a great date

a couple weeks ago my hubby and i got to have a date night.
we went to the only kurdish restaurant in the united states (is that possible??), Babani's in St.Paul. it was really good food, kind of a mixture of greek and indian, leaning on the mediterranean side. we always share our food (the perfect marriage since i have always been dubbed "the nibbler") so we got to try a few things. we started with a really spunky soup - lemon and yogurt, it seemed to hit all the taste buds. the bread came with a side of feta, cucumbers and tomatoes (was really good but would probably be better in the heat of the summer when everything is very ripe and juicy). the kabobs were spicy and full of flavor. i had the kurdish tea and loved it - the strong cardamon flavor was delightful and brought back memories from travels to africa.
i love eating out. i love cooking, but i really appreciating eating food someone else has prepared. sometimes i think i am tired by the time we are eating dinner and i don't necessarily enjoy it like i thought i would.
eating out was always a special treat growing up, and i think i still consider it something special.
part two of our date night was another first, the Minnesota RollerGirls. i remember hearing about the minnesota roller derby a year or so ago and thinking it sounded fun, and a little crazy. i had no idea! the arena was packed (really??!! i couldn't believe that many people knew about it) and fans were on fire! with only four teams, the atmosphere is pretty united and everyone is rooting for all the players. i think that was my favorite part. don't get me wrong, these women are competitive athletes and didn't hesitate to throw an elbow to the chin, but after each bout (match) they would hug each other. i guess that is girls for you! we did get to see a couple fights, but unlike hockey, it was fun! they are wrestling with roller skates on, how serious could it get, really?
there were two bouts and then a half hour concert where all the fans and a lot of the players all hang out on the floor and dance. the band wasn't that great, but how fun is that? little girls wearing roller skates were asking for autographs. moms wearing rollergirl tees were out there dancing alongside teens who were probably on unchaperoned outings with friends. it had a real family feel.
except for the somewhat risque team and player names.

we always think of things we'd like to do, but when we have a free night we rack our brain trying to think of that list. we had a blast and were proud of ourselves for trying something new.

nick must go

i have never been a fan of nicholas cage. he has a monotone, mono-facial expressions, and seems to have a mono-personality in his films.
when i saw a preview for his new movie, Ghost Rider, my friend sarah took the words right out of my head, "nicholas cage needs to stop making movies"

Van Go!

we sold our Honda Odyssey.
we have had conversations lately about downsizing our life. getting rid of the necessaries. cutting stuff out of our budget. spending more time making an impact and spending less money on ourselves.
it just didn't feel right to be spending so much each month on transportation. i have enjoyed it, don't get me wrong - it has been luxurious! but certainly not necessary. hubby's sister was selling their van at about the time we were talking about getting rid of ours - perfect. so we bought it and put our Odyssey on Craigslist and within a week someone snatched it up!
it feels really good to get that off our back - and will feel even better next month without that hefty car payment!
i feel like we are beginning a journey. i am not sure where it will lead, but i like the direction.
we live in a "rough" neighborhood - at least that is what people tell me. we choose this house because it needed work (and hubby does magic on a house needing a major face lift) and we could afford to buy a triplex knowing that others would be helping with our mortgage. we initially thought we would stay here a year or two (would we really want to raise our child in this neighborhood??!!) and then move to a single-family home where we could raise the family, a huge garden and live off the land.
recently we have been talking about what it might look like to stay here longer.
financially it is a good place for us.
spiritually it is stretching for me. in a good way. i continue to learn what it really means to be a neighbor. to love my neighbor. honestly, i don't even know many of my neighbors. i had an "excuse" for a while - my baby, and being hit with some depression. but is that even a valid excuse? everyone is busy, everyone has highs and lows, i think i use that as an cop out. i like people. i am an extrovert. being at home all day with zoom starts to sap the energy from me, and i need to be revived by some social interaction. but i don't know why i don't get out more and meet people right in my hood. i want to be a friend to the single mom who lives across the street from us, but i think i am intimidated by how vastly different our lives are instead of seeing ways we might be able to learn from each other. i'd like to be more excited about being her friend, helping her in the (i cannot imagine how difficult it would to raise a child by myself) journey of parenting.
i feel selfish. then when i don't do anything about it i feel complacent.
i think this is related to selling the van. getting out of what is comfortable and allowing myself to be stretched (not that the toyota sienna is rough to ride) in new ways.
maybe this is the week i will meet a new neighbor.
i am really thankful that my hubby has led this discussion and has the drive to do something about it. i love that refining part of marriage.

