I'm Sorry, Did You Say Asparagus?

I love asparagus, LOVE it!

It's my all time favorite vegetable, so much so that I even attempted to grow some in my garden...

You will be shocked to hear that I was marginally successful, every year I get 2-3 teeny tiny aspargus shoots...

Anyway, I have another pasta recipe for you and this dish is all about the asapragus!

Ingredients:

1 bundle of asparagus

1/2 onion

1 red pepper

1 clove garlic

1/2 box of campanella pasta (penne works just as well)

1/2 bag of Barilla spinache and cheese tortellini

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 tblsp butter

1 large lemon

1 tsp salt

Red pepper flakes 1/4-1 tsp depending on heat desired

Step one is to get that pasta boiling!

The tortellini has a slightly longer cook time than the campanella that I use, so I start the tortellini first and let it cook for a minute before adding the second pasta, that way I can cook both pastas together...

While the pasta is cooking, heat the olive oil on medium heat, and chop the red pepper and onion into bite sized pieces...

saute the onion and pepper for about 3 minutes, adding the salt and red pepper flakes, and stirring occasionally.  Next, toss in the minced garlic and continue to cook for another minute...

And now for the lemon, another favorite ingredient of mine!

Add the lemon zest to the mixture on the stove...

The next step is to add the lemon juice, and while you can simply use your hand to squeeze the juice out, I happen to have a very special kitchen tool reserved for such an occasion...

I love this juicer, it's an antique inherited from my grandma Stone, and it always makes me happy when I have an opportunity to use it!

I don't think my grandma ever used the juicer herself, and I imagine if she saw me use it she would smile, roll her eyes at me and say "oh gad!"  but that's exactly what makes me smile when I use it!

Anyway, juice your lemon any way you'd like, and add all the juice to your mixture!

Now it's time to add the asparagus, and the butter, cook for another 3 minutes or so, stirring occasionally...

Drain your pasta and toss it with the veggies...

And as always, don't forget to garnish with a bit of parmesan cheese!

I'm not the only one who loves asparagus at my house...

That's how good this recipe is!



It's a Bird...It's a Plane...No, it's an Unecessarily Complicated Coat Rack!!!

It all started because we needed a coat rack next to the back door...

But lets back up...

As many of you know, last fall I initiated a spontaneous construction project which resulted in the complete renovation of our basement...

And one of the major aspects of that renovation was the installation of the new ceiling using reclaimed beetle wood!

We had quite a few wood pieces left over, and that gave me an idea...

Why not take that left over wood, and some eclectic knobs acquired from Hobby Lobby for 50% off...

Add in one slightly reluctant, but very capable (and handsome) frolicsome fellow worker...

and turn a really simple home improvement project into a much more complex home improvement/art project!

It didn't take all day, no one was injured in the process, and I think Joshua only rolled his eyes at me 3 or 4 times...

And, it's not a coat rack...

It's a COAT RACK!

And it gets the job done!

Hurray for spontaneous construction, and really tolerant, supportive, and loving husbands!



First Day of First Grade!

I feel it is significant to note that today was Noah's first day of first grade...

He has a loose tooth too...

That's not really sigificant except it's yet another sign that he's growing up so fast!

Ok, maybe not THAT fast!

He loves school, and that is a wonderful thing...

Note that Gianna has changed her outfit in honor of the occassion...

Gigi said she would miss Noah, but she really wanted to have a mommy/Gigi fashion show, and no boys were to be allowed...

So, naturally she had to change her outfit yet again...

Noah greeted his friends and his first day of first grade with joy and I couldn't help singing to myself

 "this little light of mine!"

 



C is for Cookie...That's good Enough for Me!

This blog post isn't actually about the cookies, even though the cookies are perfectly shaped, super soft, and absolutely delicious...

Dissapointed?

This post is more about how to decorate your cookies with little to no mess, and almost bakery style perfection!

But I would be remiss if I told you how to decorate your perfect sugar cookies and I didn't tell you how to make them in the first place!

I must first diclose that this is not my sugar cookie recipe...I found it...that's right, on Pinterest!

But the recipe is tried and true and will absolutely deliver the best tasting, softest, and most perfectly shaped cookies of all time!

Click HERE for the recipe, and note that the only thing I did differently was to use regular flour instead of cake flour!

We used to use bowls and butter knives or spoons to decorate our cookies...

We would dye the frosting and and end up wearing most of it while our cookies looked like sad, unidentifiable shapes drowning in too much icing...

No more!  My tip isn't exactly new, placing icing in individual ziploc bags...

and snipping the corner of the bag creating a simple and effective pastry style decorating tool...

But here's a sneaky twist (pun intended!) I used a twist tye to close the bag up just above the frosting level so that the frosting didn't ooze all over inside the bag!

The kids were able to squeeze...

and squeeze...

and squeeze, and the frosting went only where they wanted it to go!

I couldn't believe how beautful the cookies looked!

almost too good to eat!!



Ok, let's be serious, cookies are never too pretty to eat!

 

 

When She Says...

There are moments almost everyday where you are caught off guard and blown away by something so simple and yet so profound that you find yourself trying to take a mental snapshot before the tidal wave of schedules and routine can wash it away...

I had a moment like that the other day, and luckily I was successful in taking that mental snapshot which allows me to remember and share my moment with you...

You've probably guessed by now that this particular moment has to do with Gigi.

It was a simple thing, a regular morning, the kids eating breakfast, Josh getting ready for work, and myself in the kitchen cleaning and preparing for the day ahead...

Gigi entered the kitchen, and I was about to order her, in a very exasperated tone, back to the table to finish her breakfast, when she said...

"Mom?  I really like you!"

I felt like I was accepting an award!

"you like me!  you really like me!"

It's a simple thing, and on the surface you think. of course she likes you, but the truth is, you can love someone and not like their decisions, not like their attitude, not like the way they make you sit in your chair every morning to eat your breakfast...

Anyway, it's a small thing, just one of those moments, and needless to say she stopped my exasperated order to return to the breakfast table, and earned herself a big hug instead...

And that was just soooo much better!

Definitely worth sharing!



And A Little Bit of Pixie Dust!

We went back in time yesterday...

It required a relatively short drive down to Larkspur where we joined swarms of people entering a land of make believe called the Rennaisance Festival!

It's an annual tradition, and, I mean, where else can you walk around feeling a little out of place because you're NOT dressed up like a princess or a fairy or a pirate etc...

Noah loves the music...

and, of course, the food!

But Gigi is all about the sparkles!

Her treasure of choice was this little bottle full of pixie dust...

And she made sure we all got a bit of sparkle and shine...

She was thrilled with her fairie status, and just could not get enough of the sparkles...

Of course, the day had to end sometime...

Even sparkley fairie princesses have to take naps...

So they can recharge and become...

Super stubborn fairie princesses who don't like to take baths because they don't want their sparkles to wash off, even though they are covered in dirt and food crumbs and sunscreen...

 It's a good thing I have this magical fairie princess capturing device called a camera which allows me to preserve the sparkles (and the peace) forever in picture form and thus convince the dirty, grimy, and still sparkley fairie princess to finally take a bath!