Love starts with a toothbrush, a Bic razor and a Dixie cup... and so sings Brad Paisley's song about how love starts with a toothbrush and getting ready for the first date.
But the love story continues with a toothbrush, spread with toothpaste and left on your sink, every morning. The Hubs excels at this little act of service that translates to love and I am the lucky lady who only has to stumble out of bed and reach for that toothbrush already covered with Crest each morning.
It's the little things that matter most.
xoxo
What little act of service do you do to show others they are loved?
One of my favorite ways to celebrate holidays is to have "themed meals". A few years ago, we started the Red/Pink Dinner in honor of Valentine's Day. Knowing what I know now about red dye (specifically all the synthetic dyes that are put in foods in the U.S. but yet banned in the U.K. and other countries), I will have to make a few improvisations and adjustments so as not to contaminate my family with red dye. This is just one of many articles you can find about the harm from food dyes, especially for children.*
However, I'm looking into natural food dyes and I'm delighted to have found these sites that sell safe, natural dyes, one of which is in Oregon!
SAFE Food Colorings:
India Tree Natural Decorating Colors are concentrated liquid vegetable colorants. Seattle, WA. www.indiatree.com
I generated a list of red and pink foods to help inspire others to come up with their own All-Red Valentine's Meal.
A little disclaimer...please forgive the photo quality as they were taken with a phone, long before I ever dreamed of writing a blog and posting them online.
Red Velvet Cake
Strawberry Lemonade
Watermelon Salad (4 cups watermelon cubes, 1 cup feta cheese crumbles, 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or basil, 2 Tablespoons olive oil, 3 Tablespoons lime juice and 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar)
Hot Pepper Jelly poured over a cream cheese block served with crackers
Bruschetta
I dyed my breadsticks pink.
Strawberry Salad
Cranberry Juice
Salsa
Pastrami
Pizza shaped into a heart or with the pepperoni shaped into a heart
Calzone with Marinara Sauce
Lasagna (the lasagna in the photo above was made completely independently of any adult help by our four kids! It was seriously fabulous...the kitchen's state post-production, not so much.)
This week's Menu Plan takes on a Winter Theme with ingredients that can easily be acquired during the season coupled with comfort foods ideal for colder weather.
On the home-front, my work hits a peak with countless grant deadlines coming due in February and March. We have headed into a crazy extracurricular period with basketball season in full swing with two games per week for the high school and golf now starting for Connor; while Miss B is playing both indoor soccer and the outdoor soccer season just kicked off. Needless to say, we need fairly quick meals that I can assemble in advance (on the weekend) or let simmer and slow-cook all day.
Monday
Korean Beef Bowls - recipe to follow as this is a family favorite and fairly healthy, quick option
Steamed Brown Rice
Stir-fry Asian Vegetables
Fresh Citrus Salad with Tangelo, Grapefruit, Blood Oranges and Mandarin Oranges
Brown sugar and spice crusted pork tenderloin is a family favorite that doesn't take long to throw together.
Wednesday
Stuffed Bell Peppers - My mom made these growing up and I love them to this day but truly had forgotten about them until shopping recently and spied gigantic peppers that I equated with stuffing perfection. Flashbacks of the peppers stuffed with ground turkey, rice, seasonings, tomato sauce, topped with grated cheese and baked in the oven. I read they can be popped into the slow-cooker and simmered all day.
Spinach
Strawberry-Kale Sorbet
Starting my mornings off with these Favorite Green Smoothies packed with spinach, lemon, ginger, banana, ice and white grape juice concentrate.
Thursday
Fastest Sweet and Sour Chicken - Sauce: 1/4 cup fresh orange juice, zest from orange; 1/2 cup white wine vinegar; 1/3 cup brown sugar; 1 Tab. fresh chopped rosemary; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 Tablespoon oil (I'm using coconut oil) - Combine and simmer over medium heat in a saucepan for 10 minutes.
Rice
Fresh Peppers and Pea Pods
Fresh Pineapple
Friday
Potato Leek Soup
Crusty Sourdough Bread
Salad and Fresh Vegetables
Fruit Platter
Saturday
Chicken Pot Pie - trying this recipe from AllRecipes because I have a leftover chicken, I have all the ingredients on hand, and it received several thousand (5,478) positive reviews.
Homemade Chunky Applesauce - I have a ton of apples on the brink of looking grim.
Oatmeal Dried Cherry Cookies - the original recipe off the oatmeal box lid with a few tweaks and dried cherries instead of raisins.
Sunday
Carmelized Onion Pizza with Gorgonzola - not sure if the kids will brave this selection but I always make two pizzas at a time. I will make a second pizza with Turkey Pepperoni or Salami. Pesto Parmesan Chicken is another favorite.
Fresh Vegetables and Fruits
Snacks/Treats of the Week:
Chewy Homemade Granola Bars - I love these easy bars that are quick to throw together and taste far better than the store-bought distant relatives. I mix a handful (1 cup) of chocolate chips into the mix and they melt when the hot honey hits the chocolate for a chocolate version.