more million things

something baking in the oven
a clean tea towel
a clean kitchen
white twinkle lights
earl grey with cream
baby in his green pj's with footies
baby sleeping
a letter posted
knowing what i am going to make for dinner tomorrow
finally dropping off the bag of things at the thrift store
finding another glass pie pan at the thrift store, for 29 cents

pumpkin goodness

i love pumpkin
pretty much anything pumpkin, but especially pumpkin pie.
i baked the last of my pumpkins today - i cannot believe it lasted this long, but it is as tasty as the first one of the season!
that means we are having everything pumpkin. okay, two things.
PART ONE:
pumpkin soup for dinner. martha stewart has her issues, one being that her recipes tend to be way too wordy and use ingredients and kitchen instruments that even an experienced cook/baker isn't familiar with. BUT, she does have a fabulous pumpkin soup recipe, with a delish garnish of wild rice, toasted almonds and craisins - yum! that is the only pumpkin soup i have ever made, until tonight. my friend meghann made us a much more savory soup a few months ago (a rachel ray speciality) and i thought i would try that tonight. it calls for hot sauce, and all i had was our old faithful village wok sauce. BANG! my hubby loves heat and i am always looking for something with some kick!
so here's the soup recipe:
1TB oilve oil
2TB butter
1 bay leaf
2ribs celery
1 med onion
salt and pepper to taste
cook 6 or 7 minutes, until tender
add
3TB flour
1TB poultry seasoning (or 2tsp ground thyme)
2TB hot sauce
whisk in separately,
6 cups chicken stock
3 1/2 cups pumpkin
simmer for 10 minutes
2 cups heavy cream
lower heat and keep warm until serving.
1/2 tsp nutmeg

PART TWO:
pumpkin pie
we are getting more and more serious about getting the white stuff out of our diet (flour and sugar) so i tried, again, to make a whole wheat crust. crusts have NEVER been easy for me. i seem to find a recipe for a beautiful crust that tastes horrible, while the tasty ones look bad or are difficult to work with.
i found the one tonight in my old Laurel's Kitchen cookbook - a great resource for wholesome cooking. it was actually moist! and i made these beautiful edges!!

does anyone (of my three readers) know why the filling pulls away from the crust like this?
the filling is also a new one for me. i have used the one off the can of Libby's pumpkin for years, but i have been looking for one without all the sugar and evap milk. found one!
i experimented on hubby's family for thanksgiving and everyone loved it even tho it has maple syrup instead of sugar. and we served it with whipping cream sweetened with maple syrup too!!
so, here are the recipes

the crust:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
10TB butter
1tsp salt
4-6TB cold water (i ended up using more)
combine all ingredients until just holds together. form into a ball and refrigerate 1/2 hour. bake at 400 for 10-12 minutes

the filling:
2cups pumpkin
1cup whipping cream
3/4cup maple syrup
3 eggs
1TB flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch o salt
combine all ingredients. pour into baked crust. bake at 350 until set, about 55 minutes.

YUM!
oh- add 3TB maple syrup to 1 cup whipping cream for a tasty dolloping of love!

we're having note me-yo for dinner

last night we had tasty oatmeal banana pancakes for dinner! yum! zoom loved them (which was excellent since he has been refusing anything that isn't fruit for the past two snotty nose days) and continued to ask for more "note me-yoh".
he quickly says "note", followed by a long drawn out "meeeeeyoooooooooh". it is hilarious to watch him work so hard to say the word.

if you want to try the wholesome pancakes, here's the recipe:
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup oats (i used a little more)
1 TB baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
3TB maple syrup
1 TB coconut oil (or other oil)

mix it all together and cook them up over medium heat on a greased pan
i bet they would be really good with walnuts!

no one likes to be poked, poked in their noses

zoom loves to point at things and wait for us to say its name. point, "chair". point, "tea kettle". point, "magnet of the crazy wet cat". he is really into body parts right now.
when he started grabbing himself while changing his diapers, i told him he had a penis. clearly very curious, the diaper changing time has developed into a little conversation
z, grabbing himself: pe-pe?
me: yup, that's your penis.
z: pe-pe. daddy?
me: yes, you and daddy have a penis.
z: mama?
me: no, mama doesn't have a penis, you and daddy have a penis
z: smiles
pride in his penis has begun.

when i am holding zoom he loves to point out the parts of my face. poke, poke, poke.
that's why i have a piece of tissue stuffed up my nose. i guess it is partially my fault for not clipping his nails this morning.
and i get to quote one of my all time favorite movies, Waiting for Guffman

i slept with a cornbag last night

before i was married i slept with a hot cornbag at my feet almost every night. i lived in an old farmhouse that had elementry school gym floor and was really drafty. we had a list of things to do before turning up the heat (put on another layer, wear slippers, make a hot drink, run up and down the stairs, pick a cornbag from the basket and heat it up). i just don't make enough heat to warm myself up at night, but the cornbags did the trick. as i snuggled up with the warmth, inhaling the smell of popcorn, i would pray for a husband to keep me warm at night.
i got a hot one! he told me the cornbags have to go when we got married. i agreed as long as i could put my cold feet on his legs - deal! things have worked out perfectly! he warms up my side of the bed while i finish getting ready (why does it always take me longer?), then snuggles me warm and we are good for the night.
until last night.
hubby has been feeling sicko, and last night i awoke to the bed shaking from him shivering! eventually he asked if i would warm up the cornbags. i couldn't believe my ears. i didn't know he knew i still had them. (i do use them occasionally when he is out of town or while snuggling on the couch with a book). poor guy as been sick all to much this fall/winter. while i sure don't mind a little extra heat, i hope he feels better soon!

