Life with Two Tiny Humans

February 8, 20174 Comments

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The last time I shared a post, the boys were 3 months old, and so much has changed since then as we approach their first birthday. I have missed writing here and sharing about our life, so I have given the blog a new look and will be sharing as much as possible about what’s going on here. I will, of course, be more focused on motherhood, but I will still share about cooking and food, secondhand finds, home renovations and decor, and our adventures. For any of you that are new here, allow me to fill you in a bit.

After a long struggle with infertility, the combination of an amazing doctor and his team of nurses along with tremendous support from family and friends, we hit the baby jackpot and became pregnant with twins. Our boys are the greatest gift imaginable and our lives are forever changed. Giovanni is spunky and curious, while Dominic is sweet and soulful, and their love for each other is clear. Dominic was born with Down Syndrome, so not only are we new to parenthood and twin life, but we are also a part of this wonderful Down Syndrome community.

Back when I was writing more regularly, we were in the first home we purchased, enjoying Taco Tuesdays, I worked full time, and my adventures involved lattes and concerts. Nowadays, we are in our forever home, and as a full time stay at home mom, I cook more often than Tuesdays and it’s not usually tacos, and our adventures are leisurely walks and sometimes include farm animals. Life has evolved into something new and it’s pretty amazing.

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I do hope that you’re along for this new ride with me and my tribe.

Taco Tuesday: Curry Roasted Cauliflower & Chickpea

September 30, 2014February 7, 2017Leave a comment

We had a dinner guest last night and she got to enjoy some tasty tacos. Since she is allergic to a whole lot of seafood (so sad, I know), we opted for an all veggie taco with an Indian twist. I found the recipe here at Chezus.com. Minimal changes were made and they turned out really well, so this is definitely on the must try list.

You’ll need:

1 1/2 lb cauliflower
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons olive oil (original recipe called for 1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 15 oz can chickpeas
Corn tortillas

For the sauce:

8 oz whole milk Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons grated cucumber
2 teaspoons Sriracha (recipe called for 1 1/2 teaspoons)
Sea salt to taste

For the garnish:

1 jalapeno
Cilantro (we left this out because our guest isn’t a fan)

*As y’all know, I like use what I already have, so the only ingredients I had to buy were cauliflower and Greek yogurt (yay!). I am also proud to say the I used jalapenos from the garden. I only share this tidbit because I hate when you have to spend $40 on ingredients for ONE recipe. Pin this and save it for a time when most of these things are in your kitchen.

Preheat your oven to 425, and then start by washing the cauliflower and patting it dry. Chop the cauliflower up into small florets. In a medium size mixing bowl, add the cauliflower, 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, and the curry powder. Toss it well so the cauliflower is evenly coated. Spread it out on a baking sheet and pop it into the oven for 15 minutes to roast.

While the cauliflower is roasting, rinse and dry the chickpeas, and set those aside while the cauliflower is cooking. In the meantime, you can grate your cucumber and mix the yogurt and Sriracha together–add salt to your liking. By now, the timer for the cauliflower should be going off, so pull that baking sheet out and add the chickpeas. Add the 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and give it all a good stir. Set the timer for another 10 minutes.

Now, slice up the jalapeno and warm up the tortillas. To assemble, add the veggies, a generous dollop of the sauce and some jalapeno slices.

We all like spicy food, so we added a drizzle of Sriracha. I also made a pot of lentils with extra cumin and served those with avocado slices, to round out the meal. This made 8 tacos easily, and we have leftovers, so we are eating the lentils and veggies mixed together with a French baguette.

I hope you give this a try!

Currently.

September 17, 2014February 7, 2017Leave a comment

READING…The Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg. This book is full of family stories and recipes. It will tug at your heart strings and make you hungry. I cannot wait to try some of these recipes and visit the author’s restaurant, Delancey.

LISTENING…to the Black Keys, Gotta Get Away and Milky Chance, Stolen Dance. I couldn’t pick just one this go around.

EATING…my veggies! After a long of stretch of not eating very well, I’m back on the veggie train. For this week’s dinners, I’m most excited for my lentil quinoa bowl. I’ll let you know how that recipe goes–I’m winging it as per usual.

DRINKING…Rose outdoors, every chance I get. I hear pink is the new white, but my girls and I have been loving the pink wine for quite some time now. There is nothing more delicious on a sunny afternoon. For an inexpensive bottle, try La Vielle Ferme Rose, but I also tried and loved our local JM Cellars Mourvedre Rose.

SUCCEEDING…in my post-it project. I know, whaaaa? Check out Why and How to Do a Life Audit here. This is helping me to make small changes for a better everyday, and it’s helping me to prioritize my goals, both big and small.

FAILING…at hanging my outdoor lights. It’s officially FAILED. Summer is basically over and with our random rain storms, it’s not in the cards this year. That’s okay though. We have them and will be ready next summer. Glass half full, right?

LOVING…all of the renovations at home. With the help of some amazing folks, our home is looking better every day. Check out the laundry room here and the master bathroom here. I’m even planting a shade garden. I got a ton of great plants, including this fern, and they were all gifted by my bestie’s mom. How amazing is that?!

WAITING…to see my family! September is officially the month of family for us. Dad was just here, we’re off to see my mom, step-dad, sis and her bf soon, and then my hubby’s family will be here at the end of the month. SO.MUCH.LOVE.