Raspberry Cereal Bars - recipe to follow -these were such a hit that they didn't last past the first day. My kids thought the bars (they weren't even cut yet) were raspberry crisp and dug out huge portions which they readily devoured. (Sigh...I guess they like them).
Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Cherries (not raisins) - when I bake cookies I typically bake them in small batches so we have fresh cookies versus a whole pan of cookies. They fly off the baking stone when they are hot or freshly prepared (and I must hide the dough from The Hubs and Miss B as it mysteriously disappears with these cookie dough fans).
Trying the Apple Crisp Smoothie: 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 1 cup apple juice, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 1/2 cup ice
writing grant after grant...it's "that" time of the year with grant deadlines and when it rains grants, it means I am locked in my office writing. Also, this explains why I have been slower to post on this blog (although I had some pre-planned blog posts that were automatically uploaded...love that feature!)
dancing... the salsa at a local class with friends and the Hubs while wearing these high heels. Highly recommend dance classes for adults.
listening to...
River Flows In You a hauntingly beautiful piano solo by Yiruma a South Korean pianist (I want to learn to play this one!)
We Both Know a duet with Gavin DeGraw and Colbie Caillat (and after hearing DeGraw and Caillat at a concert singing live together last summer, I secretly hope that they end up together as they had that *electricity* between them).
checking out... the Online Pianist. Supposedly, this is a great place for piano tutorials and seems to cater to the tween/teen crowd with popular songs rated as beginner, intermediate and advanced for various levels of piano expertise.
experiencingfreezing fog...beautiful but makes for slick, frozen roads and school delays.
dreaming...of tropical beaches and walking barefoot in the sand...vs. feeling chilled from head to toe.
Sand courtesy of Cabo San Lucas - need to be back there pronto!
enjoying...warm beverages. Mmmm...nothing goes better with this cold front we are experiencing than hot cocoa, from scratch. Super easy combination of half and half, milk or cream with vanilla and chocolate chips or any version of chocolate you have on hand. Delicious with baked, (not fried)Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts from the Barefoot Contessa Foolproof cookbook.
testing... the Barefoot Contessa's FoolproofCookbook and Jenny Flake's The Picky Palate Cookbook. I'm taste-testing recipes right and left and my poor family must give their input on new recipe after new recipe night and night.
eating...the Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps that keep making appearance after appearance. They are incredible and fit right into the "healthier lifestyle" we are adapting for 2013...at least January of 2013.
working out... regularly (for a change after a month-long+ hiatus). Feeling. Every. Muscle. And remembering why it's not a wise idea to workout after a meal (as per my 8th grader's sage advice).
making a cooking video with Miss Bella...she may be a future Food Network girl with her ease behind the camera and her descriptive explanations of ingredients and cooking steps.
driving a different vehicle after the older version finally died while driving down Danger Hill. After I experienced a meltdown, the Hubs determined it was time for an upgrade. Betsy was a good family car for many years but she has been replaced by a faster, fitter, and much cleaner version named Frederick. He's dreamy and drives more like a car than a truck. Same SUV, different year. Running kids from point A to point B is better now. Much better.
researching...places to explore with my family as I was invited to be an "Out and About" writer for Today's Mama.
loving...Les Miserables. The movie moved me to tears and the music amazed us. This definitely will be a favorite for always. It's a "must see".
scrapbooking and documenting life... one of my favorite hobbies, especially while spent gabbing with girl friends.
getting excited for one of my favorite holidays...the love and romance fest - Valentine's Day! (and yes, I know it is a "made-up" American holiday but I can't help it...I'm a romantic). And...I have a few ideas up my sleeve that I hope to share here! xoxo
watching...Downton Abbey - Okay, okay...in my last update, I shared that we were late to the Downton Abbey craze. Apparently, we were not alone. We were able to stream the first season via Netflix but then we were left high and dry for season two as all the DVD's for season two were in high demand and we were unable to get them for sooooo (very dramatic, I apologize) long! Finally, they all came at once and in the midst of three super, busy weeks in which no one was home or able to watch them!
treasuring...time spent with family and focusing on what really matters most at the end of the day...those we love.
Miss Bella wrote this poem today, at age 12, for a school project and I had to share. So you know the back-story before reading this little diddy, she shared how romance is in the air at school as Valentine's Day approaches. (Just thought that would be helpful in reading between the lines...)
P.S. - Each first letter of the line spells out her name.
Isabella by Bella
Illuminating the world with laughter and love
Shows just how a thing can be thought of
Abundant to show what this person can do
Belongs to the words "I Love You"
Ecstatic to show what this phrase can mean
Let go of the past, to let it all be seen
Living a life, a teen with a dream
Acting life out with just a small beam
Joking around can cost a fortune
Easing it out is only a portion
Neglecting to give up is only a hope
Show the world how much you're almost over that slope
A girl in love with the seasons who wants to cram as much as she can into the 365 days of the year to live a life of bliss. Welcome to What Matters Most Now! I hope you will find inspiration and recipes you love.
