and now you know

-For a long time I have been on a quest to document more. To write down everything. To photograph everything. To record everything. This quest has gone on for years. And today I would like to get something off my chest... I am just not that into it, urg.

-At 3:30 AM I decided that I want to raise my kids with TV. You see, I currently don't. We don't have TV, wii, DS, netflix, and so and so on. We do have a dvd player that we watch one movie a week on. At 3:30 in the morning when my one year old was up for the day I put him in front of a movie in hopes of dozing off. He watched for about 10 minutes and then was off doing something more exciting. I suppose this is my fault. I think I am going to start a learn how to watch a screen program in my house.


-Spent the last weekend in February at Myrtle Beach. Fantastic. The military sent our entire family and provided nannies for our kids so we could have date nights. I am still on a high from how much fun we all had.


-February, in its entirety, sort of knocks the socks off of this family. We have birthdays and vacations. An then there is Valentines Day. Our favorite. We can't get enough of themed dinners, cupid visits and a whole lot of love doings.

-I got behind on laundry. Jer decided he would get it all caught up in a single morning at the laundry mat. I got a text. We took up 12 machines. Twelve loads of laundry behind. All of it piled in the back of a minivan.You would have thought we were the Duggars.

Biological Warfare, touche (without the accent mark)

I am sick. Really disgustingly sick. This bug I have caught is a cornucopia of everything that a person can catch. I have determined that this can not be natural. It was, for sure, manufactured in some laboratory. It probably came in the mail. Most biological warfare does. That is the only explanation. The Universe is too kind to create something like this and it was too perfect. I have mono/migraine/double earache/vertigo/my-throat-is-swelling-shut/chest cold/nausea/throwing up/and leg aches. In addition my face has swollen because the pressure is so intense. OK, I know that in reality some terriorist isn't the mastermind, but I am still stunned. Thankfully, I am up on my feet, and the worst is behind me. So on to better...


Did you see this on Design Sponge? Lovely Yes?

{One day I will take pretty pictures like this of my food. One day, when I don't have an unbelievably active 2 year old and a 1 year old that follows right behind her. When I don't have a husband that considers 9 hours of work a "short" day or when I move somewhere where I know someone that can babysit and give me a moment of quiet. One day.}

Salad Ingredients
1 large bunch of kale, washed (about 7 cups loosely packed)
1 Golden Delicious apple, cut into matchstick slices
3 ounces Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced with carrot peeler
Dressing Ingredients
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoon molasses (not blackstrap)
1 teaspoon coarse ground mustard
1 small shallot, finely diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons vegetable stock
Pecan Ingredients
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
pinch of allspice
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup pecan halves
Instructions
1. Using a sharp knife, cut away think center stems of kale leaves and discard stems. Stack several leaves, tightly roll them into a cigar shape and slice them into thin ribbons. Repeat until all leaves are thinly sliced.
2. In a small bowl, combine molasses, vinegar, mustard, shallots, oil and stock, and season with salt and pepper. Toss dressing with kale, apple and cheese, and let sit at room temperature for one hour.
3. Heat butter in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in cinnamon, allspice, pepper, sugar and pecans. Toast pecans for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring until the sugar has melted and the pecans are lightly toasted. Spread on wax paper to cool. Toss pecans with salad and serve.

Bulgur, easy to eat not to say

Old habits die hard, yes? Who doesn't have cozy memories of warm Campbell's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches? This is a nice replacement soup when those cravings come a calling. Ironically, we paired this meal with lima beans--the worst childhood memories.

Tomato Bulgar Soup with Warm Spices

Serves 4
This weeknight-friendly soup is made easy by using quick-cooking bulgur. Note that the bulgur will continue to absorb the liquid if kept overnight so you may need to stir in additional broth when reheating to return to desired consistency.
Ingredients
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth,

divided 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup uncooked bulgur wheat 1 (14-ounce)

can no-salt-added diced tomatoes (I pureed tomatoes in a magic bullet before adding them. In summer, I replace canned tomatoes with fresh)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves (I omitted)

1 tablespoon feta cheese crumbles (optional) (didn't do this either)

Method
In a medium pot over medium-high heat, bring 1/2 cup broth to a simmer. Add onion and garlic and cook about 5 minutes or until onion is translucent and tender. Stir in coriander and cinnamon and cook 1 minute. Add bulgur and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add remaining 3 1/2 cups broth and tomatoes with their juices and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 to 12 minutes or until bulgur is tender. Stir in lemon juice. Garnish with parsley and feta.

another thanks to WholeFoods

On My Mind: Time

Jeremy deactivated his facebook page last week. He took an accurate account of how much time he was spending on mind-numbing interneting. He told me that he had sat down for a few minutes and was shocked to learn that the few was really 40. "Forty minutes of life on the unimportant," he said," what if I had spent 40 minutes on..." and proceeded to list a million important things. Some of them included, prayer, meditation, additional time playing with our kids, exercising, reading, etc....

And so his page was gone (Could I take a lesson on discipline and decisiveness from him?).

