Date Archives → June 2012

bits

Since the beginning of May, I have only eaten dessert, or sweets of any kind, a few times on a few special occasions. This is amazing for me. I feel like I’ve climbed Mt. Self Control for the first time ever.

…and then tonight I had to make dessert for our church picnic and caved. I ate a cookie.

Those cookies get me every time!

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One special occasion was last week when we went strawberry picking. All three kids, in the middle of the afternoon, trying to find a place I’d never heard of. Beatrice decided to try out a new facet of her personality and cried her head off, William cut his finger on a blade of grass and joined her, and Jameson sat happily in the middle of strawberry plants declaring how much fun he was having. That kid is a keeper.

We brought home 4 quarts — not much, but enough, given the howling that was our soundtrack.

And Jameson helped me make a strawberry cake to celebrate strawberry season. (Since they’ve been deprived of baked goods since my attempts at cutting out dessert, they were especially excited about this cake!)

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That night, I also made Ina Garten’s grilled chicken. It was, as all of her recipes are, fabulous. Full of flavor, and really easy. Mashed potatoes (with plenty of whole milk and butter, of course!), and salad from right outside our door finished off the meal. It really was a wonderful celebration of summer’s beginning.

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Another big hit? Jamie Oliver’s Chicken Tikka Masala — or at least a version of it. I used chicken thighs and cooked it in the oven at 250* for a couple of hours, but otherwise followed the recipe fairly closely. The cilantro lime rice is a must.

Did I mention that cilantro is taking over my little herb plot? It is. And we love it.

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I’m so proud of William. He’s not quite as adventurous as his brother, and that’s putting it mildly. Last year, he spent the entire summer watching people swim from the comfort of dry ground. This week, he went from barely being comfortable dipping his feet in, to being happy climbing in and out all by himself, and letting me help him “swim”. Most of all, it’s fun to see his eyes shine and realize how proud he feels to have accomplished so much.

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I pulled out a Copland piece today for the first time in…years. Jameson heard me, and quickly assembled an eclectic assortment of household items that he transformed into percussion. I couldn’t believe how quickly he understood the (modern, sounds-like-chaos to most people) music and figured out how to appropriately add strums and cymbals and such.

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Meanwhile, Beatrice is busy getting callouses on her feet — on the tops of her feet, that is. Crawling babies get so dirty, too! She has a self-appointed roll as household floor cleaner, and very seriously picks up every speck and fuzz and eats it. She’s also been introduced to some real food (so, really, shouldn’t she realize that dryer lint is just not worth eating anymore?) and has loved it all. Chicken, salmon, snap peas, lettuce from the garden that she picks when I’m not looking… She’s very eager to be included in our meals. And I just think, Really? Really, you weren’t just born?

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Long days of sunshine, long days of work for Ryan, long days of pools and walks and watering thirsty plants. Living the best we know how, loving that He upholds us.

He is good.

june days, quick trips, lunching local

Sometimes, June days greet with you with a wave of heat and stickiness that sends you running for water or AC. Sometimes, they greet you with breezes that raise goosebumps in seconds and sending you running for a favorite cardigan. This, I think, is because God loves us all. Can you guess which of those days is my favorite?

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Hand-to-the-plow is how Sinclair girls tend to turn out. “Resting” means 20 minutes of reading before we finally stop trying, hop up and start pulling a weed, fluffing a pillow, and generally finding things to do. Sometimes, though (and I’m getting better at this), it’s a day for putting kids in the car and leaving house and chores far behind. It’s a day for visiting a sister two hours away just because I love her. So we both slow down for one whole day, busying ourselves with just being sisters. Driving home at dusk through rolling farmland is, by the way, the best early summer activity.

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Meals have been heavy on asparagus for the last couple of weeks. Get while the getting is good, right? Here in the North Country, the getting is at its best. This is when I start thinking about food almost all day long: where are the strawberries, when to order sour cherries from the Amish farmer, CSA pick ups beginning, how many eggs can we eat in a day because they’re so good, buy more beef because it’s hamburger season. For these few short months of summertime heaven, you can eat almost completely local.

If you’re local, may I recommend this for lunch?

