few changes made. The original recipe calls for TVP chunks but I used ground soy. I also didn't have lima beans so I used the butter beans and kidney beans that I had.
This is the kind of stew that just gets better day after day. It's a cheap and easy way to eat a filling and healthy dinner all week without having to cook every night.
Serve with a small salad and some crusty bread.

CHOLENT
adapted from Veganomicon
serves 6

You will need:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into medium dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 tsp caraway seeds (if you don't have them, 1/4 tsp fennel seeds, rye seeds or leave them out all together)
1 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup red cooking wine, water or vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup French lentils, rinsed (I used 1 cup)
1 cup peeled, sliced carrots (about 1/2" thick)
4 medium sized potatoes (1 1/4 pounds +/-), peeled and medium to small dice
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce (just a nice plain tomato sauce)
3 cups water
1 cup TVP chunks (I used ground soy)
1 cup frozen or canned and drained lima beans (I used butter beans) *if you hate lima beans, use green peas or any other big bean that you like
1 15 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
a large soup pot
crusty bread
a salad

In a large soup pot heat the oil over medium heat
Saute the onion until translucent.
add the garlic, tarragon, caraway seeds, salt and pepper
saute until the garlic is fragrant
deglaze the pot with the red wine (or water, veg broth...)
add the bay leaves, lentil, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water and TVP or ground soy.
Bring to a boil
cover and simmer 30 minutes until the carrots and potatoes are tender
add the beans and simmer until the stew has thickened and the beans are heated through.

serve warm.

enjoy!
xoxo

Madge strikes again.

2009-04-20T21:38:00.000-07:00

Where to begin?
I am totally slacking on recipe posting and life blogging. It's not that I don't have any delicious recipes to post or sweet stories about life with Sadie the chicken, it's just that I have been busy. WE, have been busy!

Ashley came to visit at the end of March. It was nice to see a sista, get a haircut and have some girl time. Naturally, what do you do when a friend is in town? Margaritas and nachos at Puerto Allegre followed by an attempt at shopping on my part and some major hanging out, of course!

My parents took Sadie and I on a day trip out to Livermore to do some wine tastingduring that first heat wave we had. Peter took that day off and enjoyed some "man" time.
We had so much fun. Some of the wineries are just so beautiful. Towards the end of our trip, Sadie and I met a really cute English Bulldog that further confirms our intense desire to have one of our own. They're just so damn cute!

We attended a birthday party for Peter's bosses daughter Maddie at their warehouse in SF. They had one of those inflatable jumpers in the driveway. I thought for sure Sadie was going to go nuts inside and bounce all over the place. But alas, she just sat there looking at us like "what the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
So I'll just put that in with the swings and slides at the park. Can you believe a kid doesn't like to swing????
After the party we hit up Lanesplitter Pizza for a few beers and some pizza.
Peter showed Sadie how to drink out of a straw (water of course). Later, Sadie got up on the table and danced on the pole. This is the only time dancing on the pole will be cute and funny.

This year we celebrated Passover with the Weintraubs and my parents. Sadie played with Lennon and Calla. Lennon was so sweet with Sadie. Of course this freaked Peter out. "No boys, ever." is all he kept saying. It's really quite funny. Naturally, Lennon is more like a cousin to Sadie since our families have been so close over the years. This makes it even more funny when Peter says "no boys, ever."
I was in charge of dessert and made a delicious trifle consisting of a lemon coconut bundt cake, vanilla pudding, fresh fruit and whipped cream. The entire thing was vegan and kosher for Passover. I need to post the recipe. I'll get to it, I swear I will.
I came up with the idea after flipping through my granny's old "Jewish Home Beautiful" cookbook that I took from her house after she died. It is from the 40's I think. I just love old cookbooks. The thing that I love most about this book is that my grandma made notes in the margins, marked recipes and had a bunch of newspaper and magazine clippings inside.

Shortly after Passover, Sadie and I both came down with colds. I don't usually get sick but since Sadie was clinging to me day in and day out, open mouth breathing on me and snotting all over me, it was bound to happen.
As painful as it was to see my baby feeling less than perfect, I sort of enjoyed the long cuddly naps we took during those two weeks of sickness. Poor Peter had to sleep on the couch a couple of times because Sadie just wouldn't sleep alone. She kept rolling all over me like a cat, falling asleep and rolling off. Then she would wake up, roll all over me again, fall asleep and roll off. My most favorite moment was one afternoon we laid down for a nap and she curled up in my neck. Later after she had rolled off and slept on her own, I turned over on my side so that my back was to her. As I was dozing off, Sadie crawls over to me curls up, puts her hand on my shoulder and her head into my back and goes back to sleep. Just melts my heart!

For Easter we had planned to go on a picnic but ended up staying home because we were still feeling pretty bad. Instead, I planted some veggies, put together some planter boxes and cleaned the apartment. It may not have made me feel better physically but it sure did wonders mentally.
Just as we were really starting to feel better, another heat wave hit and we have been on a roll ever since.
The pool is heated to a wonderful 80 degrees, it sparkles and shimmies as the sun shines and the breeze blows. Over the weekend, we made some friends at the pool. Sadie scored a super cool floating chair from a lady we met. I've never seen her so content. She just sits in the water, legs crossed holding her toys and giggling. This is really the first time she's been swimming or out in the sun. Last year she was so little she just sort of sat there like a lump in the water.
Sadie is quite the sunbather too. The first day we were out at the pool, Peter and I were laying on lounge chairs and Sadie was right there with us, reclining and relaxing, just soaking up the suns rays.
Madge is back too!
You all remember Madge from last year, don't you?

From sadie week 17

She was with us Sunday. Sunglasses and sun hat on full display for all to enjoy.
It's nice to see you again Madgey!

Still no walking but getting close!

enjoy!
xoxo

march/april 2009

Congrats!

2009-04-16T09:31:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Jana! She won a $25 gift card to Ecostore USA.
It was tough competition with all TWO of you who entered........

enjoy!
xoxo

EcoStore USA and my first ever giveaway!

