A Mindful Life

From this:

To this:

The party was great fun! But our little girl surprised us. She has zero interest in eating cake. She played with the frosting, but even though I put frosting on my finger and in her mouth, she wanted no part of it. She turned her nose up. She’d rather eat fruit! (I’m not [...]

Claire is an amazing little person. She is walking (toddling) pretty steadily now. When you ask her, “What does a snake say?” She replies, “SSSSSssss.” If she sees a picture of a snake in a book, she’ll point to it and make the sound. When you ask, “What does a rhinoceros say?” she responds by [...]

My mother sent a calendar that had gorgeous food photos with the suggestion I might use them with Claire. So today I quickly glued them to Bristol paper, which will make them less fragile. I’ll trim the edges once they are all dry. There has not been much time or energy for knitting or other [...]

Scene: Dinnertime, 6:30 p.m. I am standing at the kitchen counter, Husband is leaning against the sink.
Me: I swear, Claire seems hungry every hour lately. I’m chopping up some vegetables for her. [Claire is clinging to my butt, whining in hunger.]
Him: What did you make for dinner?
Me: I made chicken ratatou–ee-yOUCH!
Him: Did you cut [...]

For reasons I don’t want to go into (mostly because they’re boring), the past couple days have been rough for me. I am raw and short on energy and patience. At a stoplight, I had my right turn blinker on. It’s an option to turn right on red (unless there’s sign prohibiting it). I was [...]

Peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and corn (with green beans soon to be pureed). I did this because I can’t find the variety of veggies I’d like to offer Claire in brand name baby foods, and actually, I think this might be cheaper! It wasn’t as hard as I’d imagined it would be.

Claire acts silly, knowing how to bring laughter about, and enjoys herself immensely in the process.

American scones that I have typically enjoyed are triangular in shape and sweet. Usually when I meet a friend at a café I buy one. Since I’m staying home more now, though, friends are coming to visit me, and I like to offer them a goody. This recipe makes a simple, sweet scone that bakes [...]

Shirl asked for pea recipes because her garden is overrun with them. So here’s one I hope you’ll like!
Braised Lettuce and Peas with Scallions
1/4 cup butter
4 Bibb (Little Gem) lettuces, halved lengthways
2 bunches scallions, trimmed
14 oz. shelled peas (about 2 1/4 lb. in pods)
1/2 cup water
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Melt half the butter [...]

This was tasty and easy to make. The smell of frying basil was heavenly.

Tomato, Bean, and Fried Basil Salad
11 oz. cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
14 oz. can of mixed beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup of fresh basil leaves
5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Put the halved tomatoes and rinsed beans [...]