7 Things I am loving - Food and Drink Edition

1. Vegenaise.  I know what some of you may be thinking - that this is gross.  And Ian was thinking the exact same as you.  But I did a taste test with him several weeks ago.  I put mayo on one of his BLT's, and vegenaise on the other.  And he thought the mayo one tasted weird so that it must be the vegenaise.  He was wrong.  I am hooked and probably won't go back to mayo.
2. Sprouted Spelt Bread.  It has such a more mild flavor than whole wheat and Luca absolutely loves it.  I am also reading great things about spelt.  I have been buying Berlin Bakery brand.  
3. Mango and Avocado salad.  I have been using Gwyneth Paltrow's recipe and it is absolutely delicious.  It is cold and citrusy and so refreshing.  Here is a link to her recipe.  
4. King Estate Pinot Gris.  It is less acidic than our usual favorite, sauvignon blanc.  I am not a wine expert but I know what I like and I am loving this one.  It is perfect to have a glass while on the deck.  Here is a link.  
5. Argyle Pinot Noir.  Light.  Great summer red.
6. Homemade chicken salad with celery and red grapes (and vegenaise!  see #1 above).  In DC's extremely hot weather, I have just not been wanting to eat anything too warm or heavy.  So I have been making this salad about one dinner per week.  A little side salad, plus a scoop of chicken salad.  It is delicious.
7. Rutabaga "fries".  A high school friend made these recently and I was hooked.  Another bonus, Luca absolutely loves them.  It is sometimes a fight to get a lot of veggies in her, so I have been making these at least once a week.  When I make these, she barely touches anything else on her plate, and just keeps asking for more "fries".  Here is a basic recipe to start with.  You can add whatever seasoning you want.  We have done two types - one with old bay, and one with rosemary.  Both were absolutely delicious.  Note that these do not get crispy like fries - but the taste is great and they make up for it by having more nutrients and fewer carbs.  Also, look up a picture of a rutabaga before venturing to your grocery store in case you do not know what they look like.  Finally, you can look up how to cut the rutabaga online.  It is worth it!

Day 13: Toddler eats*

*Can I tell you how grateful I am that I can even do a post about toddler eating?  I never would have thought we could get to a point in this journey that she eats completely by mouth, without the use of her g-tube.  I sometimes just stare at her while she eats, so amazed by her progress.

A post all about feeding our toddler.  Some tricks and what works for us.

As we entered the toddler phase, Luca became a lot more picky about food.  For example, I will offer her a choice for a meal.  I will point to two different items to offer her, and her reply to both is an adamant shake of the head accompanied by some stomping of the feet.  I then say, "okay, Luca, show me what you want to eat."  She points to the first item I had offered, which she had just refused and had a tantrum about.  Welcome to the story of our life for every.single.meal.  Ohhh, Luca.

She also goes through phases where she gets obsessed with a particular food, and wants it for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner.  This might last a week or even a month, then she finds something new and becomes obsessed with that, and wants nothing to do with her previous obsession.  The list of food obsessions have included yogurt, guacamole, hummus, laughing cow cheese, and currently she loves cream cheese.  For all of these items, she would eat them on anything, but her favorite for any of these items is eating them on a bagel or crackers.

Luca hates sandwiches of any type - so it makes lunch a difficult meal sometimes.

I am constantly looking for new things for her to try and like so that when she gets sick of a current obsession, we have something to move onto.  And I do not know about you, but I hate making separate meals for Luca for dinner.  I try to incorporate some type of food that she can eat into our dinners.  And if I am introducing a new food, then I try to pair it with something I know she likes, even just as a side.  And finally, I try to offer her a side of fruit or veggies (although veggies are more difficult) at most meals.

So here's a list of foods that Luca will typically eat, and are the ones I can pair with a new food.  Note that all of them are vegetarian.  She does eat some meat (and loves it), but only if it is super tender or in a sauce.

