Today I made mustard...

...and it was TERRIBLE. Turns out mustard seed one buys in India three years ago 1) may or may not even BE mustard seed, 2) was bad to begin with, or 3) has expired. I am not sure which of the above reasons explains why each of the three mustard recipes I tried (faithfully, I assure you!) were so foul that Nate didn't even try to pretend to like them.

This photo features all three vile concoctions and the ingredients therein. Why was I making mustard? Well, naturally, we ran OUT of it and this month I am not allowing myself to go buy a replacement. If it isn't made locally, it is not going in my refrigerator this month.

Here is one of the meals I made this week:

You can see some of that cheese, the picture of which was in my last post, on top of Nate's homemade spaghetti. The sauce, featured below, is also homemade, with blended up tomatoes from the market and herbs from our garden. Not having any tomato paste, the sauce was EXTREMELY runny. But it tasted GREAT with the ground meat from the local farm. I used up the last of our garlic for this sauce, and worried we'd have to go through the rest of the month without that delicious....root (is it a root?). I had heard a friend of mine was growing it and I contacted her. Yes, she is growing it, but no, it isn't ready yet. But check out this next photo--what do you see in the middle of that pile of glorious vegetables I acquired only yesterday?

GARLIC!!!! YAY! Our very own local Farmers' Market had some, and I snatched it up.

Like last week, Thursday is usually sandwich day. THIS time we are eating smoked ham, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches (note: NO mustard). We DO have a new spread, however, that works in a different situation: pear butter. Yes, I made pear butter from our leftover peaches last week.

Our sandwich bread is homemade! Yay! My friend Nicolina, who used to work at Great Harvest, had me over this last week to coach me in my bread making (sounds domestic, eh?). Not only did we make whole wheat, but we tempted our taste buds with a cheddar garlic bread. INSANELY yummy, and I pretty much ate one whole loaf the moment I pulled it from the oven. Next week we'll make a sweet bread, so stay tuned.

That whole wheat? Freshly ground at our house (thanks Glojo for the wheat grinder!).

Nate makes delicious whole wheat pancakes, which this time contained SMC milk and little chunks of peach. Topped with a local honey.

I still make my own baby food, but this month the green beans are totally local. Thanks to my food processor, it isn't as arduous of a task as it sounds.

Emiko is naturally the major consumer of babyfood around our house these days, but we still make Mayumi eat the green beans. How? We mix it with apple sauce and call it "Greenple." Nate gets the credit for the name. Mayumi loves it. I, for one, love to hear her asking for greenple.

Another random meal--roasted potatoes, corn, steamed squash.

Okay, so people have been asking me how I am liking this project. The answer: I am enjoying it. It IS almost twice as expensive as buying regular 'cheap' food on sale. But it is so FUN to shop the Farmers' Markets, and they really do provide enough for one to eat from them exclusively. Of course I have had to make more food from scratch than I usually do. While I have always enjoyed cooking, I enjoy it less and less now that I have kids. Nothing makes hours slaving in the kitchen less worth it then one's 2-year old throwing what you've made on the floor, while you and your husband shovel down your food in silence because you can't possibly hold a conversation over the toddler wails and whines.

Do I sound bitter? Trying not to be. But I was kept awake for 2 hours last night but the younger one who is sleep training.

Ah, the joys of parenthood.

Project Fresh: Days Two-Four

A few lines about and photos of our first few days buying/eating only locally grown/made foods. Here we have 100% whole wheat homemade pasta with pesto, feature basil from our own garden.
This project (and these blog entries) will really get interesting later in the month when we have to start creating alternative ways to make some of our favorite foods like pesto (our supply of Parmesan, olive oil, and garlic won't last all month--but we LOVE using our basil in pasta dishes). Until then, however, it isn't hard to make regular dishes using locally-grown veggies and fruit. Pictured below is my breakfast--scrambled eggs (SMC) with ham (Farmers' Market), whole wheat bread (Farmers' Market) with apple butter (made by me last fall with apples from the Farmers' Market), and peaches (Farmers' Market).



Pictured here is the loaf from which that slice of toast came, as well as three locally-produced cheeses--Muenster, Colby (SMC), and Mozzarella (Farmers' Market).

This is just one of the bins of my refrigerator, stuffed to the gills with vegetables. This week's menu will be sandwiches (Monday), homemade pasta, sauce, and squash (Tuesday), tacos (Wednesday), and roast potatoes, risotto, green beans and corn (Thursday). Check back in Thursday night to see some pictures and to hear how it all went!

Project Fresh: Day One

Sandwiches are my favorite--the easiest dinner possible. Yet--Nate and I have been growing increasingly uncomfortable with deli meat. It just looks so...so...unnatural. We'd love to have just vegetables, but it is extremely time consuming to create a truly filling and delicious veggie sandwich.