2009-04-08T21:19:00.000-07:00

EcoStore USA was kind enough to send me some really great products to try out and review for you.
Their plant based household cleaning products are tough on dirt, gentle on the planet and smell pretty nice too. The baby products are mild and easy to use.
Each product has been specially formulated to be super concentrated so that a little goes a long way, thus saving you money in the long run.
Originally created and sold in New Zealand, EcoStore has just launched a US division. Their trade marked "No Nasty Chemicals" philosophy means that all of their products are 90-100% organic and non-toxic.

I received 3 products to test.

1) the Citrus Spray Cleaner

2) the Baby Sleepytime Bath and

3) the Baby Moisturizer.

The Citrus Spray Cleaner made with D-Limonene (from citrus), Palm and coconut based non-ionic and anionic surfactants, Fatty acid derivative, Ethanol and filtered water; has a light scent which really made me happy. Sometimes after cleaning I feel like I need to wipe everything down with water to tone down the smell.
My first test for this cleaner was Sadie's high chair. Usually, I clean the high chair often, but this time I let the food cake up a bit (aside from the big chunks of course). Not only did the cleaner take the food right off, I didn't even have to rub that hard! Next, I hit up my kitchen and bathroom counter tops. Our apartment smelled clean but not "cleaned," if you know what I mean.

I've tried several baby washes, lotions and potions from totally natural, organic ones to good old fashioned Johnson and Johnson's. In many instances, the natural products drive me crazy with the smell. I want my kid to smell like a baby, not a day spa!
The aromatherapy blend of Lavendar and Geranium used in the Baby Sleepytime Bath is just the right amount that Sadie doesn't stink when she gets out of the bath. She's relaxed and ready for a little massage, a good book and hugging session with the monkey my great aunt and uncle gave her.
The only thing I didn't like about this product was that it doesn't get bubbly. My girl likes the bubbles!

Lavender and Geranium make an appearance in the Baby Moisturizer along with a few other light scents. This moisturizer is light enough to use daily but rich enough that it leaves the skin soft enough to moisturize once a day or only after a bath.
The scent wasn't overpowering in fact, I could actually smell "Sadie" and not perfume!

To find out more about Ecostore, check out their website and blog.

WANT TO WIN A $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE TO ECOSTORE????????
Leave a comment on this post by April 15. Tell me how much you love me and then send me an email(kidcupcake(at)gmail(dot)com) to tell me what you did!
One lucky winner will be RANDOMLY chosen on April 16.
U.S. residents only please!

enjoy!
xoxo

Tofu "Florentine", or tofu scramble with tahini sauce

2009-03-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

This recipe was inspired by my friend Scott Dubya.
He made something similar to it when we went up to Davis a while ago for brunch and a family hangout.
I have been craving it ever since and finally got around to making my own version at home.
I couldn't remember what exactly was in the tahini sauce that he made so I found a recipe for Tahini Dill Sauce in Veganomicon that sounded pretty good and made my own adjustments to it.

I guess it could be classified as a "Florentine" because it has spinach in it and a sauce on top?
The tahini sauce was so good I used the leftover sauce on some reheated pasta one afternoon for lunch. Actually, just writing about it now is making my mouth water a little.

Two things I really love about tofu scrambles are that you can make a batch, keep it in the fridge and have a good breakfast for a few days and it's filling so you don't get hungry an hour after eating it.
You can also add pretty much anything you want to it, potatoes, beans, veggies, use your imagination!

I don't have a picture to show you. Lately, I've been taking really bad pictures. Worse than what I normally take. It must be a phase or something. I hope I come out of it soon. There's nothing I hate more than a recipe without a picture!

Just trust me on this one, you're gonna like it.

TOFU FLORENTINE WITH TAHINI SAUCE
inspired by Scott Dubya
Tofu Scramble adapted from Vegan With a Vengeance
Tahini Sauce adapted from Veganomicon
Feeds 4-6

You will need:
For the scramble:
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium sized yellow onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh spinach, washed and packed
1 pound extra firm tofu, drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 carrot peeled and grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp ground paprika
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
water for deglazing pan
a large skillet

For the sauce:
1/4 cup tahini
1/2 cup water
1 clove garlic, chopped coarsely
juice of 1 lemon
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
1-2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp hot paprika (as opposed to sweet)
water or vegetable broth for thinning
an immersion blender, food processor or blender (don't worry if you don't have anything. Just mince your garlic and whisk the sauce well.)
a small sauce pot

4-6 English muffins
Earth Balance because it's so much better if you butter it.

First-
make your sauce
mix together in a bowl everything except the garlic and oil
whisk to combine
in a small saucepan heat the oil over medium heat
add your garlic and saute until fragrant
add the other ingredients and whisk well
add liquid until it becomes pourable
puree and keep warm until ready to use adding any additional liquid if needed

Next-
get your English muffins ready to toast either in the toaster or on a sheet to go in the oven

Make the scramble:
heat the oil in your skillet over medium-high heat.
Saute the onions until tender
add the garlic and saute until fragrant.
add the spinach and cook until it begins to wilt
add your spice blend
toss to coat and deglaze with a bit of water, scraping the bottom of the pan
crumble the tofu into the pan and mix well
as you stir the tofu will continue to crumble into smaller bits
cook for about 15 minutes adding water as needed to keep from sticking or burning
lower the heat if you need to.
*Toast the English muffins*
add the grated carrot to the tofu and cook for 2 minutes more
remove from heat and add the lemon juice and nutritional yeast
mix well

butter each muffin and place a generous serving of tofu and sauce on top
serve warm

enjoy!
xoxo

read this.......

2009-03-20T15:43:00.000-07:00

Jana just posted a blog about her trip out to see us. She takes nice photos you should have a looky look.

enjoy!
xoxo

Goodbye old friend....

2009-03-20T09:55:00.001-07:00

Years ago, when Peter and I first started dating and later when we lived together in Oakland we used to go to The Parkway Speakeasy Theater.
It was just a few blocks away from our apartment.
There was pizza, beer and couches to sit on while watching movies that had just come off the major screens as well as indie and cult flicks. Cheap prices, good food and comfortable seating, what more could you ask for?
One of my favorite nights to go was the nights when they showed some crazy Tiki movie. There was always a raffle (which I one 3 times in a row), hula dancers and a band whose instruments usually included the beloved Theremin.
Peter and I always split a pizza and either beer or a bottle of wine.
I always said that when we had a baby I was going to be first in line for Baby Brigade.

