Creamy Spinach Penne

Creamy Spinach Penne 

I found this recipe on another mommy-food-veggie-blog that I read from time to time (http://www.squishedsquash.com), and OH.MY.STARS.  It was FANTASTIC!  Definitely one to add to our circuit.  

For the sauce:

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup of almonds

2-3 oz cream cheese, (I the light kind)

1 roasted red pepper

a couple big handfuls of baby spinach

pinch of red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

Put this all in the food processor and give it a whir until it's pretty smooth. Put it aside until your ready to use on the cooked pasta.

For the tomatoes:

2 cups of grape tomatoes

olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper

While the pasta cooks, cook all ingredients in a skillet, covered, on medium heat. As the tomatoes begin to wrinkle and release their liquid, remove the cover. It will carmelize a little and get thick.

For the pasta:

1 lb whole wheat pasta

2-3 more handfuls of baby spinach

feta cheese

Cook the pasta in salted water according to package directions, reserving some starchy cooking liquid. Toss hot pasta into a bowl with the spinach and the sauce adding cooking liquid if needed. Top with tomatoes and cheese.

Red Walk

 Violet and I went for a walk this afternoon and looked for red.  We found it, here and there, along with a black and white cat.

Writing

Watch out Shakespeare, my little girl is learning how to write!

Also, in other news, I finished an Indian Treepie.

Do Re Mi

So, you start out with this little tiny baby that is a bit of a stranger, and also a bit like every other baby you've ever seen or known or not known.
Then the thing starts to grow.
One day, it's 2.5 years old, and during Tuesday night's eggplant parmesan dinner you realize that your baby somehow became a little person.  But even more astonishing, you realize that the little person it has become is quite similar to an image you remember seeing in the mirror about 25 years ago.

It's weird when your kid starts learning things that you yourself remember learning.  I remember watching The Sound of Music for the very first time when I was little.  And, then I remember listening to the tape over and over and over and over until I absolutely had every single word memorized, and later sitting in the back of the VW bus, singing the songs on long road trips.

So, I guess it should be of no surprise that we now have this little creature running around our house, pretending that her fleece jacket is a wimple as she twirls and sings with the Von Trapp children.  --And every meal has become a concert; not a bad way to end the day!

http://youtu.be/JLWB_x2hMs8

Ernst Uncles in Hats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9y1oGPQBMqk

Preschool

We have entered a new world, and it's the world of co-op preschool.  It's a pre-3's group, where all the kids are right around Violet's age, and it's only 2 mornings a week, and one of the mornings I stay there with her....  So, as far as preschool goes, it's pretty mild.  

But Violet and I are cut from the same cloth, and after the first week of this, we are both feeling a bit like a dump truck ran over us.  

Wednesday was the first day I dropped her off and left her there alone with the other kids, moms, and teachers.  She was fine when I left.  Gave me a kiss, and said goodbye.  But I guess (to quote the teacher), she got a little weepy a few times, and asked the teacher to give her a hug.  She didn't want to play with any of the other kids, she just wanted to shadow the teacher, and was a bit scared to leave the art table.  

It's funny how much of myself I see in her.  It's not that she loves art; she more sees it as a comfort of some kind.  --Just to sit quietly, and focus in on the paint and paper and her own little hands--  It's the doing of art that is the real joy, and it's a way to escape the pandemonium of the other kids and the world around her... 

Anyway, Fridays I am there working in the classroom (that's how co-op works).  It was my job today to supervise the play-dough table, so of course Violet decided that she wanted to play with play-dough the whole time, or at least until all the kids were sent outside to play with sidewalk chalk and push cars for a bit.  My gosh, you guys, there are 22 kids in this thing, and it gets crazy.  There, of course, is one massively huge and aggressive kid-- (is this kid actually 2?  He seems more like he's 7).  He runs around the play yard getting upset at all the other kids-- pushing them down, using his brute strength and unfair size-advantage to get what he wants;  At one point he actually stuck his arm through the window of the toy house and just started grabbing the faces of the kids inside!  This kid scares me.  I am not really a kid person, the way that some people just love every kid they ever meet;  I kind of wanted to pull my hair out by the end of the day.  It's Lord of the Flies, just a little, and I'm not sure how to help Violet feel more comfortable with it all.  

We'll see how it goes.  She loved going to school in India, and has been longing for something to do with other kids and crafts and teachers all summer..... so I guess preschool is a good option.  It's hard to tell if she's actually ready.  

When we got home, both days, she wrapped her arms around me and just wept.  Then, the next day, had [mostly] only good things to say about it.  Maybe it will just take a little more getting used to.  

        

 

Black Pepper Tofu and Green Beans

My mom and I made this recipe last night from her Sunset magazine, and it was wildly good!
Cheers to a tofu friendly kitchen!

Black Pepper Tofu and Green Beans 


1 lb green beans, trimmed and halved
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp soy-sauce
1 tsp pepper
14 oz. firm tofu, drained and patted dry
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sliced shallots

1) Bring a medium pot of water to a boil, add green beans, cook until bright green, about 3 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  In a small bowl, mix lime juice, soy sauce, and pepper, then set aside.

2)  Cut tofu into 1/2-inch thick rectangles.  Heat oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium high heat.  Add tofu, sprinkle with sugar, and cook, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes.  Stir in shallots and cook until browned, about 3 minutes.  Add green beans and cook until warmed, about 3 minutes.  Pour in soy mixture and stir to coat.