Pesto! Pesto! Pesto!

I looooovvve fresh pesto. Doesn't everyone? For this very reason, I plant many tiny basil seeds in the late spring so that there will be abundant basil leaves for pesto in the fall.

Here's an easy recipe:

2 cups fresh basil leaves
4 tsp. minced garlic or 2-3 cloves fresh garlic
2 tbsp. pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Wash and dry the basil leaves. Work quickly because the basil leaves will darken quickly once they are picked and washed. Chop the basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor. With the motor running, add olive oil, then cheese, then salt and pepper. Chop until it's as fine as you like. Refrigerate immediately, preferably in an airtight container. Cover the surface of the pesto with saran wrap to prevent browning.

One thing I really like to do is freeze extra pesto and use it all winter. You can freeze it in ice cube trays covered well with saran wrap, then just pop a couple of frozen pesto cubes into hot pasta whenever you want. Or, freeze pesto into a log shape (again, in saran wrap). Then just slice off the amount you need each time.

A family favorite is just simple pasta with pesto sauce, accompanied by some sauteed chicken.

Give this a try! If you don't have access to basil plants, run to Whole Foods and see if they still have any large plants. You should easily be able to pick 2 cups worth. Buy the plant first, though.

Domestic Diva Friday!!!

Yes, I’ve fallen off the wagon again and abandoned my post in the blogosphere! My apologies!! I’m back and I’ll try to be back with some regularity now.

Here’s what’s been going on: our youngest child was diagnosed with a devastating disability in late June/early July. Ever since then, my days have been filled with doctors, finding therapists, researching treatments, etc. I will write much more about this in future blog posts. My other two children are also home for the summer and that’s been wild too – they each had camps and fun things to do (which turned me into a taxi driver most days). And to top it all off, we are having construction done on our house right now. We are adding a bedroom and a full bathroom in the 3rd floor attic. This beautiful new room will belong to Jack, and the new baby due around Thanksgiving will get Jack’s old room. More about this in future blog posts too.

But let’s get on with something more interesting and useful…

DOMESTIC DIVA FRIDAY!!!

With all that I’ve had going on, cooking has been an added chore. But I was recently inspired by an entrée at California Pizza Kitchen. It looked delicious in the photo, and when I read the description, I thought, “Hey, I can make this at home!” My general rule at restaurants is I never order something I could have made at home. In keeping with that, I did not order this, but made it at home a couple of days later. Easy and wonderful! This was enough for my family of 5 with leftovers the next day.

Asparagus & Spinach Spaghettini

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute fresh asparagus, a large bunch chopped into bite sized pieces. When it begins to soften, add a few cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped, plus one defrosted & drained 10 oz package of chopped spinach. Saute more. Then add in a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved, and saute until soft. Lastly, add some snipped fresh basil.

Serve over thin spaghetti, or any type of pasta you like. Serve hot with shredded parmesan cheese - WONDERFUL!!

Charlotte Turned 2!

It is our joy to announce little Charlotte celebrated her 2nd birthday yesterday, June 5th! We had a ball opening a few presents, but I think her very favorite thing was the carrot cake with homemade cream cheese icing!

Dinner Tonight

Ok, it's hot. I don't want to cook. I don't want to grill outside when the projected high is 97. So here's what we are going to have for dinner:

Spring Mix Salad (Organic)
Cherry Tomatoes, halved
Carrots
Tyson Chicken strips
Cucumber slices
Cold chickpeas
Grapes

and....

maybe a wheat roll for everyone except Jackson, who is busy following the South Beach Diet.

Am I lazy? Probably. But we'll eat and it'll be healthy too!

A Looong Respite

My apologies for not posting for almost 3 months! You'll laugh when you hear my reason. On March 17th, I found out I was pregnant! For the 4th time, no less! So, once that joyous, frightening, stupefying news was learned, I could think of nothing else and was fairly consumed with my own thoughts. I couldn't think clearly enough to write about ANYTHING, and I could not yet announce my pregnancy. I had a total mental block. Then, some pregnacy-related problems began. First I had some bleeding, which was scary and necessitated some trips to the doctor. But all's well! Then, starting at only 5.5 weeks, I began suffering from fairly debilitating nausea. Within a week, it was severe, 24/7 nausea that was even waking me up in the middle of the night. On top of that, the fatigue set in. Finally, between 8-10 weeks, we got around to telling all our family, then friends about the pregnancy. We've had one successful, normal ultrasound and the baby looks great! I'm 15 weeks today; the baby is due Nov. 26, 2008.