When I think back to the beginning of our relationship The Parkway is one of my fondest memories. But of course as with anything so readily available to you, we took it for granted. We moved out of the area for a few years, always talking about how much we loved that place and wondered why no one else had thought to do it in other places. When we moved back to the area, I think we went there twice before Sadie was born and not once since she's been here.

I remember while living in LA how we would talk about The Parkway. The closest thing we could find there was the Arclight on Sunset. They offered a 21+ seating with assigned seating in all shows so you could pick where you wanted to sit. It was expensive and luxurious. Not at all like our Parkway. In NJ, we didn't find anything like it at all.

In an increasingly declining economy a place like The Parkway becomes more and more dependent on it's patrons. If they don't have money or time to spend there, the doors can't stay open.

When Peter told me the news this morning that The Parkway had closed. I actually had to wipe tears away from my eyes.

Even thought the El Cerrito location remains open there will always be only one Parkway Theater for us. I feel bad that we didn't' support it more.

It's almost like the signal of an end of an era for us. We will always have our memories.

Goodbye dear friend, you will be missed.

xoxo

Standing Chicken

2009-03-17T15:47:00.000-07:00

Jana came to visit a few weeks ago. We had so much fun. We hadn't seen Jana since we moved to CA so it was really great to see her.
Whenever someone comes to visit I always have so many places I want to show them. Most of them of course involve food or wine.
The first thing we did after picking Jana up at the airport was head straight to La Note for some creme fraiche pancakes.
They are pretty much my favorite pancakes in the east bay. I've tried a few other things on the menu there but always go right back to the pancakes.
Next, we hit up Trader Joe's to buy some ingredients so that we could make the Vegan Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bottoms from Sweet Pea Bakery in Portland, OR. My MIL and FIL brought some Portland magazines for me to read the last time they came to visit. One of the articles was about vegan baking in Portland.
The recipe was really easy and really good!
Jana brought some Palm Sugar to try as a substitution for regular sugar. It comes in these cute little pucks.
Having never tried Palm Sugar before I didn't really know what to do with the pucks.
Jana grated one of them into a bowl while I broke my food processor trying to grind it up. The processor was already on the fritz, so don't cry for me just yet.
We figured out that if you warm the pucks up you can mash the pucks with a fork or potato masher until it resembles granulated sugar. Probably would have been better to figure that out in the beginning.....
The result, in the end yielded a mildly sweet, moist pumpkin bottom that we all enjoyed.

On Saturday, we went into the SF to shop at the Ferry Building and Farmer's Market. I have to be honest, I wasn't ALL that impressed with the Farmer's Market. I think the we usually go to by Lake Merritt on Saturdays has a lot more variety.
We did score some delicious Olallieberry jam and some really beautiful tulips there though. Inside the Ferry Building we walked around, tasted the samples and tried some of Miette's french macaroons. I think they were rosewater geranium??? They were "different" I didn't really love or hate them. I found the macaroon part to be too doughy which is not how a traditional french macaroon should be.
For lunch we had planned to eat in the Ferry building but so did everyone else so we took a walk down to The Fog City Diner.
I have to say, I remember that place being really good. My dad used to take me there as a kid and my mom and I ate there not too long ago and it was pretty good. This time around it was just "eh." Though, I must admit the bloody marys were quite good.
Jana and I shared a crab salad and an ahi sandwich. Of course we ate the whole thing, so it couldn't have been THAT bad, really.

The weather was so nice that day we took another walk down to Blue Bottle Coffee Cafe. The roastery is near our house in Emeryville and they sell beans on Monday and Friday but of course I never get over there to buy them. Jana mentioned before she came out that she wanted to go there and buy some coffee. I have only had one cup of coffee that Peter brewed since we bought the beans. It was good, but I'm not really a coffee connoisseur so I can't really tell you if it was good or not.

We stopped on the way home and picked up some wine and cheese and bread and had us a little party that night. Oh, how I heart cheese!!!!
Sadie and Jana had a little photo workshop on the floor. Jana taught Sadie how to take a picture and look at it afterwards. Today, I caught her fooling around with my camera, pushing the buttons and aiming it at things. It wasn't turned on of course, but now I sort of wish it had been.

Sunday morning we went over to Chester's Bayview Cafe in Berkeley. Peter and I had been wanting to try it for a long time and we are so glad we did! The rooftop deck, bloody marys (can you tell I like marys?) "no huevos" rancheros, all of it was so good!
Jana's friend Donna met us there. She has a love for cupcakes that just might rival my own.
Sadie and I were playing on top of a table during brunch, she was looking at the flowers and lights hanging on the railing when lo and behold what do I see? CUPCAKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There, right before my eyes, two girls eating what appeared to be 4 cupcakes.

Determined to find out where these treats came from, Sadie and I went downstairs to poke around.
Love At First Bite Bakery is a little bakeshop tucked away between a photography studio and letter press shop.
The place was filled with cupcakes, sweet gift items and the-what-seems-to-be-mandatory punk rock girl selling cupcakes in the front of the shop.
We of course, could not decide what to try so we tried a bunch. Red velvet, Strawberry, Vegan gingerbread, green tea, coconut, and one other one I can't remember the name of.
The strawberry one was made with real strawberries and sort of tasted like Cap'n'Crunch berries. I kind of enjoyed that.
The others fell a bit short for me. Green tea was a pleasant surprise, even though Donna and Jana said it was too sweet. The coconut could have been so much better and the vegan cream cheese frosting didn't taste like anything to me.
The cupcakes were cute, but not that cute. And pricey for what they were.
Still, I will probably go back for another round the next time we eat at Chester's.

The weekend flew by and before we knew it, it was time for Jana to go home. We were sad to see her go. After she left, Peter and I were a little down. Seeing her, talking about NJ made us miss the east coast. For like a split second we contemplated how we could move back.