Our sandwiches on Day One featured Honey Baked Ham, tomatoes, and lettuce from our local Farmers' Market.

Pictured here are the peaches (Farmers' Market) and milk (South Mountain Creamery) we used for smoothies. Note the glass bottles from SMC. Cool, eh?

Mimi and Audrey come to visit

Mayumi and Emiko's Mimi (Nate's mother) and Auntie Audrey came to visit and take care of Mayumi during my week in New York. We had a wonderful time and Mayumi still hasn't stopped talking about it.

Audrey was the best Auntie ever. While she is here she spends hours playing with and holding them. When she is away, she sends Yumi and Emi postcards. We love you Auntie Audrey!

Mimi is a champ for spending a week of nonstop fun with an emotional toddler. THANK YOU Rosalie!

Project Fresh

Thanks to Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defence of Food, Nate and I have really tried hard to eat more 'responsibly.' I won't even attempt to summarize Pollan's argument (get the book!) but basically the idea is this: 'cheap' food actually has many hidden costs: health care (cheap food causes heart disease, diabetes, some cancers) and petroleum (shipping the food across great distances) to name just two. Pollan urges us to know where our food comes from and pay a responsible amount for it (a larger percentage of our income than we currently are). He definitely advocates farmers' markets.

I frequented the farmers' markets in our area last year but only picked up random things to supplement our primarily grocery-store-based diet. My goal for this summer was to only purchase foods grown locally for ONE WHOLE MONTH. Nate and I have decided that July--starting tomorrow--is that month.

Now I need to say here that we will have to be reasonable about this. There are just some foods that we really 'can't' go without that aren't grown locally. I still have a lot of research to do, so I may find out otherwise, but we assume that grains are not grown/sold locally. And olive oil! We can't live without olive oil. There are a few reasons we've decided to name a few exceptions to our goal.

So we've decided that 1) we will continue to eat 'taboo' foods we already had on hand in the cupboard or the freezer throughout the summer, 2) prepared foods acquired out of the home (e.g. restaurants, friends' houses) are permissible, 3) when we have dinner parties (which we do often) that we'll use supermarket foods so we don't break the bank (local foods can get pricey!!) and 3) items we just MUST have (e.g. grains (old fashioned oats for cereal) and olive oil) may be purchased from the supermarket. But we'll give up sugar when we run out, nuts (other than what we can get locally--and Virginia does have peanuts!!), etc., and ONLY eat dairy, fruits, and veggies that we can get locally.

I've told a few people what we intend to do and one or two asked if I'd keep a log of it. So--to the best of my ability, I'll keep that record here. I am not an avid blogger and I do not enjoy time in front of the computer. But I'll do my best.

Wish us luck! And Mr. Pollan--if you google yourself and have found my blog--we love you!

Happy Birthday Dylan Gard Stansfield!

Happy Birthday Dylan, born 12 June 2010 at 5:13pm, 6lbs13oz (I think!).

Here is Baby Dylan and proud parents Lindsay (my sister) and Danny.

Way to go Lindsay!!!

Anniversaries

Happy Second and Six Month Birthdays, Mayumi and Emiko!!!

Here is a short clip taken at Mayumi's Second Birthday Bash. Thank you to all who came and especially to Mayumi's Grandma Mimi and Aunti Audrey who brought raw tortillas all the way from El Pasa, TX for us to cook on the spot and serve with our sweet pulled pork tacos.

Yesterday (one day early if you follow the Americn Pediatric Association recommendations) was a big day for Emiko; not ONLY did she get her first taste of rice cereal, but we weaned her from the Kiddapotomas (swaddling blanket) AND started sleep training (she used to be a great nighttime sleeper but has gotten in the habit of waking every four hours). The cereal was a success, she didn't seem to miss the Kiddapotomas at all, and she only cried for 35 minutes in the middle of the night before falling back to sleep--making it a 7 hr stretch total without a feeding.

WE LOVE YOU GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gardening time again!

I never thought this stawberry patch of ours could survive three feet up snow.

But it did!



Delicious!

Flood '10

As if last year's sump pump flood wasn't enough....

Our kitchen was in shambles for a while...

Nate fixed it...all of it. Drywall, everything.

Belatedly...Mother's Day

A little late...Mother's Day! This is the beautiful spice rack Nate found for me. You can see the bouquet of roses in the background as well.

Tiny Dancer

I just can't WAIT until Mayumi is old enough for a dance class. I picked up these tap shoes at a thrift shop and I can already see her twirling and tapping, pink leotard and hair in buns.

Mayumi is such a funny little girl. She is obsessed with towels and drying things off. Here, you can see her wiping off her slide after a rain.

Fire!

