Shrimp Alfredo, or A Day Gone From Nightmare to Pleasant Dream

Today started out fairly bad again, with everyone in one big bed again after screaming fit and coughing and running noses all night long. I once again had a pounding headache, a sore throat, and to boot, my arms were beyond sore precisely where I had worked them out the night before! Figures! Ray gave the twins a quick breakie while I laid in bed bemoaning the world and all its inhabitants, especially whatever it was that had put me in this state. So once again, as soon as I could I loaded up on Claratin-D, ibuprofen and peppermint tea!

Ray came home at lunch to eat and gave me just a little more time to get ready for the day. I quickly got ready (bless those Aura Casia people and their aromatherapy shower fizzers!) and rushed the now crying twins out the door. In my haste, I evidently forgot to lock our door (nothing taken, whew!). As soon as we pulled onto the road the sweet sounds of toddler snoring began in the backseat! I drove straight to hell and comfort: McDonald's. I ordered two cheeseburger, two plain cheeseburgers, and a LARGE caramel mocha, please. And yes my order IS correct on the screen, thank you. I pull around the corner to park and eat my delicious comfort to ease my pain, and there are only two plain cheeseburgers in my bag. I whip around, and carefully try to keep the sleepers sleeping as I take them INTO the restaurant. I get my two cheeseburgers, put my gigglers back in their seats, distribute the plain cheeseburgers and proceeded to cry in the parking lot, right into my caramel mocha.

As soon as I got to my sister's, I felt so much better! My head had finally stopped pounding, and the soreness in my throat had become bearable. My neck still ached, but repeated lane changes had stretched the muscles out very nicely indeed. Milo was a true gem today, being silly and sweet on the walk home, wonderfully cooperative in getting snacks for himself and the twins, and doing his homework with out even a pout! And the twins, they only caused mild distruction today, and played ever so nicely with each other, even laughing histerically together at Ana's ability to produce snot bubbles on command!

Needless to say, when I got home (after having picked up some goodies at the mail room!!!!), I was ready for some good old fashioned comfort food with my hubs. I put the big pot full of water on to boil and the steamer all set up. First I cut the rough ends off the asparagus, then cut them in half so they'd fit into the steamer. Setting them on to steam, I de-tailed the shrimp them threw them into a frying pan with a little olive oil and some finely chopped garlic (about 6 cloves). I sauteed them until the garlic became soft and slightly translucent. Then I added a whole box of cream cheese (I am seriously trying to rid myself of these!) As I stirred, Ray shredded some parmegianno into the pan, because cheese is just that good! The water in the big pot was boiling so I added the thick spaghetti noodles to the water and set the timer for 8 minutes. As soon as the timer went off, I drained the noodles and threw everything into the pot together! Nummers!

I feel so much more relaxed now, with the twins lotion-jammied-milked-storied and in bed, listening to my husband giggle from our bedroom and the neighbors walk around upstairs. I will be downing a nice BIG glass of OJ before heading to bed early, because I do not need another morning like this. So to you all, good night, sleep tight and do NOT let the bed bugs bite! Nos pars.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup with Salad and Bread, or Day Two of the Gym!

Today started out very bad with two toddlers who were incredibly needy and runny-nosed. I had a sore throat and just was feeling terrible. Ray went into work and as soon as he could see that he wasn't needed he came right home and allowed me to take a little nap, a few pills, and a wonderfully hot shower with a peppermint effervescent aromatherapy tablet. After another nap at noontime and a few more ibuprofen, I felt pretty dang good to go! So to work we went, and it being Monday, it was my night to cook dinner for our families and I must do it meatless for my sister's family!

First I cut the butternut squash into quarters and peeled about 8 cloves of garlic and boiled them all for about 2 1/2 hours in plain water. After the flesh was soft I put 6 cups of the water I boiled them in aside and drained the squash and allowed them to cool to the touch. I then scooped all the flesh off the skins and put it into the now empty pot. I added back the garlic and mashed it well. I added 1 pint of plain soy creamer (and sometimes I blend this with a chunk of wet tofu) and 3 tablespoons of curry seasoning. Then I added about a teaspoon of red Hawaiian sea salt and stirred the soup until it was well blended. I take the 6 cups of boiled water and add it back to the soup until it reaches the right consistency (never actually the whole six cups, but more like 3 or 4). I place the soup back onto low-medium heat to warm up again.