In other news Sadie is standing up on her own for minutes at a time now. I caught her walking along the wall today while pushing herself off to stand alone from time to time.
I'm excited to see her walk but at the same time I'm not really looking forward to her growing up!
She says "uh oh" "cheese" and "whoa" now. In addition to saying "woof woof" like a dog, she knows that snakes say "sssssss," bears say "grrrr" and lions say "rawr." It's real cute.
Sadie is climbing up and down on the couch which is funny and scary all at the same time. I keep thinking she's going to fall off backwards. It hasn't happened yet, thankfully.

My mom and I went to the The De Young Museum in Golden Gate park to see the Andy Warhol exhibit. It was pretty cool. The exhibit is all about Warhol's involvement with and love of music. There were a lot of photographs, movies, paintings and LP covers to look at.
Sadie particularly liked the psychedelic room with the flashing lights and big pillows to crawl all over. She was dancing and rolling around while giggling and hugging on my mom.

Our recent visit to the pediatrician was a riot. Since our insurance changed we were able to go back to the doctor we had when Sadie was first born.
This is cool because 1) she's a total hippie 2) she hasn't seen Sadie since she was 5 days old 3) they're real organized and nice there, not like Kaiser.
Sadie is 29 inches long, and 19 1/2 pounds. She is totally thin for her age range and I am keeping my fingers crossed she is thin her entire life.
I was worried at first when I saw the chart and it said she was in the 20th percentile for weight. I mean, kid eats, and eats, and eats. The doctor said she was perfect (which we knew) so I'm not too concerned.
Now if only we can get her hair to grow!!!

enjoy!
xoxo

jana's march visit

Birthday Chicken

2009-02-25T21:22:00.000-08:00

Sadie's first birthday party/baby naming party on Sunday was a success!
My cousin, Jonathon was nice enough to take pictures for us with my camera.
My parents hosted the party at their house. It was a real nice day.
The rabbi came and gave Sadie her Hebrew name and she ate her first cupcake.
Because Sadie is named after my great grandmother, we had planned to use her Hebrew name, but no one could remember what it was so we chose another.
Naturally, Amelia (Sadie's middle name) isn't a Jewish name really so we picked a first and middle name that started with the same letters.
Shira Ahava
Shira = song
Ahava = love
Cute, right?
I made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, chocolate cupcakes with fudge frosting and vanilla cupcakes with raspberry coconut frosting. I made a little vanilla cupcake for Sadie with a pink candle on top. She tried to blow it out but couldn't really figure out how to blow so I sort of helped her.
I think she surprised everyone when she ate the cupcake in 4 bites and didn't even make a mess allover herself. (she actually did make a mess all over my jeans and underneath the table)
Technically, that was her first "sugar." We have been real good about keeping sugar to a minimum in the foods we serve Sadie.
I couldn't tell if she liked it. Eating it in 4 bites doesn't really mean she liked the cupcake. She shovels everything into her mouth as I mentioned last time. So who knows.

Peter's parents came down from Portland to help us celebrate. They brought Sadie a whole bag full of musical instruments. Peter's mom even made a bag to hold everything in out of an old Lifetime shirt!
Sadie enjoyed the maracas and the drum most of all I think. I was pretty into making some noise with Peter's old fife. That thing is hard to play!

We've been having band practice ever since Mookie and Pop Pop left. Sadie plays the Xylophone and Drums at the same time now. It's real cute.
Awhile ago, I wrote about Jimmy and Pat being in a band with Sadie. Jimmy seems to have left the band and I wasn't sure about Pat until the other day Sadie started shaking her shoulder just like she used to when Pat was around. So I took this to mean that Pat was back.

I was sort of hoping that Sadie would be walking by now just because I want her to be better than all the other kids. :)
But I'm pretty sure we're a ways off from that and I'm okay with it. I'm already having a hard enough time keeping up with her crawling from room to room I can't imagine what it's going to be like when she starts walking!

On Peter's bedside table there is a clock radio. I was brushing my teeth and couldn't see what Sadie was doing. Suddenly I heard music in the bedroom! Sadie figured out how to turn the radio on and off.
I turned around to look at her and she was totally dancing and smiling. Hilarious.
The next day, she was napping in our bed, I was out in the living room when I heard her giggle.
Apparently while learning to turn on the radio, she set the alarm to go off at 12noon. When it went off it startled her and she woke up! There she was just sitting in the bed shaking dancing.

Now whenever she can she goes over to the radio and turns it on and off. Each time she dances and says "da da da" and giggles.

The story gets better.....
Again, Sadie was napping in our bed. I was in the living room when I heard a 'thump.' Not a loud sound but enough to make me stop and wonder what it was.
The next thing I see, the bedroom door swings open and there's Sadie crawling out with a smile!

I am trying really hard to lose weight. It's turning out to be harder than I thought. Especially because I just can't seem to get on a schedule with going to the gym. I have to do it at night after Peter gets home and sometimes I either don't feel like it or he gets home late and then I just don't go.
The other night I knew he was going to be late so I thought I would try one of those "watch instantly" videos from Netflix. I chose a silly cardio kickbox video and set the laptop up on the couch.
Sadie was playing by herself on one side of the couch so I figured I'd be safe to kick and hop around.
Once she saw what I was doing she started giggling and crawled over to where I was. Every time I lifted my leg she would try to catch it. A couple of times she pulled herself up on my pants thus pulling them down.
When she finally realized that I was copying the lady on the computer screen she went over to it pointed at it then back and me and laughed. This continued until I finished.
The workout was good, but watching Sadie was more fun and totally made the time go by faster.
If only I could get off my butt more and continue doing the video!

After all the time we spend trying to find toys for Sadie to play with all the girl wants is either a tube of lip balm or a shampoo bottle.
She loves them! When I dry her hair after the bath she points to the shampoo bottle on the counter. She just holds it while I dry her hair all the while looking at herself in the mirror.
On the changing table she either wants to hold her lotion or vitamin bottle. She always hands it to me as if I'm going to open it and then hand it back to her.
With the lip balm, usually she wants a little on her lips first then she holds it.
This was my first mistake. I put some on her and then let her play with the tube. I forgot to watch her and the tube went missing.
No more Philosophy lip balms for mommy! Burt's Bees will be just fine from now on. Not to mention I can buy 4 Burt's Bees lip balms for the price of one Philosophy balm.

