Asleep After Stew

Seems Thursdays Beef Stew post became Friday's gift. A lovely dinner, a glass (or two) of wine and some very silly giggling and rolling on the floor with a baby led to mama asleep on the couch nursing said baby. I've been avoiding wine in hopes of keeping my immune system at peak performance, but stew without wine, I just couldn't do it. So here's what I did.

Coat roast with cumin, salt and pepper...be generous. Lightly brown the meat in a stew pot and then remove. Add a few TB of balsamic vinegar, a squeeze of honey, a squeeze of ketchup and scrape up those brown bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back in along with some large pieces of carrots, celery, onion and garlic cloves. Add some tomatoes in their juices and some chicken or beef stock(about 2 cups or so). Bring to a boil and cover, reduce to a simmer and leave on the stove all day long. About two hours before serving, remove meat, add large chunks of rutabaga, 1/4 cup or so of red wine and some kudzu mixed with water. Cut the strings off the meat and break into large pieces adding back to pot. Keep lid off and simmer, stirring occasionally. The stew will thicken up and turn a deep red color. Serve with a nice Zinfandel unless you have something to do later that evening that requires staying awake!!!

Setting Intentions

I have set an intention to write a short blog each day this week. Blogging is deeply important to me as it keeps me focused on the good stuff in my life. Looking at the pictures of good food and the kids activities or quiet moments reminds me not to take it too seriously when life is a mess. Usually I try to take pictures of my food and make them seems calm and pretty. This time I opted for the reality of it, which was lunch in a hurry on a messy table.

Still a darn good salad. Here's what I did. Filled my bowl with sprouts and avocado slices. Added some slices of turkey, olives and cilantro. Made a quick salad dressing with some mayo, balsamic vinegar, agave and salt and pepper. It was fast, filling and those sprouts pack a punch of energy. Real life salad...have you set your intentions today?

Simplify~Part 1

Things were getting nasty in the coat closet. Jackets and shoes were not being hung up, not because we are lazy, but rather there was no space. One of the lessons I am learning is that less is more in so many areas of life. Less shoes means that there is actually a place to put those shoes. Less jackets mean that we actually have hooks free for the ones we are using. This family of 5 can quickly accumulate too much stuff. Living in a small space is teaching me to learn to let go of things, not buy too much and take care of what we have and value. This message is apparent in so many places. My friend Jill is a stylist and she always tells me less clothes of better quality will help you feel and look your best. I tell people to use less ingredients, but make those ingredients the best possible. Organizers tell you to have a place for everything and get rid of all the stuff that is cluttering your way. So the kids and I emptied the closet and it lent for a fun afternoon.


We separated summer from winter and decided what did not fit any more and could be donated.


The results brought some calm to my day and all it takes is a few seconds a day for us all to keep it looking organized. There is a hook for back packs, coats and a shelf from Ikea for shoes.


I love this space. It will change as the seasons flow and as mood dictates. Ah, yes, simplify.

Pay It Forward...With Chicken Soup

We all know someone who has been hit with a nasty illness this past month and the chances are you will know more than one. My suggestion is to pay it forward with some soup. Drop it on their doorstep and tip toe silently away. When a mom gets sick, taking care of the family is no longer the toughest job, it's the roughest job. So here's my quick chicken soup to heal what ails.

Chicken Soup For Your Soul Into Your Bowl

Fill large pot with cold water
Add one large chicken (free range is best)
One whole onion (unpeeled)
1 head of garlic (unpeeled...told you this was easy)
1/2 bunch of dill
1/2 bunch of parsley
2 large carrots
2 celery stalks
1 bay leaf
lots of salt and pepper
2 TB apple cider vinegar (don't skip this step)

Bring to a boil, cover, simmer for hours and hours. This is best to start in the morning. Later that day, saute some carrots, celery and yes, more garlic in a large pot. Strain the stock in a colander over the second pot. When the pieces in the colander cool off, go through and pick out the pieces of chicken and any veges you wish to add to the soup.