We have a boy name all picked out and ready to go: Nathaniel (Nate for short). However, we have NO girl names so if you have a suggestion, please reply to this post or send me an email!

The next order of business is summer. We are about to experience extreme heat in the Triangle (97 for the next week) and I'm scrambling to figure out what to do with the kids. We've really enjoyed a very temperate May and we took lots of trips to the park. I fear that's over for awhile!

I have lost my motivation to cook much with this extreme heat combined with my pregnancy fatigue. Hence my next post...

Domestic Diva Friday

You'll be glad to know today's edition will not involve the crock pot! In the spirit of this holy week, let's talk about Easter dinner.

This year, our celebration will be with family, our 5 plus two in-town family members. I am hosting a formal dinner at our house. I purchased some new spring green table linens for the dining room and I have an arrangement of fresh tulips for the table.

Here's the menu:

Spiral sliced ham

Mushroom risotto

Steamed asparagus

salad

Sister Shuberts rolls & butter

Dessert (provided by a family member, and I don't know what it'll be yet)

I hope you all have a blessed Easter and that you worship the King, Jesus Christ, who makes all this possible. And I hope the Easter Bunny brings all your favorite candy!!

Domestic Diva Friday

Before the weather really turns warm, let's have one more family chili night. This recipe is a winner all around: it's super healthy, super tasty, and it cooks in the crock pot! (I know, crock pots are becoming my theme. When the weather turns really warm, I will put it away and focus on other things, I promise.)

I took this to a church chili cookoff a couple of years ago and it got raves. I received several requests for the recipe.

Without further ado, here 'tis:

Pumpkin Turkey Chili

(recipe from Fix It and Forget It Recipes for Entertaining, page 177)


1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper (I use frozen "stoplight" pepper strips)
3 garlic cloves, minced (I used jarred minced garlic)
2 Tbsp oil
1.5 tsp. dried oregano
1.5 - 2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp chili powder
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 lb raw ground turkey, low fat (or you may use 2.5 cups cooked chopped turkey)
1 16 oz can pumpkin
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
3-4 cups chicken broth
1 cinnamon stick

In a skillet, saute the ground turkey, onions, peppers, and garlic in oil, until cooked and soft.





Stir in oregano, cumin, and chili powder; stir and cook for a minute more. Transfer to crock pot. Add all remaining ingredients to crock pot, stir, cover, and cook on low for 7-8 hours. Before serving, remove the cinnamon stick and stir in a few dashes of ground cinnamon, if desired. It's terrific, I promise! This will feed 6-8 people generously, with leftovers to spare!


Here's the finished product:


Happy Chili night, everyone!

Liz's 5th Grade Play

Liz had a speaking part in her 5th grade play! Some nice mom put some clips of it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1GsIKPjams

Fast forward to 2:20 min, she is on the back row.
FF to 2:35, she is speaking.
FF to 7:15, she has a brief singing appearance on the back row.

Enjoy!

Quote of the Day

This is my new favorite quote, because I seem to be "living it" on a daily basis:

"It's my personal observation that we moms function at a rate slightly above the land speed record, and perspiration and wilt are the natural result." Vicki Iovine

(fellow moms: so now you know why your hair is flat!)

Domestic Diva - Bonus Edition!

Ladies, I couldn't keep this one to myself. We had the most awesome breakfast today. Even Elizabeth liked it, and she's picky in the morning. I love having a healthy breakfast with lots of whole grains and no added sugar. Here's a great recipe....get out your crock pots again!