In addition to pointing to herself when you ask "Where's Sadie?" Sadie makes dog and cat noises. She talks to the dogs in her fire engine book and tries to meow like a cat when I read "Brown Bear what do you see?" to her.
Tonite, she made hissing sounds like the Boa Constrictor. She looks at me to make the noise then tries to imitate. Way too cute for words, man.

This is probably TMI but I have finished nursing!
Almost exactly 1 year to the day too!
Peter's mom (or the baby whisperer as we call her) was actually a big help in this department. While she was here she took charge during nap time and got Sadie to sleep without nursing. (even if she did have to sit in a chair or lie in bed while Sadie slept on her!)
I was starting to have a lot of trouble with this. I had weaned her off nursing at night and in the morning without a lot of difficulty but since nap time was already an issue with us it was proving to be really hard for me to get the situation under control.
When Monday rolled around and Peter's parents were leaving to go back home I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to get Sadie to nap without nursing.
I was so nervous that I made sure I was in the car during nap time so she would fall asleep on her own.
Yesterday, I was able to get her to sleep on me after dancing around the room with the Bee Gees blasting (just like old times!).
Today was easier, she just put her head down when she was tired. While she was asleep on me, I watched a some TV online so I really can't complain about the forced down time :)

The list of music that Sadie likes is getting longer and longer by the day. The Bee Gees are my go to band though. I guess because I used them as my secret weapon back when Sadie was small to get her to relax and go to sleep she must be conditioned now to hear them and start to fall asleep.
It only seems to work when I'm holding her and dancing around the room though. As soon as I sit down, her head pops up and she shakes it back and forth as if she's saying "no."

One of our new favorite bands is Priestess. Maybe you think I'm a dork for liking them but I do. So does Sadie. Every time they come on the ipod she stops what she's doing and starts dancing. Then she looks at me and smiles.
Sometimes we dance together either while I'm holding her and twirling around the room or when we're both on the floor.
A lot of times we do acrobatics when bands come on that Sadie likes.
I swing her around, or flip her upside down. She likes to jump on the couch or bed too.
She really gets going when I flip her over and hang her down my back. Some times I hold her ankles and raise her up and down to get in a quick arm workout!

As I mentioned before this is most likely (I say most likely because it IS sort of fun writing about my kid, you know!) my last weekly post about Sadie.
Our little Princessgruntingchickendonkeycry, madge, moose, boogs, bubby, birdie, sweet baby, Sadie, Sades made it through her first year of life and there really isn't much else to tell. At least on a weekly basis that is.

enjoy!
xoxo

happy first birthday sadie!

The race to the finish

2009-02-17T22:11:00.001-08:00

Sadie's 1st birthday is Sunday, can you believe it??????
It's been raining like crazy here. Every time I look out the window and see the rain and dark skies I flash back to last year when I went into labor and this same storm that is over us now was over us then. I get a little choked up when I think that I have been basically blogging her progress for a year give or take a few weeks here and there.

When Sadie was about 2 weeks old, Octavio came to visit us. We ate pizza from Zachary's and I hadn't quite figured out the whole breastfeeding thing so I was hiding under a blanket trying not to flash Roc while feeding Sadie. It was really funny.
He asked me if I was going to keep a journal of Sadie's first year. At the time I laughed and thought that was a ridiculous idea. I was tired and could barely sit down without wincing. Nicole Richie had just given an interview about how she was keeping a daily journal on her daughter with 40 names, it just seemed silly. I had no intention of being a crazy parent who talked about their kids all the time. I still hadn't even come to terms with the fact that when Sadie cried it was because she needed me. ME! What a thought.

As you well know, I did keep the journal. It was actually quite easy and sort of fun to do. At first, I started posting while Sadie was sleeping on me. Later on, I found myself keeping notes on my Blackberry each week so that I could remember what to write when I got the chance. I might even put all my posts together to show Sadie one day. I certainly have enough photos to save of her.

The year flew by and I haven't quite wrapped my head around the fact that Peter and I have a daughter that's a year old. I still remember the first time we talked about whether or not each of us wanted to have kids.......

Before I got pregnant I made a lot of declarations about things I would or wouldn't do as a parent.
I think I did almost everything I said I wouldn't do and didn't do almost everything I said I would. Funny how that works isn't it?
I've heard some of our friends talk about how after having the first child they'd do things differently with the second. I'm always confused and surprised by this. Except for a few minor things like remembering to request a vegetarian meal in the hospital, I don't think there's much I would change for the next one. For the most part, everything went real smooth for us. I mean, Sadie still doesn't nap in her own bed but she sleeps in her bed at night and sleeps through the night until 7:30am so I can't really complain.
She's mellow, happy and a good eater what more could a parent ask for?

Speaking of eating, our kid is what the "experts" call a "big eater." Girl shovels it in. On Valentine's Day, Peter took us out for sushi. Sadie ate all the edamame a bunch of rice and some tofu. She was totally eyeing our sushi and I'm sure if I had given her some she would have scarfed it.
We're thinking of changing her name from chicken to moose.
Set a bowl of peas out in front of her and be sure not to blink or you'll miss her eating them. She's quick but delicate. Her pinkie is always raised and she plucks the food up off the tray ever so gently.
There isn't much she won't eat, so far it seems to be nectarines are the only things she's not so into. She loves her Goldfish and insists on having at least one in each hand and 10 in her mouth. Strawberries are her new favorite fruit. I said "new" because that banana is still holding the top spot and doesn't seem to be coming down anytime soon.
She's even started to feed herself with a spoon. She dips it into her yogurt and puts into her mouth without waving it all over the floor now.

