Eating for two...hundred

If there is one word that describes my activities and shopping, it would be bulk. And I don't mean fun bulk, like I bought ten cute purses. I mean bulk as in 300 styrofoam plates, 600 napkins, 200 forks, 40 flower pots that each had to be painted (thanks Lisa and Ev!), 40 records that will be painted, 200 pieces of scrapbook paper and the list will go on. Other than the fact that I did find an adorable wallet today, the only thing that I have one of today that I wish I had more of is an eggplant growing on my plant. Yum! I can't for it to be ready.

The fuss about fresh

So lately I've been a little addicted to two food shows, Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares. When I'm at home with my parents l really enjoy watching food network and seeing what they are making, learning about new foods and so on. Well last night I just happened to be watching Kitchen Nightmares and they starting mentioning pesto. I have to admit I have never tried pesto in my life, partially because I love tomatoes and therefore I love marinara, but also I was a little skeptical about pesto basically because it is a green sauce. Let's face it, the only other green sauces I have seen are green chile salsa which is very good and the gravy my elementary school cooks would dye green for certain holidays, and we all know that was not good. Have the people who think kids will eat want to eat already questionable food dyed a certain color ever cooked for kids. So left with that, I wasn't sure about pesto, but last night I decided to try it. I scouted a couple recipes online and just looked at the list of basic ingredients: basil leaves, garlic, a kind of nut, olive oil, salt, pepper. That's it! So I took this new found knowledge and made my own recipe. I had planted basil this spring and kept it on my kitchen window ledge (which I love and I believe all kitchens should have one!) and it was loaded with leaves waiting for me to use. I didn't have walnuts, so I decided to substitute it with some sliced almonds which are better for you anyways. After five minutes chopping, five or ten minutes frying and a sprinkle of italian cheese blend on the top, Evan and I had fresh homemade pesto. The verdict: It was delicious! It was so light, super easy, quick and so fresh because all my ingredients were fresh. So, if you feel ready for a challenge today, try to make your own pesto. Don't have fresh basil, maybe you can try spinach. Ready for an even bigger challenge: start your own garden. You can do a little inside herb garden or plant a couple tomato plants in bigger pots on your porch like I did. Or, if you are fortunate enough to have yard space go for the gold. It doesn't have to be huge, but I guarantee you will love the outcome when all you have to do is go out and pick the produce you want. It's practically free and it's fresh. For anyone who has never tasted the goodness of a homegrown tomato, catch up with me or go to your farmer's market. You don't know what you are missing out on. Good luck!

Just give me a minivan and tapered leg jeans

This past week I had the awesome joy of having my two nieces, Jenna, 12 and Jordan, 6, all to myself for 6 days! A soon to be first grader and a preteen with no cable, no amusement parks, and no fast food, I thought it was going to be quite the feat. There wasn't a moment of down time.....at least not for me. So what did we do? We started everyday off with VBS which was so great, because my littlest got to hear the good news and received her own good book and my oldest got to hear the good news, help out, and get out of her comfort zone. I don't know very many preteens who are excited about choreographed kids songs. Everyday there was home-cooked lunch and dinner and activities in the afternoon. I haven't been so worn-out in a long time, but it was so fun. We did everything from swimming, bowling, sno-cones, going to the zoo, to having a taste at our local chocolate shop. And of course they made sure to squeeze in some time for guitar hero. :) My littlest being only 6 but very independent, want to play the notes for herself and me to strum. I didn't think she could do, but she did! Who knew. Being from Houston, my nieces were very confused as to why they saw the same cars driving by the sno-cone place on our main street one night. Thus I informed them of cruising and even took them to do some of their own. It was so funny to watch them make their cruising faces, especially with Jordan in her booster seat. My little ladies were so sweet and only had a couple times each day where I needed to smooth some roughened edges and give someone a talk. Maybe my parents won't have to wait five years for grandkids from me.......we'll see.