Happy 2010

We celebrated the New Year in style this year with a very relaxing and quiet evening at home. It was the first time Todd and I decided to stay home for New Years and let me tell you it was so nice and just what we both needed after the collective chaos of the holidays.

We decided to cook a nice meal and dessert and enjoy each other's company for the evening. We felt thankful for such an amazing year in 2009 and I could not have imagined spending the year end any other way. I hope that you all had pleasurable times ringing in the new year, albeit much more exciting than ours.

I decided that I would devote a little more time this year to writing about recipes that we cook.  I am often amazed that I am able to get food on the table in time for Grace's dinner at 5:30pm, but I always seem to manage. One of our stategies is to begin the meal in the morning. I will often chop, prep and measure things for a recipe, so that I only have a few steps left when I get home.

 We recently purchased this candle wall art from Pottery Barn to cover the large wall space in the dining room.  It is gorgeous lit up at night, but also looks quite nice in the day too.

 

 Potato Torte- We made this AMAZINGLY delicious, rich and buttery torte on New Years. I can't say enough good things about it. It is definitely a special occasion food and not one for the New Year's diets.

 It is supposed to have bacon in it, so we just put extra gruyere in it instead. You cannot go wrong with extra gruyere, that cheese is heaven.

 We made it along with this simple salad- the dressing was really delectable and simple and it is the addition of soy sauce that does it: Cafe Salad

 I made a coconut chocolate cake with coconut drizzle for dessert. It was in the January issue of Bon Appetit. It was not a very sweet cake and could be eaten for breakfast. We served it with a little lightly sweetened whipped cream. If I were to make it again, I would eliminate the orange zest (or reduce it by at least half). I realize that I am not a fan of orange and chocolate. I have linked all the recipes in case you want to make them.

Grace prefers shoes when they are off her feet

 We walked to the store on New Years Day. Gracie loves going places in her car. It was a VERY cold and gloomy day that day. It was the kind of day that you stay in watch movies and stay warm under blankets. I love those days.

 getting a ride in her wagon

 Grace loves her dog Violet

 Carter and Grace at Carter's First birthday.  Last weekend we attended Anthony's 3rd Birthday in Napa and we did not take ANY pictures. We vowed not to let that happen at Carter's. I can't believe he is one already.

Here is Grace with Carter when he was just born..already so cute together!

Staci's Dad kept the kids occupied in this wagon for a long time.

It wasn't long before Alyssa needed to join in. Carter doesn't even know what a ladies man he is already!
Remember this one taken back in June. They all were so small back then.

Todd and I have been following a food blog called 101 Cookbooks for awhile now. The writer, Heidi, lives in SF and features healthy, simple and delicious Vegetarian Recipes. We usually try to make one of her recipes a week and have yet to be disappointed. I love the way she writes her recipes and the stories that she shares about the food she cooks.  She is a skilled photographer and her food looks more like a work of art, not because she has perfectly arranged it, but because she allows the richness of the colors from the food shine through. We recently made this Broccoli Cheddar Soup- it is the best. Heidi always uses lots of condiments on her food. In this soup you top it with whole grain Dijon crotouns made out of rustic wheat bread,  smoked paprika, a drizzle of creme fraiche and aged cheddar. It is a fantastic version of broccoli cheddar soup mainly because the soup is rustic and chunky, allowing you to taste the individual flavor of broccoli and the sharpness of the cheddar. Todd seems to recall that I already spoke of this soup... If I did, I blame it on Mom brain. I wouldn't be surprised if he was right.

Here's to 2010!

2/3 of a year

Grace turned 8 months on Wednesday- we can't believe it! On Mother's day she blessed us with a 5:30 am wake up (her new weekend wake up). However, she is the sweetest baby in the morning always laughing and cooing in her crib. I don't mind it, although I am now unable to stay up on the weekends. Her new babble is, "die, die, die" (I hope she is not trying to tell us something!).

Todd made me 2 delicious dinners on Saturday and Sunday for Mother's Day and let me take a very nice nap on Sunday while he took care of Grace. I have not taken a nap in a long time, so it was so appreciated! It was the best 20 minutes of sleep I have had in a long time.

We have been looking at houses and it has been very tiring and stressful (what happened to this being a buyer's market?- I guess if you have lots of money it is). It is also very sad to know that we will be leaving SF soon. We love this city so much and wish we could raise Grace in our neighborhood. The city gives you so much, it will be like losing a best friend when we finally move. Since going back to work, I have become quite a good mule. Every morning I strap Grace into her sling, grab my pump, diaper bag, Grace's daycare bag and my big pink lunch bag, hoist them over my shoulder, grab my tea with the other hand, walk several blocks to where I have parked my car (wherever I have found a spot the day before after driving around for 20 minutes). It's a great workout! I would be willing to do all of this if we could stay here :(

FOOD RECAPS
Baby G has become quite the little eater, a true SF baby. Grace's new favorites are black beans and garbanzo beans. We really have been enjoying making her food and are so excited for all the great summer fruits in season!

Back in April we made some organic Kale baby food because we wanted her to start getting some greens and kale is one of the most nutrient-rich greens. After we made it, we knew that we had wasted our money (and organic kale is not cheap). It's flavor was quite strong and the texture after pureeing was sort of mealy.

On Friday I defrosted a cube and also some sweet potatoes to mix in with it should she despise the taste. Well, there was no need for that- she loved it and kept opening her mouth for more. I am so proud of my little girl loving a Superfood! Today we bought a ripe mango that we mashed and she loved that too (much better than the jarred mango/banana combo). It is fun to be able to give her foods with more texture.

We have also been trying to introduce Grace to finger foods- we gave her some peas that she just smashed all over the place. Although it was entertaining, it was not successful (I had to feed her them). A few weeks ago, I found some little brown rice puffs (happy bellies) that dissolve in the mouth and I thought I would give those a try. She really had no idea what to do with them either. She would hold them, transfer them between fingers, smash them, throw them, anything but eat them. Well, it took her a few weeks, but here is what she is able to do now>>>>

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***I wanted to tell you that we added a Followers Tab to our blog. We would LOVE to know who reads our blog, so please add yourself to it (located on the right side of our page)! Thanks everyone for your comments and support! I can't wait for the Summer so I can post more often than I am now! Only 13 more days!!!!!!!***

As you saw in a previous post, Grace does not care for peas. We keep giving them to her every few days, and she really is a good sport. She never refuses to eat them, but you can always see it in her face.

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