It's taken us a while to get Sadie into brushing her teeth. At first when she was teething it wasn't a problem, she liked chewing on the bristles. But after awhile she got smart and realized what she was doing was not a game and didn't want to do it anymore.
I even tried putting her on the counter while I brushed my teeth. She held her toothbrush and brushed like I did twice.
Now, she has two toothbrushes. She uses them both at the same time. She brushes with one, smiles and then sticks the other one in and brushes some more.
Whatever it takes, man. Whatever it takes

When you say "Where's Sadie" she points to herself.
When you say "Where's mommy?" She points to her food. She'll shake her head and say "mo" if you've said "no" to her. But then she smiles coyly and does what you've just said "no" to anyway.
But, she remembers what you said "no" to. For instance. I have a cup in the bath tub that I use to pour water over Sadie when she's in the bath. She tried to drink from it once and I said "no, no don't drink." Every time she's in the bath now, she raises the cup to her lips, shakes her head and says "mo," then looks at me.

I'm totally enjoying all the hugging and kissing she's been doing. Sometimes she'll come up behind me if I'm sitting on the floor and hug me and climb around and plant one on me. It's cute and I keep telling myself to soak it in, because some day she's going to be a teenager and she's going to hate my guts for a few years.
At night before going to bed, she gives Peter 3 kisses sometimes 4 then we go off in to her bedroom to read 2 stories and rock in the chair for 3 songs, no more, no less. Trust me, she knows how many books and how many songs are going on. One of the stories is always "Where The Wild Things Are." Sadie loves her Wild Things.

Peter and I keep wondering when Sadie is going to have some hair. She has a little and you can tell it's growing but there really isn't much. It's blond and curly. When I blow dry it after her bath it smooths out a little. The next day it's a big fluffy mess no matter what. It's not long enough to clip yet. You'd think, being a hairstylist I'd know what to do about this dilemma, but I don't.

I'm pretty sure this is the second to last weekly update (the last being the one I intend to post about her party next week) I will be making about Sadie.
I bet you're happy. I'm going to try real hard to write about food. If I could post as regularly about that as I did about my kid that would be nice, wouldn't it?

enjoy!
xoxo

sadie 52 weeks

Hall and Oats loving chicken

2009-02-11T22:53:00.001-08:00

This is the only picture I have of Sadie this week.
It doesn't really do her justice. Peter took it the other night. She was dancing around in her high chair and hanging over the side.

Sadie's new favorite band is Hall and Oates. "Maneater" to be exact. Which is funny because that used to MY favorite song way back when.
When the song came on our Ipod the other day, she went nuts, dancing around smiling and waving. She mostly shakes her shoulders if she's sitting down. When she's on the floor she'll shake her shoulders and sometimes get on all fours and shake her booty.

Drums seem to be Sadie's thing. Any song with a good drumbeat she grooves to. Tonite during dinner, she started dancing to a Biffy Clyro song. I noticed it had a pretty groovy drum beat. She always seems to dance at the beginning of songs when the drums start, therefore indicating to me that she likes drums.

The other day, we out running errands in the rain. It was so nice to have a cold and dreary day after a few days of 60 and sunny.
For some reason, that day every other mother and their children were out doing errands as well.
Normally, I wouldn't even notice this, but Social Butterfly Sadie kept waving to everyone and saying "eyeeee." Naturally, strangers wanted to talk to us which as you know is my most favorite thing to do :)

The funny thing about this is that Sadie has no problem waving and talking to people when she's in my arms or in Peter's arms. But when you get her around other kids to play, she doesn't know what to do!

I'm pretty sure Sadie won't be walking by her birthday. Which is just fine by me. It's hard enough keeping up with her while she's crawling, I can't imagine what it will be like once she's walking!
Right now, she's pointing at things and touching anything within arms reach.
As soon as I pick up one area, she comes along behind me and pulls everything out.
Every time I move into another section of the house, she's right there playing with something.
I've stopped picking up her toys in her room and just started piling them on the floor instead. A girl's got to pick her battles..............

If Sadie doesn't start the day out by eating exactly half of a banana fuhgettaboutit. Girl can't function without her banana! I've tried to mix it up a little by offering different fruits in the morning, but no, bananas only. After the banana has been consumed, waffles, toast or cereal can be eaten.

In the afternoons, bread and cheese products only. Occasionally a veggie or some type of fruit will do but mostly bread or cheese products only.
For dinner, it's all about the veggies and legumes. Last night, Sadie ate an entire bowl of peas in about 2 minutes flat. Maybe it was my fault for putting all the peas in the bowl at once.
Lately, Sadie has realized that each hand is capable of holding one piece of food.
For instance, if I set a square of cheese down on the tray, she'll pick it up with her left hand and transfer it to her right. Then she'll look at me with the left hand extended and look back at the right. She'll continue to do it until I give her another square of cheese so that both hands are full!

enjoy!
xoxo

Thai Peanut Tofu Soup

2009-02-11T22:27:00.000-08:00

Jeni Treehugger blogged about this recipe for Thai peanut tofu soup that just sounded so delish I had to try it.
I made some changes to it, of course.
We have eaten it two nights in a row for dinner. It's hearty enough to serve as a main course but could easily be served as a starter or side.

THAI PEANUT TOFU SOUP
serves about 8

2 Tablespoons peanut oil
2 cloves garlic
1-2 Tablespoons ground ginger
1/2-3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
3 carrots, grated
1 chopped onion
2 1/2 Tablespoons red curry paste
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 veggie bouillon cubes
handful of chopped cilantro (optional)
1 bunch chopped green onion
1 1/2 cups brown rice
1/2 can garbanzo beans
1 can of light coconut milk
1 block firm tofu, cubed
1 head bok choi, chopped
1/4 cup Lime juice (fresh preferably)
2-4 tablespoons arrowroot powder
9 cups water
Green onion, chopped (for garnish)
shredded unsweetened coconut (for garnish)

