Meatloaf Baby!

Thanks to Tascha Foy for a photo of this amazing (and disturbing) meatloaf sculpture. The bacon diaper is perfect!

Nana Helping in the Garden

Thanks to Nana for helping us trellis up the snow peas and pull out some weeds! We'll save you some golden beets!

Cincinnati Chili

One of our favorite family comfort foods is Cincinnati chili. The flavors are similar to traditional chili but it tends to be a little sweeter and is served over spaghetti. We add toasted cinnamon and a little dark chocolate.

This batch was served 5-ways: angel hair pasta, chili, beans, shredded cheddar and minced red onion with a dollop of sour cream on top for good measure. Lille said it was better than her favorite meal of all time, spaghetti and homemade meatballs. That is saying a lot!

Lillie and the Golden Beets

Lillie's new favorite veggie is the golden beet. I used to boil them but now we rub them with extra virgin oil and crack on some sea salt and pepper...then wrap them in foil and roast in the oven on 350 for 40 minutes. 

We have a few golden beet recipes listed on P&C including this one from the image below - Lillie trying golden beets for the first time.

Happy Birthday Lola

Our best buddy Lola turned one!

She was quoted as saying, "the chicken peanut butter cupcake was delicious!"

Asparagus is Alive!

We added asparagus to the garden this year! Here is our first spear ever!

First Sprouts

The micro mesclun greens are the first to arrive in our spring garden...

followed right behind by the mammoth sunflowers. Spring has sprung!

Sadie's Veggie Friends

Every trip to Ikea is a new adventure for Super Sadie.

Marco Island Seafood Festival

We spent a few days on Marco Island hanging out with Grandmom. We hunted for seashells, watched the sun slip into the sea and built castles in the sand. The last day we went to the Marco Island Seafood Festival and filled up on crabcakes, fish n chips and fresh Jonah crab claws. Somehow, the camera never came out while we were gorging on seafood so I posted this sunset picture instead. :)

And they called him Bacon...

Sadie made a new friend!

Say hello to this 4-day old piglet named Bacon!

Corned Beef Hash

Corned beef has got to be a savory breakfast lover's best friend. Sausage and bacon have the morning market covered but they better watch their back. A good fresh hash is hard to find so I started a new family tradition this year. After our St. Patrick's Day feast, I took the potatoes, turnips and carrots that had been soaking in the brine and seared them in pan with cubed pieces of the remaining corned beef. The results were remarkable. The outside was a crispy golden brown and the inside was concentrated and tender deliciousness. A few fried eggs on top and the world was a better place.

Seaweed Snacks

Sadie and I made a special trip to Phuoc Loc Tho Oriental Supermarket to track down our new favorite seaweed snacks. They are light and crispy like a long paper-thin Cheeto but with a briny, seaweed and umami savoriness to them. I've found 8 flavors so far including kimshi! Delicious!

After Sadie tried on a few hats, we picked out some new candy. I don't know what this is called but it is truly the best candy ever. Its part Brach's jelly bean nougat, part starburst and part gummy bear. We need to find more of these!

Spring Garden 2011

We had a blast planning out and planting our spring garden this year with the help of my dad (aka Papa Wu.)

First we raked up the rest of the leaves from winter - why didn't they blow into the neighbor's yard like last year? Mysterious Mother Nature...

Papa Wu helped us pull out any weeds and rake in the new soil.

I stapled down the guide string to help us know where to plant the seeds. If you are thinking about gardening in small space, check out squarefootgardening.com/

We planted our favorites like sugar snap peas, golden beets, rainbow carrots and lots of salad greens.

We also added some new veggies to try including purple string beans, asparagus, swiss chard and Sadie's new favorite, Brussel Sprouts!

All the seeds are in and the soil is patted down. We put the tall, fast growers in the back and short, slow growers in the front so everyone gets some sun.

Lillie cleans up the last few stray leaves.

Sprinkler fun after a long day of planting!

Ok, we did our part...what choo got, garden?

Have Fork, Will Travel

Sadie found this giant fork while we were Christmas shopping!

Welcome to the Bahamas!

We just returned from a cruise to the Bahamas. It was a great adventure and the girls had a blast!

We chased rainbows...

build castles in the sand...

won a medal...

dressed up like pirates...

and pillaged the ship with the rest of the scallywags!

We explored Atlantis...

learned how to carve fruit into fancy art...

drank fruity drinks...

laughed at our silly waiter...

ate more food that we should have...

and then ate a little more!

The best part was trying food we've never tried before...

like fresh Bahamian conch salad with lots of salty conch, crunchy veggies and tangy lime juice. Sadie was a little nervous at first...

Our favorite were the conch fritters. Golden brown and crispy on the outside and filled with tender pieces of conch, herbs and fluffy dough. Delicious!

So long Bahamas, and thanks for all the food!

Fall Harvest

Our fall garden was a little thin this year. Our watermelon, pumpkins, squash and Malibar spinach didn't make it through the hot summer. It was getting chilly and time to harvest. Sadie and I pulled all the peanuts out of the ground - I couldn't believe how many there were under all that dirt!

The sweet potatoes were the next to come out. They were petite, tender and colorful. We also harvested 12 small sunchokes. Also called Jerusalem artichokes, they are a species of sunflower with a sweet and nutty tuber with a texture similar to a potato. Delicious!