Friday, August 27, 2010

making the move...

Please note that I made the move to Wordpress.

New blog address: http://barsottiblog.wordpress.com

Please update your readers/RSS feeds/email subscriptions/bookmarks/yadda yadda yadda :)

See you on the other side!

random ramblings...Friday edition

I know, you're so excited that you can hardly contain yourselves!

Last night's Project Runway...LOVE! Tim Gunn is a-maze-ing. This is such a great season!

This post by Anna Maria Horner had me in tears. (Somewhat) unrelated: I want this chair.

The new kitchen has a stainless fridge, which is OK, but I can't use magnets on it. I think I might copy this idea to use for the weekly menu/to do list.

In need of a laugh? This is guaranteed to give you a chuckle.

We had these for dinner last night. I used ground turkey instead of beef...mmmmmmm...

I'm realizing that in the past 6 months, Ava has gone through TWO shoe sizes. Mercy.

And while we're at it, Emily has gone from world's easiest child to world's most spirited child. I'm sure my mother thinks it's just karma...she's probably right. As usual.

While I'm loving the new zoo, children's museum, science museum, etc. here in the greater Seattle area, I'm not loving that you have to pay to park everywhere. Oh well...thus is big city living, right?

One of these days, I will make it to the Cake Spy shop. Twice now, we've missed it. So...third time's the charm!

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

things that make me happy


Cheese. Pure and Simple.


Sneaking up on moments like this:


Playing tourist:


My college dorm cork board repurposed:


Honey taste-testing:


this lovely bouquet:


peskies:


a trip to the beach with these two:

(oh, and picnik...love it!)

it's almost boot season!


What's making you happy today?

Monday, August 23, 2010

meal plan monday

August 23 - August 29

MONDAY
Breakfast: cereal, fruit
Lunch: out with friends
Dinner: eggs benedict with smoked sturgeon, salad

TUESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: turkey wraps, chips, veggies
Dinner: grilled Vietnamese pork with rice vermicelli and pickled cucumbers and carrots

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: brown rice pudding with fruit
Lunch: smoked chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, veggies, chips
Dinner: caprese panzanella, lemon pepper tilapia

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: yogurt, granola, fruit
Lunch: roast beef sandwiches, pickles, veggies
Dinner: chicken tacos, salad, black beans, rice

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: BBQ chicken pizza, spinach salad, roasted veggie

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: waffles, sausages, fruit compote
Lunch: picnic with friends
Dinner: graze platter: roasted eggplant bruschetta, cheese, meats, olives, salad

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: eibelskiver, fruit
Lunch: sandwiches, soup, salad
Dinner: bbq meatballs, mashed potatoes, roasted cauliflower and broccoli


Extras:
Oatmeal honey bread, blackberry cornmeal muffins, peach cobbler

Saturday, August 21, 2010

summer yummies


This is one of our favorite summer meals:

Corn Cakes with Prosciutto Salad
adapted from Donna Hay's New Food Fast

Ingredients:

1 cup AP or WW pastry flour
2 t baking powder
1/4 t coarse salt
2 eggs
1 t ground cumin
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
2 cups corn kernels, fresh if available

6 ounces baby spinach or arugula
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
8 slices prosciutto
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
kosher salt
fresh cracked pepper
good quality olive oil

Method:

In a blender, combine the first 6 ingredients until well blended. Add the corn, blend again until the corn is roughly chopped.
Pour 1/4 cup of batter onto a heated, oiled griddle and cook for 3 or 4 minutes per side.
Place a corn cake on each plate, top with greens, mozzarella, tomatoes, and prosciutto. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with a bit of olive oil if desired. Top with another corn cake.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

playing with our food

I recently bought a set of food safe markers (kind of like these) and we've been having fun decorating our food with them. On this particular day (which happened to be Emily's birthday), we decorated circles of fondant to put on top of cupcakes. This was a really fun activity for the girls, and a lot less mess for me to clean up than when they are allowed to use sprinkles!





Ava's cupcake:


the cupcake I made for Joel:


Emily's cupcake is the one with the 3 on it (I used a fondant cutter, she did the coloring):

it's not summer without...

Rocket pops!



Monday, August 16, 2010

look! in the sky!

Or, when the papa bear got really, really fired up.

The weekend we had Emily's birthday party (pictures to come), my mom stayed over night and we went to the Museum of Flight, which was so much fun! The exhibits were really interesting and it was wonderful for kids.