• hummus
• guacamole (Wholly Guacamole is a huge lifesaver in our house)
• laughing cow cheeses
• cream cheese
• edamame (I keep a bag frozen and pour some into a bowl with a bit of water on it.  Heat in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then pop the edamame out of the shells.)
• mini whole wheat bagels
• english muffins (We use these for breakfast or lunch items, and even for dinner with tomato sauce and cheese to make mini pizzas.)
• pasta (She loves tomato sauce on her pasta.  And if I make a bolognese sauce she loves that too.)
• fruit (kiwi, banana, strawberry, raspberry, watermelon, grapes, pear, apple)
• avocado
• ritz whole wheat crackers (her absolute fave)
• cereal
• toast
• yogurt (We buy the fage 2% for Luca.  She does not want help eating her yogurt, so the thicker greek yogurts work better and create less spilling as she learns to master the art of eating with a spoon.  Also, if we buy the plain yogurt, we just add a bit of strawberry preserves or apply/pumpkin butter to give it a flavor and a touch of sweetness.)

I will try to update this as she finds some new food faves.  What does your toddler love to eat?

What to have for lunch?

Before I begin with today's post, I just want to mention that now that I'm back to school, my blogging may be a bit more mixed up.  I normally post in the morning - but most mornings I am busy so I'm going to likely be posting in the afternoons or evenings. 

Onto today's post.  Honestly, keeping this belly full is quite a job. I'm hungry about every 2-3 hours. I don't eat huge meals, but instead, eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, with about 3 snacks somewhere in there. And I've been pretty good about eating healthy. I totally allow myself pizza if that's what I'm craving - but I just really haven't even been craving crappy food. And all of my snacks are vegetables or fruit. But preparing that much food for a day - it's exhausting.

The fact that I haven't had energy to cook dinner every night means that I don't really have leftovers for the following day's lunch meal. Sigh.  I can't have deli meats, so quick easy-peasy lunches are not really an option.  I made a couple salads for lunches this week - but salads are time consuming to make when I'm trying to get out the door to class.  I made a peanut butter and banana sandwich - but I can't eat that everyday. 

What do you eat for lunch that's quick to make?  I need some lunch ideas.  Oh and I am not a PBJ kind of girl :(

Yummy Potatoes

Had these potatoes on Easter and fell in love with them - have made them 2 times since, and I swear they are addictive, and delightfully easy to make.

1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Take 1-2 lbs of potatoes, cut them up into small pieces (diced; and I used the little red baby bliss).
3. Put them in 9x13 inch pan (I used a glass pan and it worked well).
4. Add 1 package of Lipton's Onion Soup&Dip Mix.
5. Add enough olive oil to coat them, and make the mix wet and blend it well.
6. Cook for 30-40 minutes.

The recipe is actually on the Lipton package (which I didn't know until after having them on Easter, and making them twice).

P.S. - is it just me or does looking at the word potatoes kind of gross you out? It has toes in it. Ew.

Homemade Chicken Soup

It takes freaking forever to make. I bought a whole chicken and thought I'd give it a try. Here's everything that went into it:

Whole chicken boiled in water until the meat is so tender if falls right off the bones. Then I've added to the water and chicken:

white potatoes
carrots
mushrooms
onions
celery
cannelini beans
kidney beans
peas
escarole
pepper
herbs de provence
parsley
basil
garlic

Then I will cook orzo on the side to add into each serving. Holy hell, it better taste freaking amazing after all of this!

Things are A-Changin

So, since I'm finishing up my 4th week in law school, it's time to take a look at how things have changed. I realize now that I have very little time for Ian, my family, and friends. It's sad. I feel so disconnected from all of my closest because I simply barely have time to sleep these days. I've decided that I am going to try to be better about the blog and try to use it as a way to keep in touch with friends - that way I can fill everyone in on everything all at once. That sounds horrible - but I figure it's better than nothing. But that is going to require that I get to hear from all of my friends through this! So - I need to clean things up a bit and tone things down in other ways. But it means that I should be better about this whole blog thing!

I also have realized that I barely have time for "me". Any spare moment I get is normally to eat or sleep, and any other moment I am trying to do my laundry or pick up something from the store, or do the dishes or something else around the house. And as busy as I am, I absolutely must make time for exercise. It sounds stupid - but it really does help me feel better about life and I think that's going to have to be my "me" time. Last night I took a hot yoga class and holy cow, I am so sore today! Two of my friends from school joined me for the sweat-filled 90 minutes. I normally have a sweating problem in my face, but I didn't know that my ears could sweat like that. Ian squished his face to look like a raisin when I walked in and he saw just how much of one hot sweaty piece of mess I was. I'm heading back for more torture this weekend!