Five Grain Breakfast (recipe from //recipes.sparkpeople.com)

Combine the following ingredients in your slow cooker:

2-1/2 tbsp bulgur wheat

2-1/2 tbsp brown rice

2 tbsp barley

2 tbsp quinoa

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 cup apples, diced

1-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 cups water

1 tbsp vanilla extract

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, overnight. Add more cinnamon to taste and stir well before serving. You could also add in raisins. I put a handful of chopped nuts on top. Serves 3 generously, double it for a family of 5-6.

Here's the finished product:

If you are not familiar with whole grains like bulgur wheat and quinoa, you can find them in bulk bins at Whole Foods or Earth Fare. They are worth trying!

PetsMart vs. Babies R' US

Ok, this is an opinionated rant. Some of you may not agree with me, and that's all right. Feel free to add comments.

I wonder how many pet supply stores existed in 1950. 1960? Even 1970, the year of my birth? I’m not talking about pet stores, like the small, mom n’ pop type portrayed in the movie Because of Winn Dixie, attended by musician-turned-actor Dave Matthews. No, I’m talking about pet supply stores, like PetsMart, that exclusively offer pet toys, pet food, pet collars, pet rick-rack, pet books, “green” pet treats, ad nauseum, all under a mere 35 thousand square feet!

Don’t get me wrong. I love pets. I am the previous master to two dogs and numerous beta fish, may they rest in peace. I don’t begrudge anyone their choice to love and adopt a pet (or two) as a member of the family. But since when, as a culture, have we become so nuts for our pets?
I propose that a big part of this issue is the decline of nuclear families and rates of reproduction in this country. In 1950, 68% of the population was married and the annual birth rate per 1,000 people was 24.1. In 2003, about 58% were married and the annual birth rate per 1,000 people was 14.1. Way back when, most adults got married young and large families were the norm. Now a large family is considered anything more than 2 kids. Many adults choose not to marry or to marry much later in life and then choose either not to have children or to limit their childbearing.

We were created by God to be in relationship -first with Him, then with others. God gifted us, both men and women, to nurture life. When our homes are not full of children, often we turn to a pet to fill this need. This can be a beautiful thing! I know that the love and companionship provided by a good pet lowers blood pressure and soothes the emotions. Pets who need regular walks challenge us to improve our fitness. Special dogs are used to bring joy to sick children in hospitals and the elderly in nursing homes. All of this is wonderful, a gift from God. But since when did our pets need so much junk from the big box pet supply store??

My beef is that, as a society, we have more heart for puppies than we do for babies. Don’t think so? Then why, in the Triangle area of North Carolina, are there 16 big box pet supply stores (10 PetsMart, 6 PetCo) and a mere 5 big box baby supply stores (2 Babies R’ Us, 3 Baby Depot)? In the same geographical area, why are there more than three times as many pet supply stores than baby supply stores?

I have a friend who used to work as a nanny. Suddenly, her employers started giving her a hard time about her salary. They complained to her that the only way they were able to continue to pay her from their monthly budget was to take money from their children's college funds to pay for other expenses. Can you guess what those "other expenses" were? Their dog needed surgery. I don't know the nature of the dog's medical problem, but our priorities are certainly out of whack when we'll sacrifice our children's futures to prolong the life of a pet. My friend eventually left their employment.

I’d like to issue a challenge to all of us living in the modern, Western world: be about your family. God sets the solitary in families (Psalm 68:6). Love your pets, but love your children, even those unborn, even more. Make your offspring your priority. Maybe Babies R’ Us will need to expand to a location near you.

Domestic Diva Friday

I promise this blog will not ONLY contain Domestic Diva Friday entries. This has been a busy week with one child sick and another with a school play. My free time this week has been zilch!

Domestic Diva Friday – 2nd edition!

Top 5 Household tips:

1) Not sure what the leftovers are in the Tupperware in the back of the fridge? Scared to open it up and get blown away by the smell and mess? Tempted to just throw the whole thing away but you hate to lose the Tupperware? Put the item in the freezer, marked so you’ll know not to eat it later. When the contents have frozen, run the Tupperware under warm water to help the contents release, then throw the leftovers away. They won’t smell and they usually pop out in one clean chunk.

