Summer Saturday Evenings

You could say this is part two of our great Saturday on one of the hottest days of the summer. The temperature got up to 95º yesterday, which doesn't compare to the scorching temperatures other parts of the country, but was pretty huge for us. We went to the park with Miles in the morning, but by 10:30am we knew it was time to close down the shades, turn on the fans, and move like turtles, so not to work up a sweat. Miles took a two hour nap after our romp in the park, which left him with a hollow leg. He proceed to eat anything put in front of him (with bamboo fork in hand) -- a scrambled egg, some watermelon, 4 or 5 silver dollar pancakes, blueberries, and some graham crackers. 

We were a little nervous that he might have used up all of his nap time in this early long spurt, leaving him cranky and restless for the BBQ we wanted to attend in the afternoon. So, after the large lunch and reading A LOT of books, we took him out to a different park for about 30 minutes before nap time. He ran around again and by 3:30 he was exhausted and happily went down for his afternoon nap. He woke up cheerful and ready to party. YAY!

We arrived at the BBQ around 5:30 and our friends Rhiannon and Josh had set up a kiddie pool for the boys. The water was a little cool for Miles to take a dunk, but he happily played on the edges as Ethan and Daniel happily splashed around and handed him any toy that he wanted. Miles ran and ate like he had a second stomach to fill (growth spurt maybe?). The weeks leading up to his first birthday have maybe been the best yet. He's happy and playful and seems to get smarter by the minute. This week alone he's started to use a spoon, learned to drink from a straw, and learns new gestures almost instantly. 


My mom is coming into town tomorrow and my dad is soon to follow. I can't wait for them to see what a different baby he's become! 

Knee Deep

....In teething.

I can't even think straight because a certain someone is having such a rough time with his two front teeth. He's been a pathetic mess all day and only wants to put his head down on my shoulder or his high chair tray. I feel terrible, but I'm about to go all great-grandmother on his gums with the back of a metal spoon. Okay, not really, but I am being very permissive with the objects that he chooses to gnaw (belt buckles, wooden spoons, shoes, towels, and even plastic bottles).

For the most part he's been a trooper, but today was pretty rough. Even after two doses of ibuprofen, he was frazzled at best. J and I were counting down the minutes until his bedtime this evening (even though I know bedtime for us will not be restful).

A couple of weeks ago, I was the lucky recipient of this book (via a Facebook contest). It's by the same author as the book that Eric & Lea gave us for Christmas, which I have loved. I decided to put one of the recipes to good use. We had some extra watermelon and pineapple in the fridge, so I pureed it up and popped it in the freezer in some ice pop molds. I'm hoping it will be a nice (if messy) treat for the little dude tomorrow. I altered the recipe slightly and eliminated the honey and lime since they've not yet been introduced into his diet. I have to say, I'm not sure they would be necessary, as the pineapple watermelon puree is pretty darn tasty on its own. I'll make sure I post on other recipes from the book as I try them throughout the summer!

Don't Fear the Fennel

As we're nearing the end of J's week-long birthday fest, I decided to cook something new for dinner. The criteria was simple: anything not involving the oven. I had some fresh kale, a nice bulb of fennel along with random fresh herbs. I'm always amazed at how often Mark Bittman's blog for the New York Times syncs perfectly with my plans for weekday meals. His recent post on "More Vegetables, Less Egg" was truly an inspiration for the height of fresh vegetable season. Also, I'm pretty sure this ladybug crawled out of my greens bag from the farmers market. Good luck for me!

My frittata was more or less the filling from the Greek Mixed Green Pie that I made back in June -- a bulb of fennel sliced thin, 2 bunches of kale, a bunch of dill, a bunch of scallions, and 1/2 cup of feta cheese. I used three eggs, which in J's mind did not constitute a "frittata." He put on his skeptical face as he poked around the kitchen while the "frittata" was cooking, but agreed after the first bite that it was tasty -- as long as I didn't try to pass it off as an actual fritatta.

