Yummy Escarole and Why?
We had a busy weekend here, in a good way. Julie has been somewhat interested in dinosaurs the last few weeks, and we like to encourage things like that so the whole family went to the Science Museum on Saturday to check out some bones. They actually have a nice little collection - there was a nice Triceratops and a Diplodocus that was quite large indeed, among several others. As we walked through, I kept thinking about the people of some religions who claim that dinosaur bones were buried in the ground by the devil, trying to confuse people about God and evolution and part of me was laughing at them but part of me could see how a person of a certain kind of faith might believe it - dinosaurs are -uh, were - pretty awesome creatures, and it's amazing that we still have evidence of them.
We also had a little party here last night - it was a semi-potluck dinner for Joe's friends from college and their families. The guys still get together often, but the wives end up at home with the kids usually, so I wanted to get the whole gang together. Unfortunately, a couple of families had sick kids, so it didn't quite work out, but we still had a great time. I made a giant pot of chili and some corn bread, and the kids had fun strewing every toy we own around the living room floor. I was proud of Julie for sharing her things as well as she did.
I'm telling you all this partly to explain my lack of posting and partly to forewarn that Friday's blankie update may be a little on the light side. I didn't get nearly as much blankie knitting done as I would have liked this weekend, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to fully catch up - but I'll try. I keep thinking about that sweater I want to whip up on the knitting machine, but if I stop to do that, I will get hopelessly behind on the blankie knitting, which is not so acceptable - and next week is going to be even busier.
Joe's brother has lived in Korea for something like six years now, and he just moved back to the States after Christmas. He and his girlfriend are going to live in New York City, but next week they are coming back to Minnesota for a visit. I want to make sure I do everything I can to make them feel welcome (especially her - I think they're pretty serious, and I want to make her feel comfortable in our house even though we have such different backgrounds.) So anyway, there will be cleaning and cooking to do again. Julie worships Dave, so I'm looking forward to seeing them playing together as well.
Now on to the title of this entry. I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight, and we really liked it. Joe is not especially fond of vegetables in general, but he even gobbled his serving down. It was a head of escarole lettuce washed and torn up, sauteed in olive oil with garlic till tender with a sprinkling of salt. So simple, but really tasty. Although I didn't do formal resolutions this year, one of the things I really want to get back in the habit of doing is eating more dark green leafies. We were really good about it over the summer, and somehow got out of the habit this fall. They're so good for you, and can really be quite tasty as well. Not to mention that we must train the girls to appreciate this stuff while they're impressionable so that they won't have to think too hard about it when they're making their own food decisions later.
Finally, let's talk about "Why?" - It's such a simple little word. It's a good word. Until your three year old decides to use it 20 bajillion times a day. Let me tell you, we've been hearing it a lot for the last couple of weeks, and on the one hand, I keep reminding myself that she is just trying to engage us in conversation, to figure out how things work, to understand her world. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure she's just trying to drive me freakin' crazy. 'Cause it's working! I've been good about answering her "why"s as best I can, but after a while - especially after I have already explained the same thing to her several times in one session, I have to just tell her that I'm done answering questions for a while. If we're in the car, I put on some music and turn the volume up a bit to hopefully distract her.
Thank the powers of the universe, she's finally back in pre-school this week, but even that may not be enough to save us - it is only three mornings a week after all, and even Joe is tiring of it with his limited exposure. We are really looking forward to our Canadian friends coming back from Ottowa tomorrow. If it were still allowed, I think we would be standing at their gate waiting for them with little flags and confetti or something when their plane lands. Instead, we will settle for waiting till their ready for a play date. It just better be soon, is all.
We also had a little party here last night - it was a semi-potluck dinner for Joe's friends from college and their families. The guys still get together often, but the wives end up at home with the kids usually, so I wanted to get the whole gang together. Unfortunately, a couple of families had sick kids, so it didn't quite work out, but we still had a great time. I made a giant pot of chili and some corn bread, and the kids had fun strewing every toy we own around the living room floor. I was proud of Julie for sharing her things as well as she did.
I'm telling you all this partly to explain my lack of posting and partly to forewarn that Friday's blankie update may be a little on the light side. I didn't get nearly as much blankie knitting done as I would have liked this weekend, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to fully catch up - but I'll try. I keep thinking about that sweater I want to whip up on the knitting machine, but if I stop to do that, I will get hopelessly behind on the blankie knitting, which is not so acceptable - and next week is going to be even busier.
Joe's brother has lived in Korea for something like six years now, and he just moved back to the States after Christmas. He and his girlfriend are going to live in New York City, but next week they are coming back to Minnesota for a visit. I want to make sure I do everything I can to make them feel welcome (especially her - I think they're pretty serious, and I want to make her feel comfortable in our house even though we have such different backgrounds.) So anyway, there will be cleaning and cooking to do again. Julie worships Dave, so I'm looking forward to seeing them playing together as well.
Now on to the title of this entry. I tried a new recipe for dinner tonight, and we really liked it. Joe is not especially fond of vegetables in general, but he even gobbled his serving down. It was a head of escarole lettuce washed and torn up, sauteed in olive oil with garlic till tender with a sprinkling of salt. So simple, but really tasty. Although I didn't do formal resolutions this year, one of the things I really want to get back in the habit of doing is eating more dark green leafies. We were really good about it over the summer, and somehow got out of the habit this fall. They're so good for you, and can really be quite tasty as well. Not to mention that we must train the girls to appreciate this stuff while they're impressionable so that they won't have to think too hard about it when they're making their own food decisions later.
Finally, let's talk about "Why?" - It's such a simple little word. It's a good word. Until your three year old decides to use it 20 bajillion times a day. Let me tell you, we've been hearing it a lot for the last couple of weeks, and on the one hand, I keep reminding myself that she is just trying to engage us in conversation, to figure out how things work, to understand her world. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure she's just trying to drive me freakin' crazy. 'Cause it's working! I've been good about answering her "why"s as best I can, but after a while - especially after I have already explained the same thing to her several times in one session, I have to just tell her that I'm done answering questions for a while. If we're in the car, I put on some music and turn the volume up a bit to hopefully distract her.
Thank the powers of the universe, she's finally back in pre-school this week, but even that may not be enough to save us - it is only three mornings a week after all, and even Joe is tiring of it with his limited exposure. We are really looking forward to our Canadian friends coming back from Ottowa tomorrow. If it were still allowed, I think we would be standing at their gate waiting for them with little flags and confetti or something when their plane lands. Instead, we will settle for waiting till their ready for a play date. It just better be soon, is all.
posted by Shelly Kang at 8:48 PM
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