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Omelet

2 eggs from Maddie, with a splash of milk, s+p

5 asparagus from the Kingston’s, trimmed and sauteed in olive oil and s+p until bright green

Garlic and Onion goat cheese from Jesse Barton

Put it all together —

Serve with bread from the co-op.

Absolutely scrumptious.

busy? oh yes. we are.

June’s calendar is so much emptier than May’s. Somehow, though, the days just fill up. Maybe not quite so much scrambling. Maybe a bit more of the sprinkler-running, bike-riding, kid-training, home-being variety. Not to mention the all-consuming growing-up busyness. These kids grow like weeds, hit new strides, try new words, learn new tricks EVERY DAY. I love ’em bunches.

Breakfast with my boys while Daddy was busy working.

A few minutes here and there playing my favorite hymns.

Keeping Daddy company in Ottawa.

Dinner and books with my William.

Gardening, with a sweet baby for company. She loves the dirt, just like her Mama.

Playing catch with Papa, a summertime highlight.

Doing errands with Daddy, and getting a special lunch.

Sitting in the sunshine with my cool kid.

He finished Kindergarten, I got my homeschooling-Mama feet wet.

Sunny days and sprinklers: match made in heaven.

Standing, every chance she gets.

She melts our hearts and makes us laugh. Peek a boo!

food from this week that tasted yummy

I go in spurts. Greek spurts, Middle Eastern spurts, Indian spurts, Mexican spurts, classic French spurts, totally made up spurts — any kind of spurt.*

This week was a bit Italian inspired, and that’s probably Ryan’s favorite spurt. (Well, he does love a Greek salad and hummus, too. But the kima is definitely for me!)

I made two things that he loved, and so I’m putting them here so I can remember them when the “I don’t know what to make!” dilemma strikes.

*Most popular is the “huh, blank stare into the fridge” spurt. Just in case anyone thinks Ryan lucked out and married Ina Garten II.

Roasted Broccoli on Lemon-Garlic Penne

(Yup, that’s pretty much it. My recipes aren’t too deep!)

1 head broccoli — cut crown into bite-sized florets (think penne!). Toss with generous glug of olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast on rimmed baking sheet at 425 for about 15 minutes, tossing and checking a few times along the way. (You want some brown edges. Brown = carmelization = super yum.) Remove from hot pan (add to saucepan with garlic/lemon mixture; see below.) Scatter about 1/2 cup of sliced almonds on pan and put in hot oven for 3-6 minutes till toasted, stirring occasionally.

1 lb whole wheat penne, boiled till al dente in salted water.

3 T butter and 2 T olive oil heated in saucepan; add 4 minced cloves of garlic. Cook till fragrant, about one minute. Off heat, add juice of 2 lemons, s+p. Add roasted broccoli and stir.

When pasta is cooked, drain. Put in large mixing/serving bowl. Pour garlic, lemon, and broccoli mixture over pasta. Add the toasted almonds and 1/4 cup pecorino romano (or whatever is your Italian hard cheese of choice). Stir. Eat!

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Kale and Ricotta Pizza

Wash and de-stem one bunch of kale (any kale). Chop roughly.

Mince 3 cloves of garlic and saute in large pan in 2 T olive oil till fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chopped kale, s+p. Stir and cook over high heat until bright green. Add 1-2 T water and cover (kale needs a bit of steaming in order to get truly soft.) Cook a few minutes covered until green and tender. Drain if necessary and set aside.

Saute 2-3 cloves minced garlic in olive oil for 1 minute. Add 14 oz petite diced tomatoes, 1 1/2 T dried basil, 1 T dried oregano, pinch of red pepper flakes, s+p. Bring to gentle boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Set aside.

6 oz whole milk mozzarella, grated

8 oz whole milk ricotta

dough for 2 pizzas

Preheat oven to 500. Roll out dough for 2 pizzas. Rub with 1-2 T olive oil. Spread sauce, scatter kale, sprinkle mozzarella, and drop spoonfuls of ricotta (about 6 1-T blobs around the edge of the pizza, another in the center.) Bake for 6-10 minutes until brown and bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes before diving in — the flavor is much better.

What did you make this week that was a home run?