Then I took 4 small-medium tomatoes and cut them into thin wegdes. A large red bell pepper I chopped into 1/4 inch pieces, and shredded the radashio finely. Then I took a bunch of mint and loosely chopped just the leaves, then added about a cup of raw sunflower seeds. I left now to go to my class and the boys (Gavin and Ray) sliced the bread, and washed and chopped the lettuce.

As I sit snarfing down my food, post workout, the twins are being whiny and everyone else is watching something that appears to be supremely hilarious. I have a mini cannoli sitting next to me waiting and a warm feeling that I know will be a delicious soreness in my arms tomorrow, and I am so very glad to be able to eat this delicous food and work out vigorously in order that I may enjoy it for many years to come! Nos pars!

My Mom Cooks Dinner, or Cleaning Out The Storage and Making Some Marmalade.

Today was a day spent at my mother's house for the most part, at least. We did go to Michael's for ribbon, Famous Footwear to get the twins and mommy new shoes, and to Target to get another bag and LOTS of tissues for the allergy afflicted amongst us. Then my mother and I stayed behind at the house while my stepdad went to work, and my dad picked up my sister and husband to do the first load of clearing out the storage unit.

We picked some oranges off of our good neighbors tree (so very very delicious let me tell you! If you have a chance to get some California oranges this year, I would recommend it!) and set to work making marmalade! First we used a vegetable peeler to peel half of the well washed oranges, and one of the lemons. Then we peeled the citrus as well as possible, trying to get most of the "white stuff" off. I cut each of the fruits in half then used kitchen scissors to snip the hard white skin off of the middle of each of the slices, then chopped them all up and seperated the slices throwing it all into a big bowl and keeping all the juice that slipped out. While I was doing this, my mom took the rinds that I had peeled and put them into a pan with some water and baking soda and let them boil for 20 minutes. I got the three biggest remaining oranges and juice them, getting almost exactly 2 cups! We put the oranges, the juice, the rinds, the pectin and 11 cups of sugar into the big pot to boil for about 10 minutes, then as I left to go clean out the storage unit, my mom ladled the marmalade into the prepared jars and fixed the lids, turning them all over to seal.

At our storage unit it was discovered that a large amount of water had entered the unit during our extreme rains earlier in the rainy season, and much of the contents of our unit were not sporting some not so great spots. Mold. Luckily it appears that we had gotten to the unit early enough that the mold had not spread far, and we immediately threw out the offending objects.

After my dad, sister and I finished cleaning out the unit and returned to my mom's house to drop off all the stuff, my dad left to go rest his aching back at his own home. My mom went inside to mind the kids, and make dinner, while the rest of us sorted through the massive pile o' junk on the front lawn, putting things that we wanted to keep into my stepdad's barn, and throwing the rest of it into a big pile for Ray and my dad to take to the junkyard first thing in the morning.

My mom made us pan cooked sausages and potatoes, steamed seasoned Brussel's sprouts, and a lovely salad with carrots, lettuce and cabbage! A basic meal that fed the starving hearty crowd that had just worked all day!

As I sit in my mother's room, typing away on her computer, listening to the random chatter and the sounds of children playing, I am very thankful for a day full of accomplishments and work well done. I love to be with my family and love to be able to laugh and joke with those closest to me. I am so very blessed to be able to share moments like this with my parents, moments where we can work side by side to accomplish what we alone could not. It is something that I look forward to doing with the twins as they grow up, and I am looking forward to each and every day! Nos pars!

Black Bean Shepherds Pie, Or Heading Down to Hanford Tonight

Today was a busy day that saw me doing last minute things to prepare for our trip to the Central Valley for my dear cousin Sorelle's baby shower! She is expecting a girl in early April, and we are just so excited! I can't wait to meet my new little niece! So laundry had to be finished, and put away. Beds stripped and allowed to breath, then remade. Food had to be cleared out. Kitty boxes needed to be cleaned out. The trash and recycling needed to be taken down. Bags must be packed and the car cleaned out. And all while taking care of the twins! Luckily, Milo had a play date after school, and so I need not drive to Burlingame! Sweet!

