WITH SPRINKLES

AT THE TIDE POOLS

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

{this moment :: the I guess I sometimes win something edition}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.

LATELY IN MY KITCHEN

Prepare yourself for a complete non-revelation: it’s hard to get three kids to all the places they need to be to have, ya know… lives. I totally don’t want my kids to be overscheduled. I really pay attention to their different likes and current interests, and try to then cross formulate a way to help everyone be happy, engaged, and also have enough down time to play and be normal kids without cramming it into the edges of life. It’s not perfect though, and there are some conflicts that we parents have had to divide and conquer to accommodate. But also, let’s face it, I end up laughing sometimes when I look at our calendar. It’s one of those “family” ones with columns to provide ample space for everyone’s daily reminders, and my column is not full of much, but then I realize the whole dang calendar is stuff I am doing!!

Meals, as a consequence, have been lackluster more than I like. I truly find myself wishing everyone were just magically full of nutritious food and I could skip the cooking entirely—just a couple of days a week, but then adding in (what THE HECK) the worst cold season I can or care to remember… and let’s say I was OVER food for a while. Clearly a sign I was OVERscheduled (am still, but wait…).

I don’t know what the change has been. I can guess it’s a combination of longer days (who cares if we eat at about 8 on Wednesdays when we’re back from volleyball?) and knowing that the school year is on that coaster glide to the end, but I’m finally finding time, which translates to interest, in cooking.

hectic April cookout:: coffee rubbed flank steak, burgundy mushrooms, Greek salad

I enjoyed all the parts of this meal, but it was a combination born from time-crunch and not really something I sat and “planned” because I was interested in any of the elements. I knew everything would work out fine and it’d be enjoyed… and that was so BORING. (I honestly would far rather laugh about a spectacular failure at a new dish even for company than bore myself to tears making something I have made many times before.)

Here’s what I made for dinner a couple of nights ago. It’s only a pasta dish, but I was *into* it. A couple of days prior, one of my regular reads had teased with her gorgeous photos of a couple of meals using recipes from an out of print book. However, she described the meal well enough that I was able to find a recipe for my own version.

It’s a small step. I think, in the future, a good sign of my internal state should be whether I make the time to cook with the joy it usually brings me. Time ebbs and flows, and, until I’m an empty-nester, I assume our family will only become busier, but cooking really is a centering activity for me.

Any Sammich is a Good Sammich

this was going to be a different kind of sandwich before I noticed a
lonely container with a mishmash of fajitas toppings lurking in the fridge

I have something in common with Joey Tribbiani. I loooo -ove a sandwich. If I had to choose, a ham & baby swiss on some bread that contains bunches of nuts and seeds with all right toppings would be an okay food to eat every day for the rest of my life. That’s my all-time favorite, but I do like variety. I still have the “issue” where I forget I should eat while I’m feeding everyone else (though, I did totally cut out that stupid “garbage disposal” behavior of nibbling crusts, I guess, so there is that…) and “something on bread” is my go-to. I love the small ‘boule’ loaves of sourdough from Trader Joe’s and easily can eat about half a loaf, schmeared with this or that.

Hmmm. Maybe I really like bread. And condiments, plus fillings. Wait, that’s a sandwich, so we’re back to me loving sandwiches again. Can’t fight it, I guess.

We had fajitas (I also am a sucker for anything on a tortilla!) for Cinco De Mayo and today the last of the left-over toppings made their way onto an English muffin (scratch recipe HERE). I find I’m generally happiest if I eat one protein-rich meal a day, with the rest being lower down on that old, discarded food pyramid, so this was just what I needed to refuel: good fats, grains, and tomatoes. Nibble, nibble, nibble. I wish I had more leftover toppings now…

Bumping Along

This year Bunny wanted to explore an interest in volleyball, so she signed up for USYVL. It’s been a lot of fun going to practices and games with her, and her team is starting to come together well. This weekend the whole family went to watch the White Tigers participate in a (non-competitive) tournament with some other local USYVL groups.

 

{this moment}

No, really, THIS moment… happening right now… the boy really needs to get dressed for school! (About to use *that* voice…)

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Inspired by SouleMama.