2) Does the mail pile up as fast at your house as it does at ours? The piles of mail seem never- ending sometimes. If you have a recycling bin, make a pass by it on your way in from the mailbox. Immediately dispose of any and all junk mail, catalogs, and coupon mailers that you won’t use. Open the bills and throw the envelopes into the bin, too, as well as all the annoying “add ins” usually found with the bill. You will also spend less if you don’t even look in all those tempting catalogs! I only keep the ones that I know contain something I need.

3) In the warmer months, keep cans of chickpeas or other beans, artichoke hearts, canned chicken or tuna, olives, and fruits (like canned pears) in the fridge. When you need a quick,healthy meal, add all the chilled ingredients (drained) to a package of pre-washed salad greens. Voila! Instant dinner!

4) Do you dread decorating for Christmas because the Christmas lights are a tangled mess? Here’s a tip to help keep your lights untangled . When you take them down at the end of the season, coil them around your elbow to hand, like you would the vacuum cord. Then use tin foil to secure the entire strand into a circle. Your lights will not mysteriously tangle up during the months they spend in boxes, and best of all, this is a very inexpensive to implement. Hooray!

5) If you have kids and pets, own a dustbuster (hand held cordless vacuum). ‘Nuff said.

Domestic Diva Friday

Ok, I'm going to begin a weekly (hopefully!) feature - Domestic Diva Fridays. As a stay at home mother for the last 7 years, I've learned many things about running a household and providing for my family in a LIMITED amount of time! So, today's feature is....THE CROCK POT !



If you do not have a crock pot or slow cooker, run out and get one today. They are truly a friend to a busy mama. The 5-6 pm hour is usually chaos at our house, with tired cranky children and a frustrated mama, so cooking dinner at that hour is usually a challenge. Throwing some ingredients into the crock pot mid-morning is much more peaceful. The results are usually delicious, too!

My favorite crock pot cookbook is Fix-It and Forget-It Recipes for Entertaining. There are several others in the "Fix-It and Forget-It" series; I recommend them all. Many diet-friendly crock pot recipes can be found on Weightwatchers.com and Sparkpeople.com.


Without further ado, here's what we are having for dinner tonight....a tried and true favorite...Easy Beef Stroganoff!! I found this recipe in the above cookbook, pg. 6. Here's the method:

Can of Cream of Mushroom Soup
Can of Beef Broth
1 lb. Stew beef
1 cup sour cream (I use lite)
2 cups cooked egg noodles
optional add ins: can of sliced mushrooms, drained; chopped onion, chopped garlic



Whisk together the broth and the cream of mushroom soup in the crock pot until blended. Add in mushrooms (drained) and onion, if using, stir. Add raw stew beef pieces and stir. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours then switch pot to low and cook for 3-4 hours more. Twenty minutes before serving, stir in the sour cream. Cook egg noodles in a separate pot. Serve stroganoff over noodles. ENJOY! This is great with a salad and french bread, too.

Your family will love this!

Potty Training Travails

This is something I wrote about 1.5 years ago while potty training my son Jack, then 2.5 yrs. My newest baby was only 8 weeks old and I pretty much spent the month of August 2006 in the downstairs half bathroom with my son and the new baby.

IS there anything more frustrating than potty training a toddler? (I’m sure there is but I just can’t think of it right now.) Is there any task that shows one more clearly how little control one truly has over a child? When our babies are little and fresh from the womb, we tote them around and provide for their every need. As they become toddlers, the ever strong & present “will” begins to rear it’s ugly head.

My son is in "big boy underpants." Aren't you proud? He’s becoming a pro at getting to the potty in time for #1. However, he will not do #2 in the potty and asks for a diaper when it's time for that. I can't force him - he pitches a fit, then holds it in. I think I'm just going to have to wait for him to decide it's time. Just hope that's before he starts kindergarten.

Potty training my first child, dear Elizabeth, was a disaster. She was a bright, beautiful little child with a potent will to boot. Introducing the potty was fine and by age 2 ½ I knew for certain she understood and had the capacity to go diaper-free. She, however, did not have the desire to retire the tried-and-true diapers. No, no, she was determined not to go down without a fight. I, then, tried everything – stickers, candy, bribery – none of which did a bit of good. She set her feet with a willful pout and stood her ground. In desperation I turned to my pediatrician, a mother of three, whose diagnosis was swift and prescription was stunning to this first-time-mom: I had set up a battle and I needed to “drop it” for at least a month. A whole month?? No asking, dragging, begging my little one to the potty for a whole month?? This sounded like insanity to me.

