Traditions

We had a tradition as little girls every Christmas. Our mom gave us a Christmas ornament every year when we decorated the tree. Well, she still gives us an ornament every year, dated with our initial so we could keep track. I carried on the tradition when Jeremy and I became serious, and he gets an ornament from me every year. This is such a cherished tradition for me because as I started my own life I have always had cherished ornaments to decorate my Christmas tree. Its great to have memories of childhood attached to certain ornaments.

I've know for a long time, well before I knew if I'd have children, that I wanted to carry on this tradition with my family. So, this year, Holden got his first of many ornaments from his mom.Holden exploring the treeFirst OrnamentFrom Grandma

Now for a little video of Holden exploring the tree for the first time. He's not so sure about it.

Happy Thankgiving

We are hosting a thanksgiving for our surrogate family tomorrow. Since living in Charlotte we have not been able to spend thanksgiving with family, so it has always been just Jeremy and I. This year we are happy to have some of our close friends to share the holiday with.

This year I have so many things to be grateful for that I couldn't possibly list them all.

I give thanks for my wonderful husband, Jeremy.
I give thanks for my precious laid back little boy, Holden.
I give thanks for our financial stability in this hard year for everyone across the nation.
I give thanks for all who support and love us, near and far.
I give thanks for the health of my family.

I am so grateful for my friends and family and the life that we have created as a family. We will miss our family tomorrow and thanks to modern technology will get to talk to everyone via phone, internet video conferencing and of course facebook. Hug your family and enjoy the delicious food.

Meatless Supper club-week 8

Last week was the final week in the meatless supper challenge. We are still incorporating meatless meals into our weekly suppers but this will be the last time I'm on the hook for blogging about them. So in the future I'll just share some of the best recipes with you. We had a pasta dish last night from weight watchers (yes, I'm still trying to get rid of baby weight). It was quite yummy but I am a huge goat cheese fan.

Tomato, herb and goat cheese capellini
Serves 4 (5 points)

4 Tbsp reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 tsp minced garlic
2 cup(s) cherry tomato(es), quartered
1/2 pound(s) uncooked capellini, or spaghetti, cooked and kept warm
2 Tbsp basil, fresh, minced
3 Tbsp parsley, fresh, minced
1/4 cup(s) semisoft goat cheese, crumbled
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon of broth in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook until just soft, about 1 minute. Add remaining broth and heat through.

Place cooked pasta in a large bowl and add tomato mixture; toss to combine. Add herbs and goat cheese; toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

On a final note, Jeremy and I watched the movie Food, Inc. on Friday. I will warn that if you are a supporter of big business, uber-capitalism its not the movie for you. But if you are already having doubts about how our food industry is becoming not quite as humane and safe for consumers it might be an enlightening movie for you. The authors of Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation were heavily involved in the creation of the movie. There is a discussion of farm to table practices by both commercial food and sustainable farming/organic foods. I highly recommend the film, it is not only well made as a documentary but also very insightful on the practices of sustainable farms, organic food companies, feedlots, corn and soybeans as our cash crops in America, and meat processing plants and their treatment of both livestock and workers.

Jeremy and I already lean towards going back to eating locally and from sustainable farms as much as possible. I have read both Omnivore's Dilemma and Fast Food Nation, and after watching the movie, Food, Inc. I have concluded that not only do I feel like buying from local sustainable farm is the way to support family farms but its a way for me to quietly not support the practices of big business in the food world. I am realistic in knowing that our family can't 100% change and we will still have to purchase things from the grocery store but the less I support unsafe working conditions for meat processors, or the unfair treatment of farmers that decided to work for big food corporations the better. Maybe if enough of us change who we support when we feed our families the companies will get the message. I'm not fully convinced of that yet but I know I feel better about what my family eats when I know it came from a family farm that respects the livestock they are raising to feed their family and mine.

OK, that was my soap box, I'd love to hear how you feel about the subject.

