Sweet, Sweet, Valentine's Day

What I am about to say may make you think differently about me.  Maybe even less of me.  But I don't care, because this is just too exciting to keep to myself!

Rob and I aren't big into Valentine's Day.  I know a lot of people (or at least a lot of fictional move/tv people) go all out- have a fancy dinner with rose petals strewn all over the house while an airplane writes "I love you" in the sky, a string quartet plays romantic music, and an ice sculpture of cupid melts in the corner.  We're more the type to say "happy valentine's day" with an accompanying kiss.  Maybe something special for dinner, maybe not.  One year when I went to bed I found a box of chocolates under my pillow.

This year, though, Rob went a little crazy.  He decided that in the interest of improving our relationship, he would buy us ... a dishwasher!  I haven't had a dishwasher since I moved out of my parents house 81/2 years ago.  That's 3138 days of standing over a sink of hot water for at least half an hour, scrubbing, soaping, rinsing.  I didn't really mind doing them by hand, or at least I didn't mind before I had a crazy little girl to take up all of my time.  Ever since Isabella was born almost two years ago, I've tried to cram most of my tasks into the time when she's asleep (have you tried spending half an hour doing dishes while someone else is either tearing the house apart or howling for your attention?  It's very difficult).  

Our dishwasher was delivered Saturday morning (for free, of course).  We did a couple loads right away to get caught up; it was so nice to see bare counters after such minimal effort!  (By the way, our dishwasher is so awesome that it cleans off even weeks-old caked on nastiness; the secret is the steam cycle.)  When Isabella took her nap that afternoon my first thought was "Well, I guess I should do the dishes now."  I even went so far as to start walking toward the kitchen before I remembered there were no dishes for me to wash!

Maybe I'm a nerd, or someone who gets overly excited about kitchen appliances, but I have such a feeling of freedom!  Those precious minutes when Isabella is asleep do not have to be filled with the mundane task of washing dishes.  When I'm done with a dish, I just throw it in, and that night or maybe a day or two later (depending on how much cooking we've done) I press a button -- and go do the next thing on my list.  Or ignore the list and read a good book. 

Does anyone else do dishes by hand who can empathise with me here?  I wouldn't want to be labeled crazy...

Next, Please

I have many fond memories of growing up...climbing trees...eating oatmeal (or pretty much anything) slathered in thick fresh cream from our cow...playing trampoline ball with my siblings... eating bread fresh out of the oven.  My mother made pretty much everything from scratch, and I blame my current robust health on her excellent cooking.  She even made granola for us.

So when I saw a recipe for the "Ultimate Granola" in my quinoa cookbook, I knew I had to try it.  It's packed full of tasty yet healthy ingredients, like almonds, walnuts, quinoa, oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cranberries, and has a hint of cinnamon for a bit of extra flavour (like all that other stuff isn't enough).

Making it was super easy - just mix everything together and throw in on a baking sheet - and it looked so pretty and smelled so nice when it came out of the oven.

After it cooled, I tried to take it off the baking sheet.  Maybe I did something wrong, or maybe it's supposed to take half an hour and scratching up my favourite baking sheet to pry that stuff off.  I had my doubts about the recipe after that, but of course I still had to try it.

And it's good!  A bit of a jaw workout, perhaps, but delicious and healthy at the same time.  I keep a bucket of it in the living room (weird place, I know) so when I feel the munchies coming on I've got the solution right at hand.

Play Date

Because every 21-month-old should know their way around a Playstation.

True Love

 

Can you hear it calling?

Hidden Goodness

Yesterday I read a friend's facebook update describing how much her daughter loves spinach smoothies.  In my mind I pictured a dark green slurry that only an unsuspecting toddler would ever drink.  

But I decided to try it anyway. 

I filled the cup (does anyone else find the magic bullet cups super convenient?) half full of fresh spinach, then added yogurt, fresh strawberries, milk, and a few frozen blueberries.  And it was good!  I tumbled that smoothie on my tongue, searching for the spinach taste, but I couldn't find it.  All I could taste was yummy fruity goodness.  I let Isabella have a taste -- and she didn't give it back until it was almost gone.  

I'm converted!

Our breakfast: homemade raisin bread and a spinach smoothie.

KEEN - wah

Ever since watching the movie Julie & Julia, Becca and I have wanted to write regular posts about new recipes we've tried.  We had a hard time deciding on a cook book to use, or even if we should use a cookbook, so eventually our idea was more or less forgotten.  

Until Christmas.  Becca gave me a quinoa cookbook (and got one for herself, too) so we could try it out.  Maybe in health food circles this -- what do I call it?  It's not a grain, but acts like one -- stuff is well-known, but I had never heard of it before.  To tell the truth, while I was excited to try it out, I was also worried that my family (mostly Rob) would never eat it.  Maybe I would end up eating it all by myself.

So for my first try, I decided to go with a recipe where the quinoa is in the background, where the other flavours would mask its presence.  And I wouldn't tell Rob it was even in there until after he said he liked it.

Cheesy Spinach and Quinoa Stuffed Pasta

1/2 cup quinoa

2/3 cup water

1 box jumbo pasta shells

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups shredded mozza cheese (I'm sure I used a lot more than that, though)

1 cup ricotta cheese

3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 package frozen spinach

1/4 tsp salt

pinch black pepper

3 cups tomato sauce (I also added ground beef to the sauce for my carnivore husband)

Cook quinoa in water, set aside to cool.

Cook pasta shells.

Beat eggs, add quinoa, mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan, spinach, salt, pepper.

Spread tomato sauce over the bottom of a casserole dish.  Fill the pasta shells and place on top of the sauce.

Cover and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for 10 minutes more.

So good that all of this was gone by morning!

I'm no chef, but you have to admit that looks tasty.

Since my first experiment was such a success, I've added quinoa to a lot of my regular cooking: spaghetti, Isabella's food, and I always put quinoa flour in my bread.

Does this make you want to try it?