I have to admit, my relationship with fennel in the past has been a shaky one. When sliced fresh, the bulb closely resembles the smell of licorice -- one of those foods (can you call it a food?) for me that triggers an instant gag reflex. However, when browned with a little scallion and butter, it is a delectable treat. I have J's Mom to thank for fennel's second chance in my life. She makes delicious pasta with Italian sausage, fennel, (tomatoes?) and not much else. It is outstanding.

Anyway, the "frittata" was not the prettiest dish to photograph, but it certainly made up for its lack of appearance in taste. We paired it with fresh corn (on the cob for Jesse, cut off the cob for me) a few slices of sourdough bread, and a tasty Belgian beer, Scaldis. The feta melted and browned just a little to make a nice crust on the bottom, and the slight bite of the kale was balanced out by the sweet fennel and onions. Definitely a keeper! I'm actually quite excited to try the recipe again with an entirely new set of vegetables and herbs. Perhaps potatoes, bell pepper and thyme next time? The possibilities are endless.

Summer Tastes Good

Dinner on Monday was sort of off the cuff. I didn't have a recipe in mind and since I didn't go to the farmers market on Saturday, we were seriously low on vegetables. So, I walked over to the grocery store and just meandered through the produce section to see what was in season. I'm extremely excited that the first crop of corn is showing up. And it's so cheap! I got four ears last night for under $2. For dinner, we had whole wheat pasta with collards, andouille sausage, and mushrooms tossed with a simple fresh tomato sauce. On the side, Jesse threw together a bean salad with tomatoes, garlic, red onion, the fresh corn, and a dijon vinaigrette. Summer at it's best!

Tuesday morning, we finished off the remaining blueberries and peaches over blueberry pancakes with a little maple syrup. I made Jesse to promise to wake me up just before his 7am conference call (and just after making coffee of course) so I could prep the batter and slice the fruit. We made a pact to go out running in the late morning, so I decided we needed a good hearty breakfast as fuel. I wasn't terribly excited when 6:50am rolled around, but I'm glad now that I managed to get out of bed.

Today I am off to run errands, practice German, and do more research on our trip in September. Now that we have a hotel for our first two nights in Brussels, I feel that planning will be a lot more fun. Also, I'm anxiously awaiting my textbook's arrival for the class that I start in just a couple of weeks. I'm contemplating reading ahead to get a start on my coursework. We'll see if that actually happens, but since the class is only four weeks, I have a feeling things will be very intense on Monday through Thursday. If I can get ahead a little of the reading from the start, I think it will be a lot more manageable.

Decorating wtih Office Supplies

It got above 90 degrees for three days over the long weekend, which feels like the fires of hell in a third floor apartment with south facing windows. However, we still managed to have a great weekend. We met up with friends, went running, bike riding, and saw some fireworks. Because of the heat there was absolutely no cooking, so I have very few spectacular things, food-wise, to report. I'll post on our Mexican feast tomorrow when I'm feeling a little more ambitious. Mostly, we ate leftovers and anything could be had cold or at room temperature. Even doing dishes heated up the kitchen a little too much, so we didn't do a lot of that either.

I was slightly annoyed that our cheap metal blinds did very little to combat the melting sunbeams. On Friday afternoon, I started scrounging for items large enough to cover our windows in an effort to create make-shift blackout shades. Our plans were semi-successful. Guests from our dinner party last month will recognize our table cloth, stepping in to serve its wartime role as a binder clip roman shade. Our guest bed sheet is hanging in the bedroom with uneven swags created by straight pins and push pins. Who knew office supplies could come in so handy?!

Every time I curse the heat, I have to remind myself that such days are few and far between in Portland. I hardly think it's worth having an air-conditioning unit for a total of less than two weeks a year. I also try to remember that it's summer in one of the greatest cities for fresh produce and tasty food. I like to think that my torture this weekend is rewarded by gorging on a giant bowl of deliciously sweet fresh fruit for breakfast. Mmm. Summer tastes delicious.

Today, I am focusing on getting the apartment in order after the weekend. Hopefully, I'll cook a few dishes and make up for my lack of ambition for the past week. The temperature is only supposed to get up to 68 degrees today. Maybe I'll even turn on the oven for something sweet!