The kids got to sit in some cockpits, and we got to explore a Concorde and one of the Air Force One planes from the 1960s (as Joel said of the loo, "Kennedy pooped there!" Yep.) The red phone was pretty cool, but was behind plexiglass, which meant no pictures.

Don't worry - we took plenty of pictures of everything else!

Part of the main exhibition hall:


one of the many planes outside of the front door:


little astronauts:



does this plane look familiar to anyone? (hint: "permission to fly by the tower")


inside the Red Barn, or where the original Boeing offices were (and with a super cool engine):


the nose of the Concorde:


the girls running down the $10 mil. bridge:


inside a fighter jet:




working model of the Kitty Hawk:

the monday meal plan

August 16 – August 22

MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, berries
Lunch: out
Dinner: sushi rice salad, marinated tofu, miso soup

TUESDAY
Breakfast: yeasted waffles, strawberry rhubarb compote, bacon
Lunch: turkey sandwiches, veggies, fruit
Dinner: lemon pepper tilapia, couscous, roasted asparagus

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: pasta salad, fruit
Dinner: smoked chicken, potato salad, marinated cucumbers and tomatoes, salad

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: french toast, eggs, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: lentils and brown rice, salad, roasted cauliflower

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, berries
Lunch: black bean and quinoa salad
Dinner: goat cheese, spinach, and caramelized red onion pizza, salad, roasted veggies

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: quinoa pudding, fruit compote
Lunch: grilled roast beef, fontina, and giardinara sandwiches, salad
Dinner: corn cakes with prosciutto, spinach, and sun dried tomato salad

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: eibelskiver, fruit
Lunch: out
Dinner: sour cream salsa chicken, brown rice, black beans, fruit salad


Extras:
Whole wheat bread, oatmeal raisin chocolate cookies, blackberry pie

Monday, August 9, 2010

it's true.

I'm a blogging slacker.

But I have a good reason. Three of them, actually.


You see, I've been spending time with my three favorite people...we've been enjoying our new city's sights and sounds and food and people and beaches and everything. We've finally felt relaxed for the first time in months. We've been waking up every morning with no plans so we've made our own.
So I promise to start posting more soon. But for now, I'm going to return to my regularly unscheduled program of summer break. I'm sure you'll understand :)

the monday meal plan

August 9 – August 15

MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, berries
Lunch: turkey sandwiches, salad
Dinner: leftovers

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, veggies
Lunch: soup, salad, fruit
Dinner: sloppy joes, salad, roasted veggies

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: lentil and brown rice casserole, salad, roasted broccoli

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: grilled turkey, apple, and brie sandwiches with salad and veggies

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: camping
Lunch: camping
Dinner: camping

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: camping
Lunch: camping
Dinner: camping

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: camping
Lunch: camping
Dinner: pizza, salad, fruit


Extras:
Whole wheat bread, zucchini brownies, granola bars, marshmallows, graham, crackers

Monday, August 2, 2010

the monday meal plan

August 2 – August 8

MONDAY
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: red beans and rice, salad

TUESDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal with applesauce and cinnamon
Lunch: out
Dinner: cold sesame noodles

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: cottage cheese and fruit, toast
Lunch: soup, salad
Dinner: shrimp salad pitas, fruit

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: green chicken curry, basmati rice, green beans with coconut

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal with berries
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: veggie pizza, fruit salad

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: pancakes, fruit compote, eggs or sausages
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: lentil and quinoa salad, salmon with dill sauce, eggplant and tomato tian

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: waffles with applesauce and sour cream, eggs
Lunch: onigiri, marinated tofu, steamed veggies
Dinner: chicken Marbella, couscous, wilted spinach salad


Extras:
Whole wheat bread, zucchini pineapple bread, whole wheat snickerdoodles

Monday, July 26, 2010

the monday meal plan

July 26 – August 1

MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal and fruit
Lunch: sandwiches, salad
Dinner: pasta with artichokes and tomatoes, salad, fruit

TUESDAY
Breakfast: waffles with peach compote
Lunch: out
Dinner: pizza, salad, fruit

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: smoothies, toast with cottage cheese
Lunch: lentil soup, salad
Dinner: picadillo, brown rice, salad, fruit

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: black bean quinoa salad, carrot slaw, fruit

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal with berries
Lunch: turkey wraps, salad
Dinner: sour cream salsa chicken tacos, feta and cabbage slaw

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: cottage cheese pancakes, eggs, bacon
Lunch: chicken taco salad
Dinner: fish in parchment with lemons and asparagus

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: yogurt, fruit, granola
Lunch: out
Dinner: scattered sushi rice salad, marinated tofu, miso soup


Extras:
Whole wheat bread, zucchini brownies, panna cotta with blueberry lime compote

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Frweee!