For our quick dinner before heading out, I put the black beans in to soak the night before, then pulled them out around noon to start boiling. I placed them into the large stock pot and covered them with water and just let them boil stirring every so often for about 4 hours. I put about 10 new white potatoes on to boil, cutting them into 1/2 inch cubes first. Then I took two cubes of muffin sized chicken broth, the kale finely chopped, an onion finely chopped, and some Celtic gray sea salt and black pepper, threw them into the pot, along with a bag of frozen peas that had been sitting in our freezer and really needed to be cooked. I stirred the mix frequently. As soon as the potatoes were ready to mash, I turned the oven to broil and pulled out the last of the cheese curds and a half a stick of butter and mashed the potatoes in their pot. I made sure the "stew" was laying flat in it's pot, then covered the entire pot with the potatoes (making sure not to let them mix, but cover the stew). Then I stuck the entire pot into the broiler and left it for about 8 minutes. It was all ready to serve.

While Ray dipped up the plates, I cleaned out the pot I used to boil the potatoes. As soon as we finished this meal, of which the twins ended up eating the bean and peas out of only, we quickly cleaned all the dishes and changed the twins into their night clothes. Off we went!

I am actually blogging this well into Saturday because I was so incredibly exhausted when we got to my mom's house that there was no way I was going to be able to be coherent about what I had done that day. Perhaps I should have posted last night; probably would have made for a fun read any way! Off to finish cleaning out our storage unit! Nos pars!

Kelly's Delish Italian Dish, or Carb Loading For Our First BLAST Workout!

Today was a beautiful day for sure and we couldn't stay inside so we went for a nice long walk after getting some work done early. Then we went to lunch with daddy at his work. Then drove to Burlingame, and when we arrived, we took a nice long nap in our warm car in Kelly's driveway. Is there any better way to spend your day? I most certainly challenge you to find one! We even walked Milo to swimming, and stayed to play on the bleachers!

Tonight was Kelly's night to cook the family dinner. First she put some linguini in to boil, setting the timer or something (I wasn't home yet, so I have no idea, but it was perfectly cooked!). Then she took cubed breasts and thigh meat, mixing the two because we both prefer the taste of thigh and the nutrition of breast, and sauted it with Frontier Italian herb seasoning and olive oil. As these were cooking, Gavin sliced crimini mushrooms, added them to the chicken pan and allowed them to soften up. As soon as the mushrooms were soft and the juice had started to boil off, we added about a cup of sliced grape tomatoes to the pan, followed quickly by some premade pesto sauce. We then stirred in some spaghetti squash that she had previously gutted, allowing everything to heat up and mix well. We then mixed the pan ingredients with the linguini in two bowls because we made far too much of this deliciousness for one bowl to contain. Oh man, the name of this dish is not a misnomer! Not by far! The heartiness of the ingredients coupled with the strong aromatics of the seasonings and sauce created a superb meal! Superb, I say!

Beginning this week, every Monday and Thursday Kelly and I will be attending Anatomy Personal Training Studio's BLAST class. This is a small fast paced group training class that incorporates cardio and weight lifting in quick intervals. It was amazing. The time flew and I worked up a good sweat without feeling like I was working. I felt myself cheering for the others in the class and wanting to push harder and harder. And when the class was over, I wasn't feeling like I was done! I could do this for sure!

As I sit in Kelly's living room, after having walked back and stretched, I am still feeling warm in my core and loving that feeling. Good food, great family, and a wonderful workout; what more could a girl want? Nos Pars!

Tuscan Family Dinner, or Just An Early Spring Day in the Neighborhood!

Today did not start well with Ana waking up at 5 am whining and crying. After trying for about a half hour to figure out what was wrong with her, Ray had to start getting ready for the day. So he announced that he was going to go grab his breakfast. Ana jumped down from my arms in bed, ran down the hall gleefully shouting "BREPPUST!!" Our poor little girl had been starving and we had no idea! After a little while of sitting staring at the children as they played and crawled on me, I woke up and decided that the day was best started on my end by eating a stack of Denny's pancakes. Yes, I know, not the healthiest, but sometimes you need some comfort. And I will testify before congress that they most certainly must put an addictive substance into those delicious disks of delight, the way that I just can't say no!