WEARING…eye shadow today. My girl brought me the most gorgeous eye shadow palette from her London travels. I rarely wear eye shadow, but these neutrals make it tempting to do everyday.

Happy Hump Day!

Taco Tuesday: Sriracha Shrimp Mini Won Ton

September 16, 2014February 7, 20173 Comments

I decided to go with an Asian feel for tacos this week. I had pinned a recipe for Sriracha Shrimp Lo Mein from Baker by Nature, and while discussing the weekly meal plan, my husband came up with the idea of making them into tacos. I chose to up the ante by making them into the cutest mini won ton tacos you have ever seen. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but they are really cute, really spicy and quite delicious. The recipe is simple and quick, and could work for a meal, or as an appetizer.

You’ll Need:

1/2 lb Shrimp
1 Medium Zucchini
2 Eggs
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tablespoon Butter
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Won Ton Wrappers

For the sauce…

2 Tablespoons Sriracha
2 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (I used low sodium)
1 Teaspoon Sesame Seed Oil
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

For garnish…

3 Green Onions
1/2 Cup Cilantro
2 Limes

Wash, chop and prep your veggies. Get all of your ingredients out and preheat your oven to 400. Spray some cooking oil on a baking sheet and set aside. You will also need 3 mixing bowls and 2 small plates.

Let’s make the sauce. Simply whisk together the sauce ingredients; Sriracha, soy sauce, sesame seed oil and brown sugar. Next, put your stove to low-medium heat and melt the butter in it. As it melts, stir in the red pepper flakes. Beat the eggs, raise the heat to medium and add them to pan. Once the eggs are done, move them to a plate and set aside.

Add a 1-1/2 tablespoons of olive oil to your pan and add the shrimp. It should only take 2-3 minutes on each side to cook the shrimp. You’re looking for them to be firm and pink. Once they’re done, set them aside on a plate. Turn up the heat to high, and add the olive oil and zucchini. Cook for a good 5 minutes and then add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Now, it’s time to combine everything. Turn the heat down to medium and dump in the eggs, shrimp, and sauce. Toss it all together and mix well.

Move the pan off the burner and grab your baking sheet. Place won ton wrappers on the baking sheet, as many as you can fit. Add a little water to the last mixing bowl. Now, it’s time to add the filling. Put a generous tablespoon of filling on each won ton wrapper. Be sure to put a little of everything in each one.

Once there’s filling in each one, it’s time to close them up. Dip your fingers in the water and bring the two corners together. The water is like glue to keep the taco shape. Do this to all of them and pop them in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Pull them out of the oven, let them cool for a couple minutes and then plate them with lime wedges and a generous sprinkle of green onion and cilantro.

So yummy! I hope you will give this recipe a shot. The recipe made about 20 tacos and I ended up with about 1-1/2 cups of Sriracha shrimp and zucchini, so I put it over rice for lunch today.

Happy Taco Tuesday to you!
xo

Taco Tuesday: Fried Avocado with Corn Salsa

July 22, 2014February 7, 20171 Comment

I know what you’re thinking? Fried avocado?! I hear the chorus of angels singing too. I looked at a few recipes and landed on this one (with my own changes, of course), inspired by The Beeroness. Check it out here. It’s delicious and naughty, so get ready.

Okay, here’s what you need:

Avocados – 1 large Hass avocado will make 6 tacos

Beer Batter – 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 12 oz of light beer, canola oil for frying

Corn Salsa – 1 ear of white sweet corn, 1 half of a tomato, 1 small jalapeno, 1 half of a red onion, a couple green onions, 1 lime

Black Beans – optional, but it added some heft to the all veggie tacos. I added a pinch of cumin and topped with cotija

Corn Tortillas – fresh is always best, but in a pinch, use a good quality, thick corn tortilla

Begin by preparing the corn salsa, so it can chill in the fridge while you do the rest. Simply dice the veggies, cut the kernels off the ear of corn, squeeze the lime juice, add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste, and the salsa is done. Once that’s in the fridge, add oil into a medium sized pot, a few inches worth (sorry, didn’t measure). You want enough oil so that the avocados will be covered and so that you can measure the temp without the thermometer touching the bottom of the pot. It will take a bit of time to reach the desire temp, 375 (about 10 minutes).

Now, it’s time to prepare the batter. Add all of the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk it together. Next, slowly add the beer and whisk together until you have the consistency of pancake batter.

Slice up the avocado and you’ll end up with 8 slices. (Each taco will get one large slice, but the smaller slices can be combined for a “beefier” taco.) Dunk the avocado slices into the beer batter and make sure that they are getting a really good coating. By now, the oil should have reached 375. Go ahead and pull the first avocado pieces out of the batter and put them into the pot. Everything I read says to only place a couple pieces in at a time so they fry up evenly. I abided by this rule. Each round took only a few minutes, so this will move quickly. Once you put the first couple pieces in the pot, I’d suggest setting up a plate with a couple layers of paper towels. That way you have a place to put the avocados after they are done frying, and the paper towels will soak up the grease.

Heat the beans and tortillas.

Now, it’s time to assemble! I did about a teaspoon of beans, 1 large avocado piece, and a generous helping of salsa.

You could add some hot sauce or crema, if you’d like, but I feel like this was the perfect combination of crunch from the beer batter, creamy richness from the avocado, and freshness from the salsa.

Enjoy!

beauty in grey days

Tag: food