That's how old this silly, smiley, cuddly, feisty, happy, sweet little face is today.

For giggles, here's an interview I did with her this morning:

Who is your mommy? Mommy! You my mommy! I love you Mommy! (while licking me)

Who is your daddy? Daddy! I love you Mommy! (yep, still licking me...)

What does your daddy do? Work on da computer

What does your mommy do? Take pictures. And make cookies for me to eat. (insert Cookie Monster-like noises and arm motions)

What is your favorite food? Sammiches! BIG sammiches! (arms spread waaaay out wide)

Who is your sister? Ava

What does Ava do? Plays outside with me. She push me on da swings!

How old are you? Frwee!

Who do you love? Ava! And Cinallella. And cookies! Nom nom nom!

What is your favorite thing to do? Play with my sister. Play ponies. Cookies! I love go sushi and eat fishies!

What is your favorite color? Pink, mommy! I like green. Dat my favorite.

What is your favorite story? Rainbow Fish...fishy fishy swim in da seeeeeeeeea!

What do you want for your birthday? Cinallella paint. Cake! Cookies! Watermelon!

What do you want to do tomorrow? Go to sushi with mah friends. Go to beach and play in da sand. See fishies swim in da seeeeeeeeeeeeeeea!

Yep, my baby is three. Excuse me while I go and have a good cry.

Monday, July 19, 2010

the monday meal plan

July 19 – July 25

MONDAY
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: spicy asian noodles with marinated tofu and snow peas, fruit

TUESDAY
Breakfast: eibelskiver and scrambled eggs
Lunch: sandwiches, fruit
Dinner: taco salad, fruit, cake

WEDNESDAY:
Breakfast: yogurt, fruit, granola
Lunch: lentil soup, salad
Dinner: pork chops with peach ginger chutney, salad, marinated cucumbers and tomatoes

THURSDAY:
Breakfast: yogurt, granola, fruit
Lunch: quinoa and black bean salad
Dinner: grilled chicken sandwiches, salad

FRIDAY:
Breakfast: oatmeal, fruit or smoothies
Lunch: three bean salad, turkey wraps, veggies
Dinner: ceasar salad pizzas, fruit

SATURDAY:
Breakfast: blueberry muffins, yogurt or eggs
Lunch: finger sandwiches, veggies and dip, fruit,
Dinner: pot roast, potatoes, carrots, salad

SUNDAY:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: leftovers
Dinner: taco lasagna, salad, fruit



Extras:
Whole wheat bread, chocolate cake, chocolate buttercream, granola bars, blueberry muffins

Monday, July 12, 2010

beach babes

Like clockwork, summer arrived in the Pacific Northwest on July 5. The temperature got up over 100 so the California girl in me said "time to hit the beach!" Luckily, we live 5 minutes away from the nearest one so we headed to several last week to compare.










play ball!

I remember many happy afternoons spent at the Oakland Coliseum watching the A's trample their opponents (hey, it was the 80's...the A's trampled everyone!). Before Joel and I met, I went to quite a few Mariner games too.

So, it was a huge treat to receive tickets for Joel and my birthdays! We all went and watched the Mariners get (completely) trampled by the Yankees. Oh well. As Ava said, it was fun to root for the home team because it will make them want to win next time :) The best part was when the kids got to run the bases after the game (which, sadly, I don't have a video of because these days I'm operating on a huge sleep deficit. Or maybe I had a blond moment. Who knows...).

Ava's face when we told her she could run the bases:


Ichiro at bat:


Waiting in line:


The Safeco sign:


We had seats so close to the field, and right in fly ball territory:


Emily and Ava love hot dogs!



Living legend, Derek Jeter:


Alex Rodriguez got his start with the Mariners...even though he's turned into a @$&^ I still have a soft spot for him:

can you see why? :o)


The girls LOVED their first baseball game!


Thanks, Maggie and Saam for a fabulous birthday gift!!