Our day continued with our normal routine of picking up Milo, watching him do his homework, driving him over to swim practice and heading home (somehow always much more complex than that simple assessment). I started as soon as I walked in the door by immediately filling my two big pots with water and placing them onto the big burners to boil. I pulled out the artichoke, trimmed them quickly and stuck them into a pot to begin cooking. Next I preheated the oven to 350 degrees. After, I pulled out the chicken breasts, sliced them into 1 inch strips, sprinkled some of my proprietary Italian seasoning on them, then stuck them on the forman grill. As soon as the other pot of water began to boil, I poured an entire box of penne pasta into the water and set the timer for 11 minutes (I always set the pasta timer for 1 minute before I want to take it out so that I have a minute to come back to it). Making sure that the artichokes were flipped and all sides were cooking, I grabbed the white cake mix, stirred 3 eggs, a cup of oil, and a cup of water in a bowl, and put the whole mix into a greased cake pan. Sticking the pan into the preheated oven, I set the other timer for 40 minutes. In the few minutes I had as everything was cooking, I washed a few dishes, pulled out a bottle of 2006 Buena Vista Ramal Merlot, the parmegiana and cheese grater, and a jar of premade-homemade pasta sauce. As soon as the 11 minute timer went off, I drained the pasta, returning it to its pot and adding in the sauce. The chicken was smelling perfect, so I pulled it off the grill and put it aside as well. I grated some cheese into the pasta, then checked and removed the artichokes from their pot.

Ana liked the Artichokes.

Terrence did not, although he did enjoy the pasta and sauce immensely.


After dinner was over the cake was finished, so we pulled it out of the oven and placed it on some towels to the side. We heated up a little milk and mixed it with some softened butter, and made some chocolate frosting. As soon as the cake was cool enough, we slathered on the frosting and served it up! Nothing tastes as good as fresh.

As I finish my third glass of wine, and this blog post, I am thinking about my friends and family in the Midwest who are being inundated with a shocking amount of snow. I hope that soon enough you all get the wonderful sunshine and beautiful blossoms that we got to experience today. May spring come swiftly and calmly, and may it bring you it's wonders in ways that inspire the child in you! Nos Pars!

Crock Pot Pork with Purple Mashed Taters, or How I Learn (Frequently) to Cherish Every Moment

Today was another busy Tuesday, as they always seem to be! I had to go by the bank, then to Kaiser to pick up prescriptions and have a blood draw, stop by Ray's work to say hello, then head up to Burlingame to pick up Milo from school at 2. And of course, I woke up grumpy this morning with a real need for some tylenol and a massage. The twins were rambunctious little anklebiters today, running around screaming and tackling each other. When it was time to get dressed and get us out of the house to go running our errands, they fought like crazy to not have to get diapers changed or clothing on, which is very unlike them. And I still had to put the ribs into the crock pot to cook for dinner! So I grabbed the ribs, 2 small onions and the corno di torro pepper out of the fridge. I placed the ribs onto the bottom of the pot, sliced the onions and pepper onto the ribs, place two muffin sized frozen chicken broth cubes on top, then covered the entire mix with just enough water to fully submerge. I turned the crockpot to low and placed the lid back on it! Finally, delayed a few minutes in our departure, we made our way to Campbell, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, back home to Mountain View, then up to the Game.

Milo was surly to the max today as I was picking him up, even yelling at me twice. He was very upset because his dad had been delayed in his flight home from India by the storms back east, and was therefore unable to pick him up from school as scheduled. After a small lecture on not hurting bugs because you are bigger than them, we took a little "cool down" time before starting in on homework, with a small mishap that resulted in a briefly bloody nose for Ana. And right as we were almost finished, the taxi door slammed closed out front. Out the door Milo ran! Here is Gavin carrying Milo back into the house.



When we got home, I cut up the purple potatoes (about 8 small-medium) and put them into a pot of water to boil, also filling a smaller pot with water and starting it to boil. I filled the steamer basket with one each of red, purple, and orange carrots sliced and peeled. I then grabbed the 4 sugar beets out of the fridge, peeled and sliced them and added them to the basket, then stuck it on the boiling pot and placed on the lid. I removed the meat and peppers from the crockpot then transfered the juice into a frying pan and turned it onto medium heat. I grabbed my trusty sifter and some flour, along with a wire whisk, and began sifting flour into the frying pan and swifting whisking the gravy until it thickened just enough. After it was starting to thicken, I turned off the heat and allowed it to cool and thicken more. As the carrots and beets were done, I took them off the heat. The potatoes finished just about the same time, so I drained them and poured them into a bowl. I added some black pepper, Celtic grey sea salt, and about 1 cup of yogurt (finishing off the jar!) to the potatoes and mashed them to perfection.

As I listen to Ray and the twins rough-house in the living room I am so happy to have our entire family together and that he has never had to be away from us for more than a night or two. It warms my heart to think about how much Milo loves his dad, and how nice it was for them to be back together again after a week and half apart. I will strive to never take any of my family (especially my husband and sisters) for granted and cherish them with all of my heart. Nos Pars!