The other week I looked out over our backyard and saw a fire raging in the yard next door! I ran down the stairs, yelled to Nate, and called 911. Nate grabbed our hose and valiently started spraying water on the fire, which was nudging up against our fence. He kept spraying like a champ until he heard a deep voice on the other side of the fence: "Thank you Sir, we'll take it from here." The Fire Department had arrived.

Herndon hosts concerts each Friday night during the spring/summer. We took the girls last week to 2U, a U2 tribute band. Mayumi LOVED it; danced, sang, and refused to leave when we figured it was time for bed.

Pretties

Have I mentioned how much I love Emiko?

The Quest for Quiet

Anyone who has tried to sit through an hour of church with a toddler understands--engaging activities are a must. Once again my friend Stephanie rose to the challenge and helped me create a "Quiet Book"--one for me, and one each for both of my sisters (and their kids).

I presented them in person when in Arizona and my sister Monique nicely took some pictures of her book.


Left-hand side is "The Garden of Eden." The 'leaves' have velcro on the back and attach/detach to/from the tree (and can be stored in the pocket below, disguised as a bush). The 'petals' can be taken off the flower-shaped buttons. The right-hand side is the 'Family' page. The pocket labeled 'family' has many photographs of the extended family.

The left-hand size is 'Noah's Ark,' with foam animals attached to blue ribbons that can be placed in the pocket (disguised as the body of the boat). The right-hand side is 'Jonah' and, as you can see, there is a little Jonah that goes inside the whale (and the mouth zips shut).

On the left is the right inside of the cover. I attached a little pocket I removed from an old jumpsuit of Mayumi's (this pocket features a little turtle, Monique and Leah's favorite animal). The right-hand side is 'Joseph and the coat of many colors.' The coat opens up and ties shut.

The left-hand side is the 'Tithing' page. I should mention that pattern for many of the shapes/images in the book were drawn by Nate. The piggy bank is one of those images. The left-hand side is the inside of the cover. I attached the buckles of the old jumpsuit for just one more little activity.

This photo did not load properly. Sigh. Well, the left-hand side are a bunch of funky belts with fun buckles. Simply an 'activity page.' The right-hand size is the 'Helping Hands' page; there's a beaded bracelet around the wrist of the hand, and three images--a bar of soap with suds (I attached pink and white beads for texture), a bed with a 'blanket' that can be removed and attached via velcro, and building blocks (from which letters that spell the name/s of the kids in that family attached to ribbons hang). It is really too complicated to explain clearly--unfortunately this picture just didn't work out.

Thank you to Stephanie for designing the book and guiding me along each step! Thank you to my mother for helping fund the books. Thank you to Nate to gave endless validation and moral support!

Arizona Cuties

My sister Lindsay and her photographic/photoshop skills get the credit for the following pictures. See her blog (link to the right) for photos of ALL the cousins (I didn't want to totally steal her blog post so am only posting the ones of my girls).

In front of the Phoeniz Zoo--all the cousins and the grandparents. Check out Emiko in her 'sausage suit.' We bundle her up like that when it is time for her to nap.

I guess love of furry creatures is generally universally among small children. Yumi, and her cousins Lily and Allie, brushing a goat at the petting zoo.



We like to call Emiko 'Emi the Good' because she is, well, so GOOD.

Yumi REALLY liked this frog.

We visited the pool many times during our visit to Arizona (imagine--a pool open in April!!).

Sweet Home Arizona

My younger sister Lindsay moved to Arizona a year and a half ago, and has generously hosted all of our family members multiple times. As we did last year at this same time, we gathered at her home over Easter weekend and let the little girl cousins go wild. Nate had my camera (he has been abroad) so I took the video camera and took many little clips of the Cutes. I do not yet have the loads of pictures everyone else in my family took, so I'll provide those, and a few more video clips (including the easter egg hunt), in a future post.

Here is Mayumi with her cousin, of almost identical age, Lily. Lily is a sweet tempered little darling.

Emi was a HUGE hit. I personally have never met a better-tempered, easier baby, and I think everyone in my family agrees with me on this point. Lindsay's girls Allie and Lily sure did love her.

Lindsay graciously took us to the Phoeniz Zoo, which ROCKS. Here, Yumi saw giraffes (her favorite) for the very first time. That clip is, unfortunately, too long to load. Sad. This clip features us all in the Monkey Village. You can hear Mayumi saying her word for monkey ('eee eee ooo ooo ah ah ah') and 'Baby Noah' (from the Baby Einstein series--her word for animals).

spring

Long time, no post! Enjoy this cute video clips and pictures. The last few pictures are of the surprise birthday party Nate planned and threw for me. Believe it or not, we ate ALL of that baklava.

Seedlings

Sisters

Anyway, sorry for the more-than-usual poor format of this post. I am leaving for the airport in mere minutes for a trip to Arizona--yay! Check in soon for many cute pictures of the five cute cousins!!