May (the month) so far (in brief)

1. Seven-hour car trip to VA with three kids.  Check.

2. Spring semester over.  Year One done.

3. Four trips to the children’s museum.

4.  Lots of time with the grandparents and Aunt Claire and Aunt Alli.

5.  Girls’ weekend in WVA.  Too short.  Shopping, coffee, and even a psychic.  So good.

6.  Too much Bruster’s Ice Cream.  Wait?  Is that possible?

7.  HGTV.

8.  Mad Men.

9.  Bones.

10. Castle.

11. Crazy amounts of kid time.  Lovin’ it.

12. Missing Shawn.  Only three more days.

13.  Day trip to Charlottesville.

14. Catan.

15. Fiction and memoir reading.

16.  Showers.  Four days in a row.  Amazing.  Seriously amazing.

17.  Best white pizza I’ve ever had (@Vito’s in Harrisonburg).

18.  Successfully brewed two pots of coffee two days in a row.  Here’s to tomorrow and three in a row.

19. Did I mention Bruster’s ice cream?

20.  And even a new story in the works…

My New Favorite Way To Cook Cauliflower

 A Selfish Side Dish

Usually it is bad when I am the only one in the family who likes something I make.  I mean, really, what is the point of cooking something for me and then cooking something for the rest of the gang?

But I will make an exception for this cauliflower!

My parents have been raving about curried cauliflower, and we finally got a head in our basket this weekend.  So of course, Saturday night, I had to give it a shot:

Curried Cauliflower: A Rough Recipe

1.  In a bowl, I mixed yellow curry powder, garlic salt, some chili powder, cilantro, and Miracle Whip.  I wanted to use my light Mayo, but if Shawn was to have any hope of liking it, I had to stick with MW.  I didn’t really measure anything…but I used a lot more curry powder than any other spice.  The end result was a paste.

2.  Then, I spread this paste all over the head of cauliflower.

3.  I popped it in the microwave for ten minutes with a loose lid and went back to preparing the rest of our dinner (Who am I kidding?  We had a Stouffer’s frozen entree.  I guess I set the table.)

Ten minutes later, I had a steaming hot, moist, curry-flavored cauliflower.  It was so, so good!  I certainly could have had the whole head, but Shawn tried it (didn’t like it), and I ended up saving some for lunch on Sunday.

Reflections and Possible Variations

Next time I get a cauliflower, I know what I am doing with it.  So easy.  So quick.  So good.

I’m also wondering about variations.  Maybe I’ll try a Miracle Whip, cheddar cheese, onion and garlic powder, and chive paste…sort of a mashed potato mix.  Or, maybe I could do an Italian version: Alfredo cheese sauce, parm cheese, basil, oregano, etc.  Could be tasty.

And maybe this apply-paste-to-whole-vegetable-and-pop-in-the-microwave thing could be used for other vegetables.  I am thinking onion?

P.S.  The dish came together so quickly, and I ate it so fast, I didn’t even have a chance to take a picture!  But it looked a lot like this one from kitchendaily.com.

The Versatile Blogger Award

A big THANK YOU to gingerskeeper at This Bountiful Backyard for awarding me the Versatile Blogger Award.  Hers was one of the first blogs I started following when I made my transition to WordPress in February.  I adore her knack for combining stories, pictures, tips, and recipes.  I am always hungry after I read her blog!

Rules of This Award:

1. Add the award to your blog
2. Thank the blogger who gave it to you
3. Mention 7 random things about yourself
4. List the rules
5. Award to 15 bloggers
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blogs or on Facebook

Seven Random Things About Me:

1.  I am a twin.

2.  I adore Steven Millhauser’s fiction.

3.  I just finished reading A Short History of Women by Kate Wilbert.  Fantastic.

4.  I’m looking forward to having the month of May off with the kiddos!

5.  I’m looking forward to Girl’s Weekend!

6.  The only way I can convince myself to wake up early to work is to eat breakfast and make my coffee right away.

7.  I think all meals deserve dessert.  Don’t you?

My Nominations for the Versatile Blogger Award:

1.  http://anniegroves.wordpress.com/

2. http://campclem.com/

3. http://sheenasnyder.wordpress.com/

4. http://meheandthem.wordpress.com/

5. http://booshy.wordpress.com/

6. http://amomand4kids.wordpress.com/

7. http://thebookofalice.wordpress.com/

8. http://pintsizedmama.com/

9. http://scienceandstory.wordpress.com/

10. http://motherstonic.com/

11. http://pipersrun.com/

12. http://bubblylee.wordpress.com/

13. http://fromthehatchery.wordpress.com/

14. http://4mothers1blog.wordpress.com/

15. http://honeydos.wordpress.com/

What a nice way to start the weekend!  Now time to start leaving some comments.

