Adventures in cooking 2.0

Before Liam was born I was a vegetarian. I ate eggs and milk products but I had cut meat, poultry and fish out of my diet. I did it for me. Something I had always wanted to do, and had dabbled in a few times before. But, I made a committment and I stuck to it, I was amazed actually how easy it was for me to not eat me, within a month I didn't even crave it. But, I ended up cooking a lot of prepared chicken dishes (can someone say "boxed broccoli and cheese chicken") for Dave instead of the healthy homecooked meals that I had usually prepared. He wasn't too happy about it, and either was his waistline. I am sure his salt intake jumped through the roof too. So, when I was about 3 months pregnant, had been diagnosed with extremely low iron and had a saliva inducing dream about a chicken breast sandwich I decided that I should probably add some meat back into my diet. Thus the scene of Dave preparing me a steak and me sobbing while eating it over the sink in the kitchen.

Now that Liam is starting to be weaned (another post or a different day) I have decided to go back to the veggie route and I couldn't be happier about it. Dave on the other hand...

So, I am scouring blog sites looking for delicious recipes that can be easily altered two ways, with meat and without. I made a delicious stuffed spaghetti squash this way and we were both extremely satisfied and it made enough for lunch for a few days. Liam even got in on the action and ate some plain squash and avocado for supper too!

Here is a meatless meal option that I have made for my family even complete with the review of the in house carnivore, my lovely husband!

Potato & Spinach Quiche and Borscht. I know they don't sound like they go together but we had all of the ingredients IN THE HOUSE and I didn't think that one on its own would be sufficient.

Both were good, not delicious, but good. I will be making the quiche again, but probably for breakfast. Dave isn't a huge fan of eating breakfast foods outside of the morning, so he wasn't quiche's biggest fan from the get go.

Cooking, Baking and Eating - OH MY!

I have always loved to cook. And, I think I am pretty good at it too. I like to make things that make other people happy. I rarely cook good food for just myself, but if I know we are having company or it is a special day, like an anniversary, I will plan for days to make something yummy for everyone.



Since I am home now full time for the next 7 months I thought I would start branching out and cooking and BAKING some new recipes that I had never ever tried before. I was sharing my new creations on facebook but many people wanted a more detailed description and recipe than I could give there. So, I am adding something new to this blog, recipes!



I will share some photos of what I make. The recipe that I used and how easy it was. I guarantee there will be no "okra" in any of these recipes (That is my code for "food people will actually make and enjoy"). I will also be asking Dave to write a short review about what he thought of the meal too.




So, here we go. My first FOODIE post.



My first "new" recipe was a delicious breaded chicken creation via Jamie Oliver. I have provided the link the original recipe, but the one listed below is "my" version with a few changes that I made to it.

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

Ingredients:

- clove of garlic (I used a HUGE one, so you might want two)

- 1/2 lemon

- about 10 saltine crackers

- 2 tbsp butter

- parsley (I used dehydrated)

- salt and pepper to taste

- 2 tbsp flour

- 1 large egg

- 3 chicken breasts

- olive oil

Instructions:

Peel the garlic and zest the lemon

Put the first 6 ingredients into the food processor and whiz until quite fine. I would suggest whizzing everything but the butter first, then adding the butter (soften in microwave) after everything else is crumbed up well (I think I just made up a new "thing" - crumbed! Heck, if Rachel Ray can do it, so can I!)

Beat the egg and put in a bowl

Put the flour on a plate.

Dip the chicken into the flour, then the egg and then coat with the mixture

Push the crumbs onto the breasts so they stick

Bake at 475 degrees until cooked (about 20 minutes, but check after 15, I like my chicken a little more "cooked" then just cooked)

Viola! I thought it was pretty yummy. But Dave was really impressed! He gave it an overall score of 8/10 and even suggested I cook it for guests in the future. This has also been the chicken dish that he has compared to all the others I have tried, so you know it was a hit. This one has been his overall favourite - so far!

If you try it, please leave a comment and let me know what you thought and any changes you made to make it even more yummy!

Happy Cooking!

Needles, The Great Debate

Liam got his first set of needles on our 4th wedding anniversary. I made Dave take an extended lunch hour to come with us to the clinic. I was nervous. Everyone knows why...

There is a huge debate right now about vaccines and autism. I told Dave when we were pregnant that if we had a boy that I would be watching our son every day for regression and signs of the impending diagnosis. That being said, Liam is a happy, healthy and thriving baby boy. We are so lucky to have him and thankful every day for his health. I pray every day that it continues.

When he was a few months old (a baby's first vaccines are supposed to be given at 2 months old) I phoned the health nurse to ask about making an appointment for his shots. Here is a run down of our conversation:
Me: Hi. My son is a few months old and I am phoning about vaccines.
Health Nurse: Are you getting them or not? (insert snarky rude tone)
Me: Umm, sorry. Yes, I am planning on vaccinating but he is already 3 months old. I just need some information.
HN: Oh, ok. I will connect you to your health nurse. What was your name? (Insert polite and friendly tone)
Me: What the HELL? (didn't really say this but thought it)

Now, I immediately understood why she was snarky at the beginning. She must hear a lot of mothers that have questions and concerns about the autism debate. She obviously disagrees with Jenny McCartney and the boat loads of other mothers that have said they experienced the link in their own children. I will not discount those mothers and their opinions and feelings at all.

That being said, I don't think that I could live with my son developing polio, a disease that could be prevented, either.