I thought about this a lot and had it fresh in my mind when Sunday came around. At church This is what was taught. Fantastic! What a way to seal the deal for me.

“Life offers you two precious gifts—one is time, the other freedom of choice, the freedom to buy with your time what you will."

It makes me want to examine every minute and gives purpose even to leisure. For me, It has opened my mind to time being more tangible than not. Just as we exchange money for our choice of food, we can exchange time. We can put what we choose, playing with our kids, going for a walk, a career, more time dedicated to getting ahead or just a few extra seconds of meditation and prayer, on the conveyor and pay with our time.

And this, this is weird, this song was on Jer's ipod. I had never heard it. It surfaced today of all days. I thought it was a nice little musical number to compliment my time themed week. I think the universe is at it again. Trying to tell me something. And if you can handle Tim McGraw staring at you for 3 minutes and 13 seconds I recommend listening to it. I couldn't find the real video.

P.S. I love country music. Like a lot. I feel better now that that's off my chest.

Stating the Obvious on Pomegranates

I was putting together my kids snack of pistachios and pomegranates when I thought this little trick may by helpful.

In my early 20's my eye was single on the goal of travel. This crash-landed me on a lot of couches. One of these couches happened to belong to a professional chef/travel agent (is that the most perfect combination of jobs?). She made, obviously, the most delicious food. One in particular dish was an amazing pomegranate, blue cheese salad with an apple cider vinaigrette. Though the recipe I scratched down is long gone, a tip she taught me about de-seeding a pomegranate is one I continue to use often. I get this was almost 10 years ago and perhaps I might be slow to realize this is common knowledge for most, but in the event that you're just not sure how to handle these little phenomenons here we go!

Supplies:
large bowl of water, enough to submerge entire fruit
cutting board
knife
pomegranate
Instructions:
Cut off the top and discard. Place remainder of the pomegranate in bowl of water top down. Crack it open putting pressure with your thumbs on the bottom and pulling apart. If it is not easily opened cut down the side with a knife and then repeat. Use your thumb to scrape away seeds.




Why the water? When de-seeding juice tends to spurt everywhere and it easily stains. The water contains the juice. Also, the rinds float and the seeds sink. When you are done just drain the water and all you have left is the edible part of the fruit.

Once the seeds are out it's an easy snack for a couple of days. I leave the bowl out and the kids can munch on them or I toss them into B's lunch box for a quick side dish.

Hello my name is Sydnee and I'm a vegetarian.

Do you know what happens to vegetarians that move to the south? I do. They stamp our chest's with a scarlet V and toss us into the not normal pile. I have committed an offense and am just learning how serious it is. I have been told by church-goers, scriptures in hand, that the Lord wants us to eat meat. Oh dear, this is serious.

You want a taste of my crime? This one's pretty good.

Quinoa with Balsamic Roasted Mushrooms

Serves 6
Mushrooms roasted in a simple oil-free pear balsamic dressing are delicious tossed with quinoa, spinach, green onions and almonds. Serve this dish warm, room temperature or cold, as a side dish or the main event.

Ingredients
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 small pear, peeled, cored and cut into chunks

1 garlic clove, halved

2 pounds portobello mushrooms, stemmed and gills scraped out

1 cup red or white quinoa

3 cups tightly packed spinach, chopped

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 475°F. Put vinegar, mustard, pear and garlic in a blender with 1/3 cup water and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Cut mushrooms into chunks and combine in a large mixing bowl with 1/4 cup of the pear balsamic dressing. Spread mushrooms in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast mushrooms until tender, stirring occasionally, 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

While mushrooms roast, prepare quinoa. In a medium pot, bring 1 3/4 cups water to a boil. Stir in quinoa, cover pot, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside, covered, 10 minutes more. Uncover and fluff quinoa with a fork.

Combine mushrooms, quinoa, spinach, green onions, almonds, salt, pepper and 1/2 cup more pear balsamic dressing in a large, wide serving bowl. Stir to mix well. Serve with remaining dressing on the side.

Thanks is given to WholeFoods for this recipe.

(ser)VICE

Dear Sister Boyack,
Fifty-two weeks of family service is not fun.


Love, Jeremy and Sydnee

This year Jer has taken on the challenge of creating, implementing and finishing 52 service projects. One each week. Quite a lofty goal?! This idea was inspired by Merrilee Boyacks book. He was ready when the calendar changed to 2011. Our first project was this week. All I remember is sitting at our kitchen table with our 2 year old hiding underneath it, our baby lost somewhere in the house, and our 6 year old throwing a tantrum and marching off to time-out. Jeremy, at that point, was loudly and sternly saying, "service is not fun, but we just have to do it!"

Hmmmmmmm??!!

That night as Jer and I were going to bed we got laughing so hard about the evening and how ridiculous we can be sometimes at this parenting thing. Are we the only ones that feel that way? Anyway, we restructured and continue in our commitment of service in 2011. One down fifty-one to go.

Got a good service project? Send it our way!