Fun with Vegetables for the Whole Family

I guess one of my themes this week is vegetables, huh?  First lettuce, now this.  I’m going to run with it!

While I have to talk myself into eating fruit, I love vegetables and I love preparing them in fun, new ways.  Along the way, I hope my kids fall in love with vegetables too.  They have their favorites right now – peas, broccoli, corn – and hopefully their tastes will broaden with time.  But for now, I’m trying to be a little sneaky.  Call it something greasy, and you’ve got a mouth-watering way to eat carrots, squash, cauliflower, and more.  Everyone craves chips, fries, tots, and fritters.  Why not make them out of veggies?  

Here’s a look at my greasy-food-turned-vegetable goldmine.  Some I’ve made, some I’ve tried, and some I can’t wait to try.

1.  I made these carrot fries yesterday.  Love fries.  And these came out nice and soft, which is actually how I like my fries.  Shawn said they still tasted like carrots, which was true, but they seemed a lot like fries because of the seasoning and shape (I used a little bit of olive oil, breadcrumbs, and fry seasoning).  Even Adrian liked them.  Very tasty and easy to make!

2.  Tonight we are going to have squash chips.  My dad made these when he was visiting us, and I saw a picture of them on Pinterest the other day.

3.  Zucchini tots.  These came together really easily, smelled great while cooking, and look really cute in the mini-muffin pans.  The middles were a little soft, but the flavor was great.

4.  Broccoli fritters.  I called these green balls of goodness, but Riley still wasn’t a fan.  I thought they were delicious.

5.  Cauliflower tots are on my list to attempt as soon as we get another cauliflower in our  basket!

6.  How about mac and cheese, cauliflower-style...

7.  Zucchini fries.

8.  Cauliflower-crust pizza.

9.  Zucchini pizza slices.  Or maybe you could make these as boats?

10.  I suppose the possibilities are nearly endless!  I may have to try a version of carrot tots or squash fries.  Maybe a squash pizza crust or carrot mac and cheese.  Love the versatility of vegetables!  And thank you, Pinterest, for the inspiration!  I may need a new board: Greasy Veg Goodness.

Big Days for the Little People (and me)

Part I

Adrian said goodbye to his pacifier this weekend!  A little earlier than we had anticipated, but we had to jump the gun when the state of his current paci rendered it useless (peanut butter somehow got inside of it…).  So we all piled into the car and headed out to Toys-R-Us.  To help Riley give up her paci, we got her a scooter.  To help ease Adrian’s transition and look forward to the summer, we got him a sandbox.  Strapped it on the car, and off we went!  At home, we told Adrian he would have to surrender his paci so we could open his present.  No hesitation there.  Then we ate dinner, the kids played in the sandbox, and we did bath time.  Such a nice, enjoyable family night!

Then bedtime hit.  And Adrian realized what he had surrendered.  Let’s just say it was a long night.  We’ll see how night two goes.  I have to say, I am thrilled by how communicative he is now that he doesn’t have his paci.  He seems so grown-up, such a big boy in just a day!

Part II

Riley went to her Pre-K orientation this morning.  To celebrate, we had bagels at Panera for breakfast.  All morning, she kept saying, “Today is a really big day for me.  I’m getting so big.”  And she is right.  At the school, we got to see both classrooms and watch one class in action for about five minutes.  We were probably only there for 30 minutes max.  Unfortunately, because it was so quick, I didn’t think of any questions until after we left.  Now I have a ton!  How much art time?  Homework?

Reflective Ramblings… 

I get that this was just orientation and that she is only starting Pre-K, but I have to admit this upcoming transition to her starting public school and driving to work with Shawn has me a little sad.  I have loved our time together in the mornings (well, maybe not every morning but most, definitely most).  And sure I will be up when she leaves in the fall (and probably still help get her dressed, washed, hair brushed, etc.), but it won’t be the same.  I already know I will have a hard time with our kids getting older.  Already, they are all growing so fast.  I need my remote control button for life.  I want to pause, linger on these sweet, crazy, full to bursting moments when all three of them are so adorable and close and mostly ours.  Next year, Riley will have 22 kids in her class instead of just 10.  She’ll have a new teacher.  She’ll have a new school of influences and experiences raining down on her.  She’ll have more thoughts and ideas and start to become even more of a separate person, an individual.  And I am thrilled about that, thrilled about all of the learning and experiences and fun and challenges life is going to start offering up to her – oysters everywhere.  But that means she is going to need me less, and that’s what scares me.  Finally, maybe in the last two months or so, I finally really feel like a mom.  And I love being a mom.  I love caring for, thinking about, talking to, cuddling with, and loving my children.  I know these activities will continue, but I am more aware of how fragile, how quick, how sweet this time is.  Right now.  And I just want it to last a little longer.  A lot longer.  Maybe forever.

