Fall Swag

I am absolutely loving this pine cone swag that Sweet Paul created for Country Living's November issue. Simple yet still festive and a nice alternative to the traditional fall door wreath.

I saw it in their magazine and searched their website for a picture with no luck. Luckily Sweet Paul added it to his Crafty Friday post on his blog.

Yay! Now we can all love it and recreate it!

*photo courtesy Sweet Paul

Oscar's Tequila Spritzer

Last night Oscar and I had old friends over for dinner and drinks. Well it really wasn't planned that way, dinner was but drinks were kind of a last minute thought. We're not huge drinkers around the house of O.

But Oscar had a trick up his sleeve and sent me to the grocery store to pick up Diet Squirt of all drinks. Diet Squirt, while good, is not normally in our drink repertoire.

He concocted this delicious drink, kind of a fake margarita slash tequila spritzer. Also, low calorie considering you are using Diet Squirt in place of margarita mix. Sounds crazy folks but I'm telling you it was good! We were all happily surprised.

We always have such a fun time with our dear friends and for once I got to partake in the festivities because I am not pregnant or breastfeeding! I am hoping the same is true next summer because I can not wait to suck these down on a hot day!

Oscar's Tequila Spritzer

Ingredients:
Tequila
Diet Squirt
Sweet & Sour
Lime

Directions:
Fill margarita glass with crushed ice
Add 1 shot of tequila {or more if you wish}
Fill glass with Diet Squirt
Add a splash of sweet & sour
Add a squirt of lime

Cheers!

Demy

Have you seen the recipe reader from Demy? It's like an ipod meets a kindel for your recipes! I'm swooning...

The Demy stores up to 2,500 recipes. First you create an account at keyingredient.com where you can load recipes from all over the web or type in your own recipes if you only have paper copies. Then you plug your Demy into your PC and synch your account, much like your ipod. Can you imagine? All of your recipes, right there on your kitchen counter, organized perfectly in this lovely electronic device!

Right now I have my recipes organized in a binder {so 20th century I know) and/or random recipe sites on the web. I can only dream of having all of my recipes on my very own Demy. Thank goodness Christmas is just around the corner. This baby is definitely going on my Christmas list. Perfection!

Pesto Pork Sandwiches

I tried yet another recipe from Colleen at Over Cocktails for dinner this week. Oscar loved this sandwich. I mean LOVED this sandwich.

At first he was skeptical because of the pesto. When Oscar thinks sandwich, his condiments are typically mayo, mustard, etc. So when I told him the recipe called for pesto, he was leery.

To tell the truth, we've never been huge pesto fans in our house. We have had our share of overly done pesto dishes while eating out so I have steered away from pesto recipes. I think you have to be really careful with pesto because it has such a strong flavor but since the supermarket had natural pork tenderloin on sale, I decided to give this recipe a try.

I am glad I did because it is delicious. A must try if you are looking for a new sandwich to spice up your repertoire.

Pesto Pork Sandwiches via Over Cocktails

For the sandwiches
• Pork tenderloin, sliced (recipe below)
• Ciabatta bread or rolls, brushed with olive oil and broiled until lightly browned
• Buffalo mozzarella, sliced
• Tomatoes, sliced
• Good pesto, homemade or a good store-bought one (Whole Foods has a great pesto in their deli department although they don't sell it on the shelves, you have to ask for it)

Ina Garten's recipe for herb-marinated loin of pork from Back to Basics:
Grated zest of one lemon
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I think she skipped this)
1/2 cup olive oil, plus extra for the grill
2 T minced garlic (6 cloves)
1 1/2 T minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 T chopped fresh thyme
2 t Dijon mustard
Kosher salt
3 pork tenderloins, 1 lb each
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme, mustard, and 2 tsp salt in a 1 gallon resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins and turn to coat with the marinade. Squeeze the air out of the bag. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 3 hours but preferably overnight.

When you're ready to cook, preheat the grill. Be sure to brush the grill with some oil to prevent the pork from sticking. Remove the tenderloins from the marinade and discard the marinade but leave the herbs that stick to the meat. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, then grill, turning a few times to brown on all sides, for 15-25 minutes--until the meat registers 137 degrees at the thickest part.

