We've had a wonderful month of visitors from all corners of the continent... and globe! We shared meals and playtime (and adult conversation during naptimes) with both friends and family over the course of the last four weeks.
Karen came up from Gainesville, FL to take a break from her grueling PhD program and our highlight of the weekend was a trip to the Field Museum where we saw the brand new Mammoths & Mastadons exhibit. The Pecan Sticky Buns on Easter morning were also noteworthy, if I do say so myself...
Then Mike's parents joined us for a weekend and we went down to the Magnificent Mile for a so-clear-you-could-see-forever view from the Hancock Observatory and a short tour of some shops along the strip.
Earlier this week we welcomed Keith, Kate and Elijah and introduced them to Evanston. The highlight for me was watching the babies interact and have a full blown squawk-fest over lunch with each other. I really think they hit it off. :)
And, we just bid our dear friend Vince (C's godfather) goodbye after a weekend that included a trip to Wrigley Field and Wicker Park for a little architecture exploration on foot and a lot of Evanston-based catching up, beer sipping and baby-adoring.
We loved seeing you, friends! And we miss you already.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Two things
1) I made yogurt! No really, I made it last night from a quart of lowfat milk and a scoop of Stoneyfield Farms Plain that we had in the fridge. We go through yogurt like crazy, so I thought I'd try it... and it worked! For once, I'm the one playing with bacteria instead of Mike.
First, I scolded the milk (bad Milk!). Ha! No, actually, I scalded it and then I cooled it off and then added the other yogurt and then left it all wrapped up in towels on the back of the stove for a long time so that it could think about WHY I'd scolded it in the first place... and lo, there was yogurt. And it is good!
2) There are spring things out there! Spring means crocuses and there are scads of them blooming right now. Gorgeous.
2a) It is 38 degrees out there right now... but I have toasted homemade bread with honey on it. So everything is OK.
First, I scolded the milk (bad Milk!). Ha! No, actually, I scalded it and then I cooled it off and then added the other yogurt and then left it all wrapped up in towels on the back of the stove for a long time so that it could think about WHY I'd scolded it in the first place... and lo, there was yogurt. And it is good!
2) There are spring things out there! Spring means crocuses and there are scads of them blooming right now. Gorgeous.
2a) It is 38 degrees out there right now... but I have toasted homemade bread with honey on it. So everything is OK.
Monday, April 5, 2010
EWG's Shopping Guide
I'm posting a link to The Environmental Working Group's "The Shopper's Guide to Pesticides" because I'm finding it to be very helpful.
CLICK HERE to download the iPhone app or a printable PDF for your wallet.
I'm trying to plan meals at the beginning of each week in an effort to waste less, to present a more well-rounded diet to the fam, and to make sure I get to cook a little bit of everything as the days fly by (it's cathartic for me... like knitting).
We love good food in this household. From homemade ice cream to roasted Brussels sprouts, from spiced-up black beans with cornbread to a good Thai green curry with tofu (yes, we all like tofu) we'll pretty much devour it all... and I wish we could afford to put an entirely organic spread on the table every night, but Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) is just beyond our means.
However, I'm making a few choices that I hope will impact our family's health and well-being.
1) I buy fruit and veggies weekly through a business called Fresh Picks. It works like a CSA, but I have the option of not buying into an entire season and can order week-to-week. And they deliver it to my front door. (For you lucky folks in CA, visit Local Harvest and hook up with a CSA that can serve you local, organic produce year-round.)
2) The baby eats entirely organic foods. This is pretty easy for now since I make 99% of his solid foods (and 100% of his beverages). I cook down/puree/freeze some of the fruit and veg that come from Fresh Picks and whatever is priced well at Whole Foods. I'd like to continue this through his first year. It feels good to spoon homemade applesauce into his little rosebud mouth and see him enjoy it so much that he bounces in anticipation of the next bite.
3) I'm using the cheat sheet mentioned above so that Mike and I can eat as organically as possible. And, we don't eat much meat which encourages us to look for plant-based sources of iron and protein. This doesn't necessarily mean faux-meat.
4) Farmer's Market! Our local market opens on May 8th. We can't wait. Evanston's Sunday market is great: groups of musicians amongst throngs of eager shoppers, a nice variety of vendors and fair prices on locally grown items.
5) Mix up the options and plan so that I'm not wasting food. While an organic roasting chicken isn't a cheap item, consider the following: one night's roasted chicken becomes the following day's sandwich becomes chicken stock becomes soup or risotto base or a richer liquid for cooking plain old rice! Maybe this point should be: cook like your grandmother. :)
6) Don't get too crazy. We love Lou's pizza around the corner, a Five Guys burger makes me salivate and there's an old style pancake house up the way called Walker's and their German apple pancakes are To Die For. And I don't think they're baking with organic apples.
So! This was supposed to be a short post. I just wanted to share the link to that cheat sheet, but I got carried away talking about one of my favorite subjects. FOOD! Mmm... dig in!
CLICK HERE to download the iPhone app or a printable PDF for your wallet.
I'm trying to plan meals at the beginning of each week in an effort to waste less, to present a more well-rounded diet to the fam, and to make sure I get to cook a little bit of everything as the days fly by (it's cathartic for me... like knitting).
We love good food in this household. From homemade ice cream to roasted Brussels sprouts, from spiced-up black beans with cornbread to a good Thai green curry with tofu (yes, we all like tofu) we'll pretty much devour it all... and I wish we could afford to put an entirely organic spread on the table every night, but Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) is just beyond our means.
However, I'm making a few choices that I hope will impact our family's health and well-being.
1) I buy fruit and veggies weekly through a business called Fresh Picks. It works like a CSA, but I have the option of not buying into an entire season and can order week-to-week. And they deliver it to my front door. (For you lucky folks in CA, visit Local Harvest and hook up with a CSA that can serve you local, organic produce year-round.)
2) The baby eats entirely organic foods. This is pretty easy for now since I make 99% of his solid foods (and 100% of his beverages). I cook down/puree/freeze some of the fruit and veg that come from Fresh Picks and whatever is priced well at Whole Foods. I'd like to continue this through his first year. It feels good to spoon homemade applesauce into his little rosebud mouth and see him enjoy it so much that he bounces in anticipation of the next bite.
3) I'm using the cheat sheet mentioned above so that Mike and I can eat as organically as possible. And, we don't eat much meat which encourages us to look for plant-based sources of iron and protein. This doesn't necessarily mean faux-meat.
4) Farmer's Market! Our local market opens on May 8th. We can't wait. Evanston's Sunday market is great: groups of musicians amongst throngs of eager shoppers, a nice variety of vendors and fair prices on locally grown items.
5) Mix up the options and plan so that I'm not wasting food. While an organic roasting chicken isn't a cheap item, consider the following: one night's roasted chicken becomes the following day's sandwich becomes chicken stock becomes soup or risotto base or a richer liquid for cooking plain old rice! Maybe this point should be: cook like your grandmother. :)
6) Don't get too crazy. We love Lou's pizza around the corner, a Five Guys burger makes me salivate and there's an old style pancake house up the way called Walker's and their German apple pancakes are To Die For. And I don't think they're baking with organic apples.
So! This was supposed to be a short post. I just wanted to share the link to that cheat sheet, but I got carried away talking about one of my favorite subjects. FOOD! Mmm... dig in!
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