Fun with food

I do not advocate for playing with food, necessarily. But eating should be fun, right? Well, yesterday was a lazy Saturday over here - I made it out for a run before the drizzle/snow started (again) and then we all settled in because our night out with friends and no kids included a KU win, some tasty beverages, and a late night. The girls were also tired, especially because they were found giggling in their bed at Gran and Grandpa's at 4 in the morning. When Gran asked what was going on, they were just sure that it was almost time to get up. It wasn't. 

After naps and between basketball-watching, we found a production of The Cat in the Hat on Netflix - a live performance by the London National Theater. It was 30 minutes long (perfect length, in my opinion) and included real actors instead of animated ones. Anyhow... what is the perfect dinner to fit the theme and is a snap to make? Well, green eggs and bacon, of course! Thanks to Uncle Travis' suggestion, we just tossed eggs and spinach in the blender - beautiful green eggs! I really liked the flavor that the spinach added and the girls cleaned their plates.

• Green Eggs
• 3-4 local organic eggs
• Big handful of organic baby spinach
• Pinch of salt
• Splash of organic local milk
• Blend away and prepare like scrambled eggs!

Continuing the fun-food today, I made the girls a colorful, silly lunch. Again, every morsel was devoured and they were so excited to tell John about what it had looked like. Eating is fun, isn't it?

Now entering "Summer Mode"

"Summer Mode" requires some changes to be made to the ins and outs of the days. For example...

• The washer/dryer runs only first thing in the morning and again after sunset - one load per day, in the wash at sun-up and in the dryer at sun-down
• The oven goes into daytime hibernation as well. This has big implications for mealtimes but it also limits my baking, which is somewhat sad for me. I'm hoping to come up with some new ideas for dinners that don't require a "preheat to X-degrees". Over the weekend, we had egg-salad sandwiches:
• Egg Salad Sandwich
• 5 hardboiled local eggs
• 1/4 C (or so) miracle whip
• Few squirts of organic yellow mustard
• Pepper
• Toasted whole wheat bread
• Chopped organic onion and peppers
• Organic baby spinach
• BACON

• Outdoor time continues to be required EVERYDAY. We accomplish this either with an early-morning walk or bike-ride OR with water. It doesn't take much H2O to make a summer afternoon enjoyable. 

(It also doesn't take much to make a summer afternoon
enjoyable when these two are involved!)

• And, most importantly, firefly-catching is mandatory. 

Welcome to Summer Mode 2012.

Pork chops and eggs

Say what? Pork chops and eggs? Okay... sounds a little strange... but sometimes you've just gotta think outside the proverbial box, right? Here's the real deal: it's hot again, I'm back at work (still part-time), and cooking just isn't the highlight of my life right now. The girls have had a busy week, adjusting to the new routine, and we needed a well-balanced, filling, and easy dinner. Here's what went down:

Pork chop and egg sandwich:

• 2 thin-cut pork chops 
• Whole wheat bread, toasted
• Local, free range eggs
• Unsalted organic butter
• Salt and pepper
• Cook pork chops whole on the stove top with salt and pepper; set aside and cover with foil
• Cook eggs on stovetop (John is the fried-egg master in this house, so I handed that part of dinner over to him)
• Toast bread
• Thinly slice pork chops
• Assemble and eat

We had some nice organic green beans and organic kiwi on the side. Some A-1 sauce was thrown in the mix and everyone cleaned their plates! Dinner tonight was a good reminder for me that it can be so easy to make a home-cooked meal. I love new recipes and interesting ingredients but at the end of the day, a pork chop and egg sandwich with green beans and kiwi gets the job done. Fresh, clean, local, healthy. 

Since the food on here isn't all that interesting or entertaining, allow me to digress....

The girls are hysterical right now. They are laugh-out-loud funny... What's that? You want me to prove it? Done.

• After a marching band session up and down the hallway playing their harmonicas, our friend Lana asked the girls "What's your next number?", to which Abby replied "3, 3, 6, 9".
• On their way into my bedroom, Abby said "I'm going to toot in your bed", to which I replied "Abby! Why would you say or do that?". Abby had a leggo in her hand that had been her "flute". She clarified and said "No, Momma, I'm going to toot with my flute in your bed." Elise overheard our conversation, realized what I was thinking, and said "Momma, don't be gross."
• After 9 hours in the car on the way to Minnesota, we asked the girls if they remembered the name of the lake we were heading to, Little Pine Lake. As they sat and pondered the lake name, Abby followed up with "There going to be pine trees there?". I thought this question was brilliant. Elise then thoughtfully inquired "There going to be PINEapples there?". Another great question, my dear.
• We had many conversations about my return to work, which often involved all three of us saying "I don't want to go back to work!". Elise had the ultimate solution: "Momma, maybe you can retire like Grammy and Gramps and then stay home with me all the time!". Yes, please.

Kale and Onion Egg Burrito

Nothing fancy here - just a little egg burrito that was a perfect lunch today. I'm trying to be somewhat conscientious about adding a little protein here or there now that I'm running fairly frequently again. I get 2-3 good runs in each week with the stroller - the girls have always been awesome running company- and then I shoot for 2-3 runs each week solo. And by solo, I mean totally solo. My faithful running buddy for the past 8 years hit her wall this summer. With her white face and slower gait, Aura's age (11 yrs) is showing. In early June, she and I were running and for. the. first. time. ever, she needed to stop and walk on a run. This dog has covered some serious territory with me throughout Lawrence - I have no doubt that she could navigate her way from our last house to downtown, to the farmer's market, up to the campanile and around the chi-omega fountain and back, across town to my parent's house, down Tennessee to my brother's old house, and all without missing a beat. Aura is the very reason that I started running - about a year after I got her, the vet said she needed to lose about 4 pounds, which he shared was significant in that 4 extra pounds on a dog is equivalent to 30 extra pounds on a human. Well, I'd be damned if I was going to have a fat dog (even though I had some pounds to shed myself). Fast forward through our running days and low and behold: Aura lost 4 pounds and I lost 30. That vet is one smart man. I look forward to some cooler weather when running isn't quite so taxing and my faithful companion can head out for some short jogs with me again.

And... jog on back with me to the protein. This morning's run was hot and tiresome, so for lunch I wanted to refuel. I think eggs often get overlooked because of the cholesterol issue - we are not egg-white or egg-replacement kind of people. Not only are eggs high in protein, but the egg yolk is good source of choline, which is important for brain development (during pregnancy) and function. Crack a couple eggs, toss in some greens, roll up in a tortilla and refuel!

Kale and Onion Egg Burrito

• 2 local eggs
• 1/4 medium organic white onion, diced
• 1 C chopped organic kale
• Splash of organic milk
• Salt, pepper, salsa
• Local, whole wheat tortilla
• Whisk eggs with milk, salt, pepper
• Heat 1 T olive oil in nonstick pan
• Saute onion until translucent
• Add kale and cover until wilted and tender
• Add eggs and scramble
• Roll up in tortilla with some salsa