Just before delivering to your sick friend add more dill, parsley and a big squeeze of lemon.

Give the soup a stir (ok... that was shameless on my part!)

Pay it forward.

Bob Came To Dinner

It's hard to miss the delight in the smile on my grandfather's face as he holds his great grandson. (I had the same smile on!) Bob came to dinner, he wore many hats at our table. Father to his son David, (my uncle) grandpa to me, great grandpa to my children and of course, grandpa in law to Patrick!


These pictures and that night are priceless to me. We've been waiting a long time for this visit, for this great grandpa to meet his three grandchildren. Bob tells stories and you can't wait for the next one. He told how when Betty (my grandmother) used to make chicken he would say, "Betty, this is the best chicken I have ever had." And she would reply, "Bob, you always say it's the best chicken." And he couldn't wait for the next one! That's how you keep your wife happy, compliment, compliment and some more compliments (I'm serious here).


We had a huge bowl of rice pasta with sauce, I added a some diced tomatoes, a whole onion, garlic, a whole carrot and some fresh basil to a jar of sauce and let that simmer on the stove. The vegetables add flavor and you can discard them or put in a blender to make a puree. We topped the pasta with goat cheddar cheese and a touch of salt and pepper. For the chicken you coat with egg, almond meal, paprika, salt and pepper and then bake for about 20 minutes for really tender pieces. A big green salad finishes off the meal. I hope it was the best chicken he ever had! I also hope I get to make more meals for him again soon.

The 11th Year

In the 11th year I am still with the man I love. In the 11th year I am partner to the man I met 16 years ago. In the 11th year I am so much stronger and fuller to be where I am. In the 11th year I sometimes feel over worked and over stretched. In the 11th year I know my burdens are not just my own, they are also his. In the 11th year sometimes I wonder how happy he is, is this the life he hoped? In the 11th year I toasted our time together with good wine and family and a wedding that would happen the next day. In the 11th year I reflect on what it feels like to be in 1st year, the 2nd...3rd. In the 11th year I feel full of hope, of time, of dreams. In the 11th year I hope to align some of our dreams and follow them together. In the 11th year I dream about the 15th year when our littlest is 5 and perhaps we have time to discover each other again. In the 11th year I am loved, valued and I in turn love and value him. In the 11th year, on a daily basis I sometimes forget to show that love and value, but it's there, in the cookies coming from the oven and the hug when least expecting it. In the 11th year I wonder what lays ahead, I dream of the life that is to be and I am.

September's Gifts

My seven year old!!!

Chloe's yearly carvel birthday cake...my health awareness came after this ritual was established much to her and Patrick's delight. The boys didn't get so lucky!

When Chloe was a baby she had extreme colic. I was yet aware of how foods the mother ate could cause or worsen colic and was surviving on coffee with cream to get through the day. I was falling apart much of the time and yet so thrilled to have this gorgeous girl in our life. We would take pictures of her in all the moments of her happiness and based on photos you never would have known she cried most of the day. My mother once commented on the pictures; we didn't have a single one of her screaming and crying. And so I took one...I love it. It is a freeing feeling to capture not only the perfect moments but also the reality. I now have pictures of the not so pretty mixed into the delightful.

For the September birthday marathon in our family, Patrick and I share a birthday and this year I found myself in bed for 3 days feverish, right through turning 35. I would like a do over, a new birthday to celebrate our shared birthday. Life doesn't slow down for do overs; in fact I don't even think it's a real term. September felt rushed and crowded to me this year and I have been greeted with mastitis as a mother's gentle reminder to slow down and make a plan. I'm trying to obey my body and simplify our house, routines and plans. I want to get real with what I need for myself and my family; simple enough?

The real gifts of falling sick or becoming overwhelmed with life are the ones that bring you into action, create simplicity or simply bring you back to balance. Yes, overwhelmed is how I am feeling, yet from that I know a calm will come, health will return, and autumn will renew me. Our family has all reached that next age and so we say good-bye to September for another year.

In true blogger fashion Chloe snaps a picture of my birthday fever.