Exploring The Parkin Home Part 2

Having done a cursory exploration the week before, Emma and I knew we could whip up a tasty and healthy lunch for Olivia from the well stocked fridge and pantry. In the garage fridge we found a 32 ounce bag of dry yeast, and organic eggs. From the pantry we pulled out the whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal, baking powder, split peas and curry powder. We set out to make two recipes from Heidi Swanson's blog, Green Lentil Soup with Curried Brown Butter and Yeast-Raised Cornbread. 

It was a treat to cook in the Parkin's well stocked kitchen with natural light, the perfect measuring devices (the food scale, standing mixed, thermometer came in handy), and a very curious niece. We mixed, and kneaded, measured and minced and got flour everywhere. The lunch was labor intensive but we were well rewarded with an amazing meal of creamy soup and fresh bread—and of course a happy mommy and baby. 

Baby in a box! Some patio furniture was delivered
and the box was more thrilling to Emma than the contents.

Sharing soup. One for me, one for Emma.

Emma was really into the soup
and wanted every bite she could get.

Vladeline Returns

When Emmeline was only a few days old she was still getting the hang of the whole nursing thing and she'd occasionally miss the mark.  Sometimes she'd suck on knuckles, or fingers or, most amusingly, any exposed skin.  On anyone.  Like Todd's neck.  So we started to call her Vladeline.  You know, like Vlad ("the impaler") + Emmeline.  Emma's aim has much improved since then (aside from the occasional sleepy early morning nibble on my ribs) so I had forgotten that we called her Vladeline until this morning.  When she made a gory looking meal out of a raspberry.

I'd first thought that it would be a bad idea to give her a raspberry because I didn't think they were squishy enough.  Evidently I'd underestimated her hand strength and her reach because she promptly reached over and squashed one.  With that misconception out of the way and she proceeded to massacre a few for her breakfast.  In doing so she had the seeds dribbling out of her mouth in such a way that I though she looked just like a little vampire and her earlier moniker came to mind.  Watch out raspberries: Vladeline is back!

Check out the original Vladeline.

Feta Quest

Cheese is one of the great pleasures in life. Having spent a few austere months as a vegan in college I know what I'm talking about. Tofutti Cuties can replace ice cream, cakes can be made without butter and eggs, but vegan cheese is a waxy abomination. It's a joy to visit Murray's cheese shop on Bleaker Street and bask in the stink, and I can spend the better part of an afternoon reading (and chuckling at) the colorful cheese descriptions at the Bedford Cheese Shop in Williamsburg. So naturally I'm eager for my niece to learn to love cheese at the ripe age of eight months. We started at the beginning, with a fresh cheese, feta. 

There are six types of fresh cheese: soft, pasta filata, brined, pressed, whey, and nonmelters. Some of the most familiar fresh cheeses are cottage cheese, cream cheese, and mozzarella. Fresh cheeses are typically soft, bright white and milky in flavor without much aroma. My favorite of all fresh cheeses is the versatile feta cheese. To find the best feta, Emma and I set out for the Greek neighborhood of Astoria, Queens.

Emma is ready for our mission.

Top quality Greek food demands a trip to Queens. 

Lots of feta

In our quest for top feta Emma and I did a little research and learned some interesting facts about feta.  To start with, the name "feta" means sliced in Greek and the cheese is made by separating the curds and whey, pressing the curds, and then finally slicing them. Typically feta is made from sheep's milk or a mixture of sheep and goat milk. In the United States you may find products labeled as feta that contain no sheep milk, however in the European Union only cheese made in the traditional method in Greece from at least 70% sheep milk can be labeled as feta because feta is a protected designation of origin product.  

Greek pastries too

and more feta

The feta we procured was delicious. We bought a Bulgarian variety and one called Arahova. The Bulgarian cheese was creamier than the Arahova and was my favorite—it was hard to tell which one Emma preferred but she ate some of both. 

My First Mother's Day

Emma was extremely excited to see all her favorite people on the same day. 

For Mother's Day this year we celebrated at our house.  We kicked off with balloons, flowers, cards, and presents, donuts, and steamed artichokes with mustard dip (a childhood favorite).  

I can I just have a little nibble of wrapping paper?

We were lucky enough to have both grandmothers to celebrate with.

Sofia, David, and Todd put together a delicious, gourmet, and healthy meal.  The fancy meal started out with grilled steak and scallops on a bed of leeks, followed by asparagus topped with Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and toasted pine nuts, and also a kale salad with an avocado dill yogurt sauce.  Everything was so good!   

Thanks Sofia, David, and Todd!

Here we are sitting down to the tasty feast!  The superb desserts didn't even make it into the pictures, but we were treated to a sticky toffee pudding and a lemon ginger ice box cake too.

And we finally managed to get all the moms into one picture.