I’m beginning to think that potty training is simply a metaphor for all of child rearing. During this short-but-oh-so-intense time of life, the goal is to get your child to move from diapers to using the toilet, from complete dependence on an adult to being able to handle it on his own. Our little babies come from the womb so completely and utterly dependent upon us for their every everything. Isn’t the goal of parenting to train the child to complete independence by age 18 (or so)? As a mom, I never want to hear that my child will be fine without me, but as my babies grow up, I train each one to do for him or herself. With my 9 year old, we are working on laundry and dishes.

Potty training is a rite of passage for parents. Unless you have a full-time, live-in nanny, there is no escaping the travails of potty training. Even my friend Sarah, whose first child was a dream to potty train, still dreads training her second child. Shortly after my 3rd baby was born, my little 2 1/2 year old son began to want to use the potty. Not wanting to miss a golden opportunity, we went ahead and began training. These were challenging days, most of which I spent in the bathroom with my son and a crying newborn on my shoulder. When my sweet neighbor Debbie brought over a meal, she told me she’d love to help out sometime. My response was straight from the gut: I told her (only partly-kidding) what I really needed was for her to take Jack for most of the day and potty train him. She replied (only partly-kidding), “Oh, and do you want me to send him to college too?” It was then that the full significance of this parenting trial truly hit me. This is parenthood 101.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Lists are fun...

Favorite quotes:
"You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving." Amy Carmichael, British missionary

"Every day I live I am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the powers we have not used, the selfish prudence that will risk nothing and which, shirking pain, misses happiness as well." Mary Cholmondeley, British author

"Well-behaved women seldom make history." Laurel Thatcher Ulrich (I admit I lifted this from my friend Jenn's blog, thanks Jenn!)

Favorite hymns & spiritual songs:
A Mighty Fortress is Our God
It is Well with my Soul
I Surrender All

O Come and Mourn:
(O love of God, O sin of man
In this dread act Your strength is tried
And victory remains with love
Jesus our Lord is crucified.)


Books:
The Bible
I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Harry Potter series books 1-5 (favorite is #4), by J.K. Rowling
Most historical fictions by Phillippa Gregory, esp. Earthly Joys and Virgin Earth
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
The Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffennegger
The Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Cold Mountain and Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier
One Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni
Meeting God at Every Turn by Catherine Marshall
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Favorite Poet:
William Wordsworth

Movies:
Elizabeth
Gone With the Wind
Hotel Rwanda
Because of Winn Dixie
Narnia - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
The Comfort of Strangers
The Piano
My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Popular Musicians:
They Might be Giants
Rebecca St. James
R.E.M.
The Cure
Depeche Mode
Jars of Clay
Newsboys
Dave Matthews & band
Duran Duran (flashback! Yes, I was a teen in the 80s)
U2
Sting
Simon & Garfunkel

Ok, I'll add more later!

An Introduction...

What's the most central, most important thing I could tell you about me? I have new life in Christ. The old has gone, the new has come!! (2 Corinthians 5:17) I have named this blog Butterflies not only for their beauty, but for the new life they represent. They start out as ugly little worms and God transforms them into beautiful, colorful creatures! Where they once crawled through mud, they now fly and play on the wind.



Also central to knowing me is my loving and ever-patient husband Jackson. We are blessed with 3 children, Elizabeth (10.5), Jack (4), and Charlotte (20 months). I'm sure there will be much about them in future blog posts.



I have an English degree from UVa. I am wild about the Jacksonville Jaguars (NFL) and UVa football. I love reading and literature, and I have more of a knack for editing than writing. I, along with my family, am devoted to our church.



Small things to know about me is I prefer skiing to surfing, even though I grew up on a Florida beach. I prefer Fall to Spring. I'll take chocolate over any other dessert. I like small dogs but not big ones. Cats make me sneeze. Fascinating stuff, I know.