talladega nights

we rode the chariot to our friend's party. it was a beautiful ride, and zoom hummed almost the entire way. a couple blocks from the party my back wheel suddenly locked up. i hopped off to try to figure out what was going on. it seemed like my brakes weren't working, but when i took a closer look i realized my back wheel was COMING OFF THE BIKE!! seriously scarry with the nugget in the back! my fingers began to get numb as i worked on trying to get the wheel back on, so i called for back up. hubby drove to our rescue - it felt like i was watching the pit crew to work on my ride. he figured it out in no time and i was back on the road - we weren't even late for the party

2 for 1

we are caring for a friend today.
who said that two kids are easier than one? the little guy is a year, zoom is 16 months - maybe that is the issue - they are too close in age? they play really well together, and that is easier, but lots of diapers, both need highchairs for mealtime (zoom gets to eat on the stool, but climbs down and steals food, flaunting his freedom), and both are too heavy to carry around all the time.
it snowed last night - YIPPIE - so we simply had to go outside and play. i pulled the boys around in the sled and each took their turn at falling out of the sled and into the snow. i was hysterical and out of breath from the workout (which began inside dressing them for the outdoors). i am so glad for the winter lovliness! this is seriously one of the best things about minnesota and i feel like i have been waiting for it since i moved here! SNOW! i love seasons, but can see why one would tire of a long, BROWN winter!

Chariot of fire

Zoom and i took our inaugural ride on the chariot, and in his own words, "wowie!".
we knew as soon as we were prego that we would want some sort of bike carrier for the little one in order to stay active and teach him about adventuring in a very everyday way. the burley seems to be the most common, but then we heard from our friends in alaska about the chariot. one step up, but a really nice option for those of us who might spend months snowbound. the chariot has a ski attachment that along with a harness allows you to pull your babe behind while cross country skiing or skating or snowshoeing! we were sold, except for the price.
well, over the holidays while we were in seattle over christmas, a friend spotted one at the REI garage sale. we snatched it up for a fraction of the regular price.
i used to ride my bike a lot before zoom. when i lived in seattle i would commute to the coffee shop nearly every day for work. the twin cities excellent network of trails was certainly a bonus to moving to minneapolis, and i rode until my belly was too big. since his birth i have not ridden my bike - in part because we didn't' have a trailer. so when zoom didn't take a nap today, i knew this would be our first ride. bundled up in a few layers and surrounded by thick blankets, zoom just said, "brumm, brumm" (let's go mom). we rode from our house along the greenway to the lakes, around lake of the isles, to uptown to see if gma and papa were around, and back home. it was brilliant!
i love the feel of the wind in my face. i love the tingle of my muscles finally remembering what it feels like to be challenged. it was extra fun to hear zoom's giggles and mysterious jabbering as we rode along. he had a difficult time keeping warm, and fussed a little until he figured out he really had to keep his mittens on his hands. he loves a rough ride, and would ask (in a way only i probably understood) to ride off the trail and get bumpy. somewhere between papa's and home he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.
the gardens along the greenway are really beautiful. there are a couple homes in uptown with yards that shine all winter long. clearly these are gardeners, ones that consider what they will look at during the winter half of the year. they inspire me to be more creative in this climate that limits my seattle pallete. the community gardens near lyndale are refreshing too, and i think i might want to participate in one next year.
i was surprised more people were not out on this beautiful, albeat cold, afternoon. i mean, this is minnesota, aren't people used to the cold? we did pass a couple commuters, and a very fast walker. maybe they were all at lake calhoon.
rides like that make me feel like i could ride forever.

mourning the locks

tonight we cut off the most beautiful curls from the head of my child.
it has been a disagreement my hubby and i have had for months. i feel a little silly about my strong attachment to those precious curls. i feel silly that we argue about the haircut. it isn't that big of a deal, but i have not wanted to back down.
they are the softest hair---WERE the softest. on wash day they are the most soft, and the back flips up in the most beautiful way. day 2 the curls wrap around the ears and bounce almost as much as he does. did.
today was his first haircut. he is 16 months, so most would say it is about time (i'll post photos as soon as i figure out how), now he looks like a little boy. he is still his own unique self, but i feel like he is more average - average looking - since his hair has been removed. is it strange that i feel like i need to get to know this new kid? my hubby doesn't understand my feelings towards these hairs.
i still remember the day my younger brother got his first haircut. i remember crying. i didn't cry today, but i might tonight.
he does look pretty cute. and he doesn't seem to mind the cut at all. i guess it is just me, wondering how such lovely curls could end up here.