Transfer the tenderloins to a platter and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes. Carve in 1/2 inch thick diagonal slices. The thickest part will be pink(it's just fine) and the thinnest part will be well done. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the juices that collect on the platter.

Because it is currently not grilling weather, I followed the cooking directions on the tenderloin package. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes per pound until internal temperature reaches 155 degrees F.

Also, I couldn't find ciabatta rolls at my supermarket so I went with thick sliced sourdough and toasted in without the butter. It was still delicious!

I served the sandwiches with a salad with Colleen's balsamic dressing. Also a thumbs up from Oscar!

Basic Balsamic Dressing via Over Cocktails
2 small garlic cloves
2 heaping Tbs Dijon mustard
1 heaping Tbs brown sugar (more if you like it sweeter)
3 dashes of worcestershire sauce
½ cup balsamic
½-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Put everything into the blender and blend on low until thick and well combined. It will take on a pale brown color and a creamy consistency. When it is combined adjust the flavor with salt and pepper. This is also the time to adjust the sweetness or the balsamic zing (use more oil for a milder dressing). This can be refrigerated for up to a couple of days!

Enjoy!

Meet Up

Ozzie is getting to the age where he needs more activities than I can give him so I searched high and low on the web for toddler activities in my neighborhood and stumbled upon meetup.com.

From their website- "Meetup is the world's largest network of local groups. Meetup makes it easy for anyone to organize a local group or find one of the thousands already meeting up face-to-face. More than 2,000 groups get together in local communities each day, each one with the goal of improving themselves or their communities.

Meetup's mission is to revitalize local community and help people around the world self-organize. Meetup believes that people can change their personal world, or the whole world, by organizing themselves into groups that are powerful enough to make a difference."

I found two great Mommy groups, one is devoted to fitness with your toddler in hand {or in stroller} and is called Stroller Strides. This is right up my alley. I always sign up for crazy bootcamps and other exercise groups. It is a fun workout, I am really enjoying it.

The second is a play group with other moms that live near us. Ozzie loves the kiddos in this group and I have really enjoyed getting to know the moms. We have already participated in so many fun activities in our town. They are a super sweet group of gals without any drama. Just what we both need!

If you are looking for something new to do in your neighborhood or to meet new people, make sure to check out meet up.

Thomasson Family Farm

Fortunately this year, October was full of more sunny weekends than rainy ones. We took full advantage of this and took Ozzie to another pumpkin patch.

This time we went to Thomasson Family Farm in Enumclaw. I can not tell you enough how impressed I was with this farm. First of all, it cost $6 for Ozzie and nothing for Oscar and I to enjoy the activities; and there were A LOT of activities. Aside from your basic tractor ride, pumpkin patch and corn maze that you would expect, Thomasson has a mini-hay maze for toddlers complete with a slide, a corn pit (a corn version of the ever popular ball bit), a petting zoo, tricycle track, a kids korral with slides, bubbles, sandbox, duck race AND a fake cow to milk. All for $6- pretty amazing!

The weather was warm and sunny and a good time was had by all! Below are our pictures from the farm.

In the mini-hay maze.

Bubbles

Ozzie could play on a slide all the live long day!

Ozzie was giving the camera {or possibly us behind the camera} more sour faces than smiles.

Finally the smile we all know and love!

Gotta love the action shot! Looks like he was on a mission to get where he was going.

I love this picture. He looks like he is just about done getting his picture taken.

Yet another slide.

Hooray for farms!

Paella

I recently discovered the television show Everyday Food, by the publishers of Everyday Food Magazine, on PBS.

I instantly loved the show {of course since Martha publishes Everyday Food Magazine} and stopped whatever household chore I was working on to watch the rest of the episode.

The recipes they share, usually three per episode, are very simple and look delicious.

I decided to try the Easy Paella for dinner one night last week. I wanted to try it because turmeric was listed on the ingredient list and turmeric has been in the news a lot lately for its health benefits.