I don't get it.  Why does salt come out of a mushroom?

Esteban and Veronica were even able to make it.  

Uncle Esteban told me that I could peel the label off of this magazine. 

Just before we lost all the light we managed to sneak in some good group shots too.  Thanks everyone!  I had a lovely time!

The Garden Is In!

We used the planters to edge the far side of our patio.  The small suspended planter is part of the herb collection. 

We were steeling ourselves for a trip to Home Depot but while we were at Stew Leonard's we saw some flowers we thought would go very nicely in the planters we lugged from our house in NJ.  Unsurprisingly we went with some purples and pinks, but we also got some nice bright yellows and oranges.

I have no idea what these little orange guys are but I've very happy with them - and they make a nice juxtaposition to the lovely rosebush I got as a mother's day present.  I got lots of lovely flowers for Mother's Day (sadly they didn't make it into their own picture) and now our patio is looking very lush and vibrant.

But here is the real reason we went to Home Depot: to get supplies for a raised vegetable garden.  I've wanted to make a raised garden for a while now and we started by planting the seeds two weekends ago.  Each day we watched the little sprouts get taller and taller, and I turned them every day or two to prevent them from listing too much in one direction.  And after two weeks they were ready to move in to their new digs.  Only we had to make the bed first.  By the time we got home on Saturday we decided we should just enjoy the new patio furniture.  That was a wise decision because despite being fairly straight forward the time estimate on the site was extremely optimistic and probably meant to encourage people to try to make a garden.  We got started before the guests showed up on Sunday, right after Emma took her morning nap, and only barely managed to finish everything - particularly the planting - in time to enjoy all the visitors and the delicious meal.

My First French Fry

Hey, what's this thingy clipped to my cute outfit?

Stew Leonard's has all sorts of seasonal meals, and lured by the promise of sweet potato fries we wanted to fortify ourselves with a tasty lunch before braving Home Depot.  They have this handy pavilion with tables and even offer table service and highchairs (although Emma opted to stay in her cushy seat in the cart).

Those could be for us....

Sadly they were out of sweet potato fries by the time we got there and it took a little while for the food to show up, but we still enjoyed indulging in our grilled cheese and philly cheese steak sandwiches.  We even let Emma have her very first french fry.

Hmmm...crispy outside, soft fluffy inside... 

At first she was tentative but then she really seemed to enjoy holding on to the fry with her fingers and squeezing it while sucking on it.  Then she was determined to get the most out of her fry and only reluctantly let it drop when we were ready to go.

Now if I suck hard enough I think I can get all the tasty stuff out of this.

Happy as a ....

If you look closely at Emma's outfit she is in fact wearing a little crab, but she is much more like a happy clam as we enjoy breakfast in our back yard.

You want to take another picture?  Oh, ok.

With my trust package of diaper wipes I am ready to face the world.

Berry Happy

No I have not got a dab of strawberry on my nose.  

As previously mentioned Emma is getting to eat all sorts of things now.  One of the first things she got to eat was a very rip strawberry that she pulverized before we thought to capture it for posterity.  With her first strawberry, we handed it to her, she took it in two fists, squashed it to a pulp, and then sucked is down looking a bit like a very happy hamster (think nom, nom, nom).  Since the first strawberry was such a big hit we gave her another, but it was a little less ripe she had it long enough for us to photograph her progress.

I lurve strawberries!

Exploring The Parkin Home Part 1

Rather than going to a museum this Wednesday, Emma and I explored her home in South Norwalk. After helping Olivia and Todd move twice, once from New York to New Jersey, then from New Jersey to Connecticut, I am no longer surprised by what I might find in their home. Their pantry is fully stocked with everything from pistachio flour to chia seeds and all the ingredients for cake pops. Emma also has her own awesome room full of itty bitty cute clothes, many of which are hand knitted by her doting Grandmother, and an entire bookcase of books (even though she can't read yet). Emma and I explored the house, played with Buddy and Dakota (who are almost like ponies if your Emma's size), made a mess in the kitchen, had a few outfit changes, and of course napped.

Outfit number one

Bright and cheery like a little morning flower
(this is post nap and breakfast)

Emma with her pals

Outfit number two (which involved a messy banana,
so it was followed by outfit number three shortly there after)

Outfit number three

I am not a picky eater

No, that's not tofu on my face.  I don't know what you're talking about.  

Now that Emma is more interested in food, we're letting her try lots of fun new stuff.  And despite the funny faces she made while eating the grapefruit she hasn't turned down anything yet (well, except for maybe The Oat Incident).

May I please have more tofu, Auntie Fifi?

Maybe there is a little more tofu I can get off the spoon. 

Pigtails

This is my favorite part of when Mommy tortures me and does my hair.  Combs are tasty!  Especially the tines.