Cook rice according to package directions in a separate pot.
In a large soup pot, heat the peanut oil over medium-low heat,
add the onion, cook until caramelized
add the chopped carrots and ginger and garlic
continue cooking for about 10 min. (the bottom of the pot will brown)
add 9 cups of water and the veggie cubes
bring to a boil
add the bok choi, bring to boil again
add the curry paste, garbanzo beans, tofu, coconut milk, peanut butter.
bring to a boil again
reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
When the rice is done add it in
lastly add the lime juice, 2 Tablespoons arrowroot, maple syrup
simmer 20 mins
if after 20 minutes, the soup is still very watery, add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of arrowroot and cook until thickened.
garnish with a sprinkling of coconut and green onion
serve warm

enjoy!
xoxo

Chicken and chocolate mousse

2009-02-04T10:56:00.000-08:00

You must make this.
I got the recipe from Vegcooking.com
It serves about 6 but is really rich you so you could probably get a few more servings from it by adding some fresh fruit to it.
It's so simple to make and only has 2 ingredients!
1 serving is 3 points on Weight Watchers (which by the way, I have lost 2 pounds so far)

VEGAN CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
from Vegcooking.com
makes about 6 servings

You will need:

1 1/4 lbs extra firm silken tofu (mori-nu is my fave)
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate, melted and slightly cooled

blend the tofu in a blender or food processor until smooth and creamy
add the melted chocolate and blend again until smooth

divide into bowls and chill for approximately 3 hours

After making this, Peter decided that it might be a little better with bittersweet or dark chocolate.
Ours was pretty sweet. It could have been because when I was first making the recipe, I dumped my chocolate into the blender before melting it by accident, so I just measured out more chocolate, melted it and added it to the mix thereby making it "chocolate, chocolate chip mousse."
I also used cheap chocolate which can be a bit sweeter sometimes.
Who knows.

The weather has been really nice here lately. It's really hard not to take it for granted. When it's between 50 and 70 degrees and almost always sunny one tends to disregard the fact that in other parts of the country the sun doesn't shine like that.
I try to get out and walk around everyday but sometimes, I just don't feel like it and we end up playing in the house or back porch all day.

Last week, I took Sadie over the little park near our house thinking that by now she would probably be into sliding down the slide or swinging on the swing.
Last year, I took her over there a few times and she wasn't so into it, I just figured she was too little.

Turns out, Sadie isn't much of swinger or slider. She hated both of them.
She was most happy when we were sitting at the picnic table eating our lunches.
She sat on the table eating edamame, sweet potatoes, hummus, dolmas (only the insides) and a few bites of spanikopita.

When I put her on the swing she just looked at me like "wtf mom?"
I slid down the slide with her and even let her kind of slide alone, neither tricks worked on her.
She was interested in the little boy playing beside her though. She kept waving and yelling at him. He didn't seem to notice.

Now that we have a new "family" car, we put the other car seat that we have (thanks Jif) in the car. I thought Sadie would really get a kick out of facing forward now, but she just sort of hopped in the seat and shrugged her shoulders a little, then fell asleep.
It's nice having a little more room (and four doors!) I don't have so many bruises on my legs from climbing in and out of the back seat.

One time when I was in Whole Foods, I picked up a box of graham crackers for Sadie.
I have been trying to find crackers and treats without sugar and hydrogenated oils, etc.
I bought a box of the WF brand honey grahams once before and both Sadie and I ate them all in about a week.
So the next time I was there I had them on my list but saw a box that said "100% Whole Wheat" and without looking, I scooped up the box and threw it in my cart.
I do this a lot. I should be reading the labels on everything but I just space out sometimes.
This time I got lucky. I picked up a box of Mi-del 100% Whole Wheat graham crackers.
They are sweetened with molasses only. I thought they tasted awful, but Sadie just loves them.
***(it must seem by now that I am trying to sell specific brands of products, I am not. I always appreciate when someone tells me a specific name brand.)

Well, she did love them. I guess maybe I've been giving her too many because this week she won't eat them. :(
At least I only bought one box and she ate half of it so I can save the rest and maybe next week she'll want them again.

I started Sadie on Soy milk last week too. She's still nursing, but it's time for that to stop. I'm ready to get on with it!
I figured if I slowly introduced the soy milk the transition would be a little easier.
It's going to be a little harder than I thought, but that's okay.
I bought a new sippy cup for the soy milk thinking that if it only had milk in it and not water she would drink it.
The only way so far that the girl will the drink the milk is if I put it in a cup and drink from it first.
Then she drinks it. Sometimes she gulps it down, sometimes she spits it back out.

My mom and I were in Macy's the other day. They were having a great sale of juicers and Peter and I have been wanting one so I decided to take a look.
While we were there, my mom gave Sadie her Palm to play with. We looked down at her and instead of chewing on it, Sadie had it up to her ear like it was a phone!
She kept putting in her lap, then putting it up to her ear and so on.
Hilarious that kid.

Peter and Sadie have a little game. Peter says "Sadie, where's baby?" Sadie holds up her hands as if to say "I don't know!" She'll look around for her baby and sometimes point to it.
Occasionally she will crawl over to it and pick it up. Unless Peter has stuck baby head first into her "What's in here" box, then she won't even consider it.

A couple of times I have heard Sadie say "hi." I don't know if it's actually "hi" but she says right after I do and she waves, so maybe?
She's also shaking her head 'no' and pointing to things now too.

enjoy!
xoxo

sadie 50 weeks

Vote and you could win something good!

2009-01-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

Kiwi magazine is doing a little survey about children's food.
Vote for Revolution Foods!!!!! Even if you haven't tried them yet, vote for them, because I said so.

When you finish the survey, you'll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win $250 at Whole Paycheck, I mean Whole Foods. How cool is THAT???

So VOTE here.

And vote for Revolution Foods!!!!

Purty Please!

enjoy!
xoxo

Only a few weeks left....

2009-01-28T21:59:00.000-08:00

Only a few weeks left and our little chicken will be 1 year old!!!!!
I just can't believe it.

In fact I'm having such a hard time believing it, I didn't even take any pictures this week!

Things are really starting to come together. Sadie is turning into a little person with a personality all her own.
The whole thing is just mind blowing to me.

She hugs and kisses(if you consider a slobbery open mouth touch to your cheek a kiss)sometimes. Mostly hugs, the kisses are just a nice surprise.

The one downside of having such a happy baby is that she is friendly to EVERYONE. I mean EVERYONE in the biggest capital letters you can find. Sometimes it's funny to watch her wave and stare at people and other times it's annoying. Why does everybody feel the need to come over and talk to us all the time? Just because we have a baby doesn't mean we are friendly people, you know!
I never know what to do when a stranger tries to touch Sadie. It always happens so fast that I don't have a chance to move her out of the way.
It also doesn't help that Sadie has started to notice people's hair.
Watch out, if you get too close she grabs it, making for more conversation with strangers!