How is married life? Well, school certainly is putting a little damper on the honeymoon stage. I am putting a lot more on Ian than I think he was prepared to handle. I don't think he was quite prepared for how things would be with me being in school. He thought, Katie's not working - she'll have plenty of time to cook, clean, run errands, pay bills - be a housewife. Not so much what he bargained for. He ends up doing a lot more than me and although he doesn't always where a smile on his face, he's managing and little by little we're getting a handle on things. Bottom line is, that no matter what we have going on or how stressed we might be, we go to bed happy to be together every single night. And that's all that matters in the end!

This past weekend was Ian's birthday. We went to Salt Tavern on Friday - it was fantastic. I highly recommend you go if you haven't been there already. We went to Bicycle Bistro on Saturday night which happens to be Ian's favorite restaurant.

On Sunday we took Tessa for a big walk and went down to the Harbor:

I also have continued my love for baking! I tried a new recipe for homemade cookies:

And the one I'm most proud of...I baked my first pie from SCRATCH! I got the recipe from Southern Living and holy crap was it good:

Ta-Daaaaaa!

I'm Addicted to...

Coffee! Since I started law school a couple weeks ago, I can't get enough of it! I used to be very sensitive to caffeine, especially Starbucks. I'd get the shakes and get all jittery and my stomach would feel like it was being torn up by shards of glass. Now - I make a huge pot in the morning, have a cup before I leave for class, take a mug full with me and inevitably when I get home in the afternoon, I open the book and as my head starts to nod, I realize I need to get up and go pour some more for my afternoon reading. And no jitters, no shakes, no nausea or stomach pains. Just...awake. I guess this is my life for the next few years - spending loan money on coffee.

Couch - We got a new couch and instead of using the office to do my reading, I cannot seem to get out of this comfortable couch. This isn't really an issue until Ian comes home and wants me to move over.

Baking - Somehow the thought of baking gets me through the day. All our new bakingware is major inspiration for making tasty treats. I should start a daily bake sale - you want something sweet, come by! I'm sure I'll have a selection to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Shaved Ice with ice cream in the middle. I'm going to be very sad in a couple weeks when the stand closes for the winter. I guess my baking treats will have to suffice for satisfying my sweet tooth during the winter.

Wow - apparently lots of my addictions have to do with food. Now I may understand what people say about the newlywed 15 - just like freshman 15!

Menu Decisions

I LOVE THE FOOD! We were thoroughly impressed with the food, service, and attention to detail.

We arrived a few minutes early and while waiting I went to use the bathroom in the Promenade (the room where our reception will be) and the bathrooms were under major construction - as in non-existent. I have to admit that I was quite happy that they are redoing them as that was the one kind of shabby part of the hotel. The bathrooms should be finished in the next few weeks.

We met up with the coordinator who is filling in for Rachel until a new person takes the permanent position. She was very helpful. She walked us down to the cocktail reception room where there was a table for two set up beautifully and candles were all lit on the table. She introduced us to our server, Armando, who was the cutest, most polite and well spoken little hispanic man.

As we started going over the details for our wedding day, they brought us out the white and red wine to be served for our wedding night. They also brought us out fresh warm rolls with butter. We switched our the white chardonnay for a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, and will have a Cabernet Sauvignon as our red wine.

We started with the two options for our salad:
A) Seasonal mesclun salad with grape tomatoes and dijon and tarragon vinaigrette and
B) Salad panache with crispy goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette

It was at this point in the meal that we knew we'd be SO full by the end of it. All the portion sizes were regular portion sizes. We had a lot more food coming our way!

We decided on salad B. It was delicious! And the raspberry vinaigrette was more of a creamy vinagraitte. It will be delicious for summertime! Option A didn't have as much going on with it, it was basically lettuce and tomatoes and dressing.