This is something I didn't walk into lightly, not for one second. Even after his vaccinations I am still wondering.

I had made an appointment before but had cancelled it because Liam had a slight fever. I wasn't taking any chances. Then August 18th approached and he was healthy, no fever, no sniffles, no coughing. I kept this appointment.

Dave and I took lil' man to the clinic. Liam made fast friends with the nurse, of course, he is a heart breaker already. But seriously, who could resist those dimples. She measured him and weighed him. Checked his progress on her list. Check, check, check. She remarked that he was ahead of schedule on some development (see, Grandma Terry, he is "advanced"). She made him smile and laugh. And then, she made him cry.

I held him and she did the first leg. He looked up at me like I had just broke his heart. Then mine broke. I got in a little snuggle. He didn't cry, just pouted and let out a few whimpers. Then she said that the next one would sting a bit more.

Then there were tears. Not a lot, but just enough to let me know that he had had enough and he was through with this lady. I felt the same way.

I still don't know if I made the right decision. Some will say that I did, and others will disagree.

I am hoping that I did.

Hiatus

It has been a long while since I have posted. When I first started my husband asked, "How often are you going to write?" I said, "Everyday." He had written a blog for work once before and knew how difficult it was and he told me so. I rolled my eyes and thought in my head 100 different posts that I could write about at the moment and shut out his well-meaning advice.

Now, fast forward almost a month and I haven't posted. Hmmm. Maybe he knew what he was talking about.

Summer has been pretty busy. But, we are starting to slow down. Dave took some time off of work and we relaxed at the lake with his sister and her family. The boys are just over 3 months apart and it was a blast. Post to come later.

In recent Liam news, he got his first needles yesterday (also, post to come later). So he is a little grumpy today. He has had a bit of a slump with his daytime sleeping routine, so I think it has a little to do with needles, some teething and a dash of bad napping habits. We will see how it goes.

Gigglefest 2011

Liam and I had a fun day today. He met some family for the first time today. We were so lucky to go and visit his Great-Great Aunt and Uncle Marg and Frank and two of their daughters Maureen and Karen. Grandma Terry and Grandpa Sam joined us there. It was a lot of fun, Auntie Marg kept saying "bang, bang" to Liam and he was laughing and smiling at her. He loved Karen and Maureen too, giving them big smiles. They remarked at how bright, smiley and vocal he was for his age. Oh, and how big he was too! I love when he meets new people, they always seem to fall instantly in love with my little beefcake and always tell me how smart he is. Just like his mama! We also got a great picture that I will post later.

Later on Grandma Terry, Grandpa Sam, Uncle Darrin, Auntie Sharon, Tanner and Payton came over for a visit. Tanner has made the Regina Little League All-Star team and he came to visit after his batting practice. We are so proud of our little athlete! He has done so well with all of his sports so far, winning provincials and cities in hockey this year and getting second place in city ball too. To be selected for the All-Stars is a BIG deal, he might even get a chance to go to the World Little League! We will be cheering him on, that's for sure.

Tanner put his ball cap of Liam's head and he loved it! Liam smiled at him so much. I just know he will idolize his big cousin! I just hope that Tanner stays as interested in him as he gets older. He is already 12, so hopefully cell phones and girls don't take up too much of his time as Liam gets older.

Everyone took a turn holding and playing with him. He was SO SMILEY today, I loved it. He makes everyone around him so happy too!

Later we gave him a bath. He loves his baths so much. He splashes and kicks. He loves when I pour water on his belly from high in the air, his whole face smiles!

Grandma Terry brought him a few presents, a summer cover for his car seat, a toy, a mobile and a wedge so that he stops rolling onto his tummy (a post for later). We tried it out to see if it would fit him. I layed him down and I said, "It fits perfect! I got you now!" and he LAUGHED out loud. A full out straight from the belly LAUGH! Oh, how I loved that sound. I kept saying it and he kept laughing. That is the first time he really belly laughed. I wish I had it on video - but, I will keep replaying it in my mind for the next while so that it sticks in there for good, for ever. I never, ever want to forget that sound.

My sweet baby boy is growing and changing so fast. I wish I could capture every moment, every first on tape or photo, I know I can't so I am trying to remember every moment I can.

Prologue

This is my first post. I am extremely nervous to press "publish" but I decided that we have got to start somewhere.



I will be posting mostly for myself, so that I can remember in little moments that have happened in my life. Between sleep deprivation and a horrible memory this will act as my journal. Hopefully I keep up with it, hopefully it is interesting and hopefully my family can look back at this blog/diary fondly in the years to come!

My Family - July 1st 2011



Here we go...

Our Little Fish

Another milestone! Our little man went swimming for the very first time the other night. I was nervous and of course Dave was as cool as a cucumber. He never takes anything too seriously. Liam was a little worried at first, he clung to my swimsuit and hair, not wanting to get too far away from me. Liam showed his famous pouty lip and had a few little cries. I sang him some songs, very quietly so no one would hear, just me and him. He loosened his grip and I in turn loosened mine. Soon he was flashing his smile. I love that smile. He relaxed and eventually he even floated.

*Mom stop reading now* Dave just held his head, Liam stuffed his hand in his mouth and he floated. It was amazing. I am so glad he enjoys the water as much as we do. We were both water babies growing up too.

It was amazing! I love these little moments with my little man. Building memories as a family! Cheezy yes! But, it feels so good.