Lake Lure

Last weekend we went to the mountains of NC with a few friends. We rented a cabin, had some great conversations, great food and maybe a bit too much to drink after the baby went to sleep. Here are some photos for your enjoyment.

Our accommodations for the weekendHolden being spoiled by his aunts Diane, Melissa and DanaeView from our cabin
Chimney Rock Park, elevator was being worked on so we walked to the top. Lots of Stairs!
At the top
View of the valley from the top of Chimney Rock

Meatless Supper Club-Weeks 6 and 7

I confessed earlier to not making a meatless meal during week 5. And I knew that blogging about our meatless meals was going to be more difficult than making them, hence two weeks in one post with no pictures and only one recipe.

We were discussing this week that now that we have been incorporating at least one meatless meal during our weekly dinners its not so hard to think up a dish. In addition, we don't really miss the meat since we have chicken or beef for other meals. Mission accomplished? Now I have to see if we are truly saving enough money to start buying locally raised hormone free meat.

Jeremy made us a super spicy vegetarian Indian dish over rice last week while I was still working long days. The jar of coconut curry sauce said "mildly spicy" but it was so spicy we had a hard time eating it. It looked so good too. I took a picture but accidentally erased it from the camera before downloading it.

This week we had vegetarian pizza and lentil casserole. The lentil casserole recipe is below, healthy, hearty and quite yummy.

Lentil Casserole
Weight Watchers recipe
Serves 4

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
1/2 cups brown rice
2 cups shredded carrots
3 cups water
1 packet onion soup mix
1 tsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Rinse lentils. Place all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until rice is done, about 20 minutes. Yields 1 cup per serving.

We had the casserole with a french baguette. If you don't want to go vegetarian, you could add some sausage to the mix.

8 months

Holden is 8 months old today. He is getting so big and mobile. No crawling but that doesn't stop him from going after what he wants. He has grown by leaps and bounds this month. He sits unassisted all the time now, and he is trying to pull himself up when he falls backwards, working those ab muscles :) We still place the boppy behind him so he doesn't crack his head when he falls back.

He rolls over both directions now, and that has made him realize that not much can stop him he rolls whichever way he wants to go. It also makes diaper changes more challenging as he squirms all around.

I think he will be getting his first tooth pretty soon based on the amount of drool and fussiness in our house this week.

A potpourri

I have been crazy busy at work this month and will admit that the blog was the first to be neglected since the weekends have been just as crazy busy since my work days have been long. I give major props to all the moms that work long hours and still keep the family in order. Here is a brief update on what has been happening in the Taylor house.

Malachi had minor surgery to have a growth removed and his healing process has been difficult to understate it. He messed with his stitches and did more damage to his back ankle as a result and now will be wearing bandages and an e-collar for about a month. His foot smells so bad as a result of the bandaging (which get changed regularly) that we can hardly stand it. If you ever had a cast and when it was taken off how your appendedge smelled because you couldn't wash it for however long. Its like that.

Holden celebrated his first Halloween. We didn't do any trick or treating but he dressed up for daycare which everyone was excited about. Jeremy celebrated his 29th birthday on Halloween by watching Nebraska football and fishing on Sunday with a buddy.

We are pretty sure he is teething and has been terribly fussy the last few days and waking up multiple times in the middle of the night inconsolable. I won't lie its been rough mostly because we can't seem to make it better.

We didn't have a meatless meal last week (hence no post) but are having potato and leek soup tonight. I have one more really crazy week at work and then we should be back to some normalcy.

Potato, Onion and Leek Soup

serves 6

4 tbsp butter

2 medium baking potatoes, peeled and diced

4 large leeks, cleaned and diced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups milk

3 1/2 cups veggie broth

Melt butter in a heavy pot, add potatoes, onions and leeks. Cook on low heat, covered for about 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper, milk and broth. Increase heat to a simmer, cook approximately 20 minutes until veggies are soft. Puree soup in batches in a blender or food processor. If you have an immersion blender this is a great opportunity to use it. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a swirl of cream or some shredded cheese (we used Gruyere) and crusty bread.