Then came our options for our entrees. We are selecting three entrees and each person will select which one they want. Here are the 4 we tried:

A) Seared rockfish and sauteed rapini, basil butter sauce
B) Mustard seed encrusted salmon, persilee cream
C) Roasted chicken breast, port wine sauce
D) Mushroom ravioli with madeira sauce

We chose A, C and D. The rockfish was AMAZING. The mashed potatoes that we chose to go with it, along with asparagus instead of rapini complemented the meal perfectly, and the sauce, omigosh the sauce, my mouth is watering already. It's not as buttery as I imagined it, which is a good thing. The sauce is SO good. The chicken was also very good and the port wine sauce makes this dish what it is. Also will come with mashed potatoes, and fresh green beans. And the mushroom ravioli comes with a madeira cream sauce. It is so creamy, slightly sweet, and the mushrooms have such flavor. I imagine that some non-vegetarians will choose this because it's so delicious! The salmon dish that we decided against was also very good, but the rockfish just beat it in comparison!

So there you have it. That is our menu! Sound good?

We finished the meal with champagne (with all the wine and champagne tasting, Ian had to drive home - someone can't handle much drinking on a weekday, and that someone is me apparently ha), a trio of sorbet and coffee. We then walked through the space to decide where the sweetheart table, dance floor, cake, DJ, and table numbers will all be. We picked our napkins, plates and tablecloth. Plain white tablecloth and plates, black napkins.

It felt oh-so-very real last night. We are 3.5 months away! I am so, so thrilled and excited. I can finally see it all coming together and I am starting to enjoy things!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

Tuesday night Ian took me to Black Market for my birthday dinner and it was awesome! It's owned by the Black Restaurant Group who have amazing restaurants - you should def check them out! I highly recommend the mussels as an appetizer - yum!

Wednesday we woke up bright an early to head to Brookside Gardens to meet with our photographer. It was a beautiful day and the gardens are A-MAZING! We were really excited to see how he worked with us and he'll be giving us the cd of images on Monday.

Our Thanksgiving day was so great. Ian's parents came down to go with us to Maggie and Brian's house with our family. The food is always fantastic and their house is extremely homey - it feels so much like fall when you go there for Thanksgiving. I also have to mention that I made an appetizer that I had stolen the recipe from Bridget's bridal luncheon and it was a huge hit. Here's the recipe:

Stuffed Gouda Balls
1 8 oz can of crescent rolls
1 7 oz ball of gouda (or smoked gouda)

Separate the can of crescent rolls in half and make them into two squares. Cut the ball of gouda into 2 thin slices horizontally so that they are still round. Place one block of cheese onto each square of crescent rolls. Fold up the crescent roll around the gouda very tightly so that there are no gaps. Place the folded side down on a non-greased cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes at 375 degrees until golden brown. Serve with jam on the side (such as chipotle-raspberry). DELICIOUS!

Last night was kind of a damper for me because I was so worried about surgery this morning. The surgeon had prescribed me a medicine to take before even coming to the hospital to try to calm me down. I took that - but it barely helped this morning! I started crying as soon as Ian and my Mom came back after I was in my gown and hooked up to the IV. This was a true test for Ian because I tend to be quite needy in these types of situations. But he was a rock - he was awesome and even kept his nervous jokes to a minimum. Although, my mom did inform me that as soon as they wheeled me off for the surgery they went into the waiting room and Ian was quite choked up - aww he's cute.

I woke up very quickly after surgery and was released from the hospital about 45 minutes after waking up. The surgery was only about 30 minutes - I love my surgeon! There was no tear - the tendon was just extremely weak and there was a ton of scar tissue. He cleaned it up and sewed the bad tendon to a healthy tendon to strengthen it. The awesome news about this is that I have less recovery time! So currently as I type, I am on the couch with blankets all around me, my foot (in a cast) is propped up on lots of pillows, and there are two tubes coming out of the cast that attach to 2 tubes that go into an ice cooler. The ice cooler has a motor on it that pumps the ice water through my cast. It keeps the swelling down, and since I've been home I have yet to take the pain medicine the doc prescribed. I'm obsessed with this machine!

I'm out of work for the next week until I see the doctor. I will find out then when I switch into a walking cast and then shortly after will start a short course of physical therapy. All in all, I am pleased at how smoothly things went today and thank you all for your thoughts and prayers!