We finally broke down and bought a "family" car last week. As much as I enjoyed rebelling against all those other families with their nice big room-enough-for-seven cars it had to be done.
Driving around in a 2-door sports car just really wasn't cutting it. What was cutting was the door on the side of my leg!
Getting a baby in and out of the back seat like that hurts after a while!
I would purposely spread my errands out on different days so that I could keep the in and out to a minimum.

At first I was sort of sad to see the car go. Peter has taken such good care of that car and he loved it a whole bunch. But when we got into the new car and started talking about buying it, my feelings changed and I haven't looked back since.
Gone are the days of bruises up and down my legs (not a hot look in case you're wondering).

Sadie is much happier too. She can see more than just the back of a black seat.
We upgraded to a new car and she gets to move into a new car seat too!
I had been wondering why every time we put Sadie into her car seat she looked so big against it. DUH! She's too tall for it. Way to go bad mommy!

Sadie's new favorite food is the whole grain Quinoa and Israeli cous cous blend from Trader Joe's. The first time I gave it to her, I just fed her off my plate. She ate so much I had to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for myself because there wasn't enough for me to eat!
The other thing Sadie is real into are roasted veggies.
She's pretty much given up on eating her own food and only wants to eat what we're eating. So I have to be very clever about how I feed her now. Just to make sure she's getting the right nutrition.

We've got the bedtime routine down and we're all sleeping through the night which has made for a much happier household let me just say.
While Sadie is brushing her teeth I have been reading Dr. Seuss to her. My parents scored some serious Dr. Seuss goods. Not only are they building our book library but they have been purchasing the Dr. Seuss stuffed animals that go with the books!
It's so cool. Whenever I read a book I put the stuffed animal on my lap with Sadie. When I finish reading the book, I put the animal to bed. Sadie thinks this is real funny.
The other thing that has helped are these totally awesome Rockabye Baby CDs that Mookie and Pop Pop got for Sadie for Christmas. The Rolling Stones and AC/DC are my faves so far. We also have Pink Floyd, The Ramones and Radiohead, which are all good too.
Every night, I turn out the lights and turn on the Ipod, Sadie puts her head down on my shoulder and closes her eyes, just like that!

If you love xylophones, glockenspiels and all those other neat instruments like I do, you need to check those CDs out.

Any music with a good beat makes Sadie dance. She's moved on from the Verizon Vcast commercial with We Are Scientists to the a T-mobile commercial. It usually comes on when we're watching Gossip Girl (that's right, I said Gossip Girl) online.
She shakes her shoulders and says "da da da!"

As much as I hate to admit it, we started showing some videos to Sadie. I can see how it would be really easy to plop your kid down in front of a TV and just leave them there for hours. That actually really scares me when I think about it long enough.
But, on Netflix in the "Watch Instantly" section they have some pretty cool animated shows to watch.
Two of Sadie's favorites so far are Pocoyo and Hopla! Pocoyo is British and Hopla is Belgian. Both are real cute and make Sadie squeal with delight.

While we were in Arizona, on a Saturday morning we turned the TV on to CBS and this show called "Sushi Pack" was on. Not only did Sadie really dig it, but Peter and I were pretty in to as well. It's about these little Sushi dudes (Tako, Maguro, Ebi, you get the idea) who fight the Titanium Chef and his evil doers. Unfortunately, I can't find any episodes online so that's gonna have to wait until Grandma and Grandpa's. Or maybe now that we've broken down and gotten ourselves a nice little grocery getter of a car we'll get a TV.
Yeah, right!!!! As if!

enjoy!
xoxo

A distant memory

2009-01-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

As I sit here eating my small handful (alas, that is all Weight Watchers will allow) of last night's pasta and meager drippings of sauce and trying desperately to convince myself that the large salad staring at me on the table is going to taste so much better than that second serving of pasta I am reminded of a time when I could eat whatever, whenever I wanted.........

And then the record skips and I am jolted back into reality.

Now don't get me wrong, I love salad. I eat them a lot. But given the choice, pasta always prevails over salad. I guess that's why I had to join WW again, huh?

I posted this recipe for soy balls some time ago.
I made them again a few weeks ago and added some dried basil and few other seasonings to the mix just for fun.
As I write this and am eating my plain pasta and sauce (don't worry Peter, I am not eating OVER the computer) I am thinking of all the ways those soy balls would be good.
Besides, the obvious simmered in sauce and then placed on top of pasta, I think a nice soy ball sammie with some fresh mozz or maybe even tofu ricotta with basil would be delicious.
Placed between a nicely toasted bread, mmmmmmm, I can taste it now.
Another treat might be to add these balls to a mac and cheese I would think.
I suppose you really could do just about anything with these and even change the seasonings accordingly.
For now, I'll leave you with the original recipe for the soy balls and let you decide what to do with them.
adapted from "125 Best Vegan Recipes"
serves about 4 people

You will need:
1 package (about 14oz) soy ground meat alternative (like Gimme Lean in the tube packaging)
1/4 cup panko (japanese bread crumbs)
2 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 Tablespoon all purpose flour, whole wheat pastry flour, whatever
your favorite sauce
a non stick frying pan for the balls
slotted spoon

Step 1
empty the soy meat into a bowl
mix together the panko, flour, oregano and garlic powder and any other seasonings into a separate bowl and mix together well.
with a spoon or ice cream scoop (of whatever size you choose) scoop meat and roll into balls
drop into flour mixture and coat
set aside on a plate

Step 2
heat the olive oil in a non-stick skillet on med-high heat
add the meat balls and stir gently with a spoon until they have been browned and are a bit crispy
remove with a slotted spoon
simmer the balls in the sauce until warmed through and ready to use.

Okay salad, here I come.

Good Grief!!!!

2009-01-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

Sadie is 11 months today!!!!!

Good grief! How can I slow this train down??????

enjoy!
xoxo