Lunch At Home

Today I made tomato and mozzarella paninis with homemade pesto and ciabatta bread (left off the tomato for Badge). The tomato was a purple cherokee which was bursting with flavor. Quite good. To accompany, I tossed together a quick salad of red leaf lettuce, red onions, and gala apple. What a healthy, tasty, and satisfying meal.

On an aside, here's a pic I forgot to post when Monkey was visiting. Badge grilled salmon while Monkey made zucchini quinoa with asparagus. Yum.

Maternity Leave

Today is my first official day of maternity leave! I kicked the morning off with some eggs, bacon, and toast (yummm). Now I'm enjoying a tea while wrapping up a couple things at work. It's quite nice sitting at home in your pajamas.

No real update on the baby. I get lots of jabs in my ribs and painless Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing that makes me think labor is imminent. A variety of strangers have been commenting on my belly and saying how "cute" I look. They all seem shocked when I tell them I'm a week away from my due date. One lady on Friday even thought I was 6-7 months. Well, that's nice to hear but I certainly don't FEEL cute, nor do I relish the idea that I'm further from labor than I really am. I'm ready dammit.

This week I plan to walk incessantly, squat, drink raspberry leaf tea, have some bedroom time, and do whatever other wives' tale I've ever heard about that induces labor. I'm also looking forward to cleaning and organizing the house, and cooking up a storm.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Because she's a cooking machine, Monkey made strawberry ice cream for us last night. This recipe is from the book The Perfect Scoop. We've tried their chocolate and vanilla recipes which are both amazing. Surprisingly, this recipe does not require any cooking (no eggs). Somehow the sour cream helps to impart a wonderful texture without alternating the taste. Make sure you get good strawberries as this will definitely showcase their flavor. Will definitely make again!

Strawberry Sour Cream Ice Cream
Courtesy of The Perfect Scoop

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon vodka or kirsch
1 cup sour cream
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Slice the strawberries. Put them in a bowl with sugar and vodka or kirsch.

2. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve and all of the strawberries are coated. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2. Pulse the strawberries and their liquid with the sour cream, heavy cream, and lemon juice in a blender or food processor until almost smooth, but still slightly chunky.

3. Refrigerate mixture for at least one hour. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Pie For Breakfast

Waking up to coffee and homemade apple pie is just about the nicest feeling in the world. Thank you Monkey!

Beyond Full

Today, my mom, Monkey (who arrived late last night), and I went to the farmer's market and picked up a bounty of blueberries, heirloom tomatoes, zucchinis, and lemons. We then stopped by Whole Foods for a slew of food including chicken to grill. Upon arriving home, Monkey promptly whipped up a lemon thyme marinade for the chicken legs (after brining), then it was straight to the grill.


The chicken came out wonderfully tender and succulent.


She also made a lentil salad with red onions, cranberries, and goat cheese, and bruschetta with garlic and heirloom tomatoes. The bruschetta was especially in my opinion. Such a delicious summer meal!


And for dessert, we had mudslide cookies which I made last night. These were from a Jacques Torres cookie mix which Badge brought back for me from NY. Can you say chocolatey goodness? Wonderful with milk.


And now, I'm laying on my sofa completely stuffed. The only thing I've accomplished is finishing a "evil" level sudoku. Meanwhile, Monkey is still puttering around making all manners of food such as strawberry ice cream and apple pie. I love it when she comes to visit (and I'm incapacitated). More to come!

Nursery Project #2

Today I drew this cute companion to nursery project #1. You might recognize this little guy from Howl's Moving Castle, one of my favorite Miyazaki films. I think he will go quite nicely with the apathetic cat.

Stay tuned for nursery project #3 (mobile). We've made really good progress on it. Should be done by next weekend!

Mom Time

When Badge is away, I'm not the healthiest person. I tend to work more and eat whatever I feel like (esp since I'm preggo). For example, I had chicken mcnuggets for dinner Thurs night and 3 doughnuts during the day on Friday. I blame my coworker for bring those doughnuts in. Delicious evil chocolate creations...

Anyway, thank goodness my mom drove down yesterday to visit for the week. She's been making me simple and tasty Asian fare. Exactly what I needed. We've also been taking 30 minute walks a day, which I hope to keep up all week. Other than that, we've just been relaxing and doing sudoku puzzles online. Last night, I made her watch Die Hard with a Vengeance. Quite entertaining. Perhaps I will make her watch the original tonight...