It was truly scrumptious. The creamy texture and Spanish flavor really warmed our tummies on a cold Fall night. This was such a hit, I will definitely be trying more Everyday Food recipes.

Easy Paella

Ingredients:
2 T olive oil
3/4 lb. peeled and de-veined shrimp
1 12 oz package chicken sausage, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 c long grain rice
1/4 t paprika
1/4 t ground turmeric
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
2 14.5 oz cans reduced sodium chicken broth
Salt & pepper
1 c frozen peas, thawed

Directions:
In a heavy 12" saute pan, heat 1 T oil over medium high heat. Cook shrimp until just pink, about 4-5 minutes (do not overcook). Set aside.
Add remaining T oil and sausage to pan. Cook over medium heat until sausage browns, about 2 minutes.
Add onion and cook stirring frequently until translucent, 3-4 minutes.
Add garlic and rice, cook ans stir to coat, 2-3 minutes.
Stir in paprika, turmeric, tomatoes and broth, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan with wooden spoon. Season with salt & pepper.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender and absorbed almost all liquid, about 20-25 minutes.
Stir in peas, cook 1 minute. Stir in cooked shrimp. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Halloween Playdate

Ozzie and I had a play date with my friend, Trinette, and her daughter, Vivi, the day before Halloween.

He is finally getting to the age where he actually plays with the other children at play dates. When he was still in the mirror play mode, he happily enjoyed the other child's toys while completely ignoring them. So it was fun to watch Ozzie and Vivi play and laugh with each other.

He thought she was hilarious in her ball pit and Vivi was constantly offering him new toys to play with; which he happily obliged. I was happy that they played well together since I always enjoy the company of my sweet friend.

We decided to dress them in their costumes in an attempt to get a picture of them together but neither of them would cooperate. I think they still look adorable as we chased them around the house with our cameras.

Here are a few pictures from our fun day!

A lion and a frog

Out of their costumes

Wanting out of the house!

Pumpkin Bread

A few weeks ago Oscar came home from work raving about pumpkin bread that our friend made and pretty much demanded I make it for him ASAP! He even asked her for the recipe and emailed it to me. He said that it was the best pumpkin bread he has ever tried.

I was intrigued. If you know Oscar, you'd know that he is a pretty even keel kind of guy. It is not typical of him to call anything "the best thing he has ever had". Those dramatics are usually left for me : )

So as instructed I made Oscar his now favorite pumpkin bread and I must say that it IS the best pumpkin bread I've ever had!

Thanks for the recipe Steph!

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 t cinnamon
1/2 t each ginger, ground cloves, nutmeg OR 1 1/2 t Chinese Five Spice
1 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 t vanilla
3 c shredded pumpkin
1 c toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Sift flour, spices, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla. Combine both mixtures and fold in the shredded pumpkin and pumpkin seeds.
Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non-stick 9x5x3 loaf pan an top with walnuts, if desired.
Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cook for 15 minutes and turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.
For muffins, temperature should be 325 degrees F, but bake 30 minutes.

A few tips you plan on making this:
I roasted my pumpkin for a bit in the oven to make it easier to shred.
I used the ginger, cloves and nutmeg mix and not the Chinese Five Spice. I am not 100% sold on the Chinese Five Spice idea.
Also, the pumpkin seeds and walnuts really make this bread, so if you make it add those options unless you are allergic.

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween

Oscar and I took Ozzie to Bellevue Square to trick or treat this Halloween. It was Ozzie's first year to trick or treat since last year he was only 3 months old.

He didn't really understand the whole process but enjoyed walking around the mall and looking at all the other kids in their costumes. My Mom joined us so he especially loved all the attention from Nanay.

We let him have one lollipop from his loot, which really wasn't much since he visited maybe 3 or 4 stores before he was over it and just wanted to run around.

Here are some pictures of our little frog's first Halloween trick or treating. It's funny, as much as he loved his costume and didn't mind wearing it, we couldn't get one smile out of him that night. Kids!

Happy Halloween!