Part III

Sidney tried her first spoonful or so of rice cereal.  She laughed and barely ate any of it, which was pretty much what I expected.

Part IV

Tomorrow is my last big day for the semester (attending class and teaching).  I am in the home-stretch!  My classes have been terrific, and I am sorry to see them end (though I do need a bit of a break…).  Really, if all my semesters are like my last two with amazing teachers, reading lists, peers, and discussions, I will be quite happy!

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How I learned to love lettuce…

Recently, we’ve had a lot of salad.  Each week in our basket, we get at least one if not two heads of lettuce.  I like salad, but I don’t love salad.  It is certainly not something I crave.  That has been changing.  Here’s how I’ve been building salad into my (almost) daily diet:

1.  Make it.  We have an endless salad bowl in the fridge.  Well, it certainly seems always a little full.  This week, I prepared salad on Tuesday and Friday, but we also ate it Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.  I find as long as I have salad around, ready to go, then I am more likely to eat it.

2.  Chop it.  I owe this tip to my parents.  That’s the only way they make salad now – lettuce and everything chopped nice and bite-sized.  So that’s what I do.  I pretty much dice up everything – onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, event the lettuce.

This chopped salad from Espresso and Cream looks amazing!

3.  Top it.  I started using salad more as a plate recently and less as a side dish.  This week, I had salad mixed with pizza and a bit of Alfredo sauce and mac and cheese.  I’ve also had it mixed with cheesy potatoes and ham and eggs (with French dressing…so good!) after Easter.

A Pizza-Salad combo from Skinny Kitchen -

Right now, we also have some broccoli on hand.  I may need to make this salad from Sweet Amandine this coming week:

Does Pinterest Really Save You Time?

Start your stopwatch now.

1.  Search house.

2.  Find empty plastic wipes containers.

3.  Clean out one of these containers.

4.  Think about how to repurpose container.

5.  Consider outrageous possibilities: hot tub for princess dolls, paper airplane hanger, etc.  The list is endless.

6.  Decide on a more conventional option: crayon storage or bedroom clutter organizer.

7.  Find Mod Podge and tissue paper.

8.  Dump crayons out of a Crayola box and sort by color.

9.  Have a brilliant idea!

10.  Collect a dozen empty toilet paper rolls from around the house.

11. Cut them in half.

12.  Hot glue them into plastic wipe container.

13.  Put crayons by color into half toilet paper rolls.  Then you have the red roll.  The blue roll.  Etc.

14.  Smile at own creativity and ingenuity.

15.  Apply Mod Podge and tissue paper to outside of The Ultimate Crayon Sorter.

16.  Let it dry.

17.  Take copious pictures of project, especially really close-up and artsy ones.

18.  For example, set the bottle of Mod Podge next to a small heap of tissue paper strips.  Have your paint brush drip a small puddle of Mod Podge onto your dining room tabletop.  Then, snap a shot. Plan to call this one: Exterior Decor Materials.  It looks something like this but a bit more stylized:

19.  Sign-in to your blog.

20.  Title a new post: DIY Ultimate Crayon Sorter.  Get your inspiration from here…

21.  Upload lots of pictures.

22.  Add captions.

23.  Narrate the project-developing process.

24.  Publish post.

25.  Click on the  Pin It button installed on your web browser.

26.  Select your best picture of the crayon sorter to pin to your DIY/Crafts Board.

27.  Compose a comment to go along with the image.  Something like “Best way to organize crayons.  Super easy and fun project using a plastic wipe container.”

28.  Tweet Pin.

29.  Post pin to your Facebook timeline.

30.  Repin your pin to your board called Pins I’ve Made/Used/Bought.

31.  Scroll through new pins on Pinterest.

32.  See an idea for a Car Activity Kit that is stored in a plastic wipes container.

33.  Wonder where you put the rest of your plastic wipes containers.

34.  Wish for a pin to help you organize and find plastic wipes containers.

35.  Wander house for a box you can wrap in gift wrap or fabric and use to store repurposeable empty home supply containers.

Stop.