Black Beans and Couscous

Summer may be over, and I know soup time is just around the corner, but this dish is so good that I had to share. Plus, all the colors in it reflect the autumn leaves, so I figure I can hang on to it for a few more weeks here.

Oh, and if you have Trader Joes near by, their whole wheat couscous is great!

Black Bean and Couscous Salad

1 C. uncooked couscous

1 1.4 C. chicken broth

3 Tbsp. olive oil

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

8 green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 C. chopped fresh cilantro

1 C. frozen corn kernels, thawed (I just use canned)

2 (15 oz.) cans of black beans

salt and pepper to taste

Cook couscous in chicken broth.

In a large bowl, wisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar, and cumin. Add green onions, red pepper, cilantro, corn and beans and toss to coat.

Fluff the couscous well. Add to the bowl with the vegetables and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve at once, or refrigerate until ready to serve (I like it cold, daddy-o likes it warm--you decide).

Autumn Leaves

We took a drive on Saturday to look at the leaves. Technically, it was the last day of summer, but up in the mountains, it looked and felt like fall. Where I grew up, there weren't a lot of trees that lost their leaves, and we didn't see much of the fall color show. When I first moved up here to do my undergrad and saw the red and yellow on the mountains, honestly, it reminded me of poison oak, one of the few plants I'd regularly seen in those colors. Luckily that connection didn't ruin the beauty of the colors for me.

It isn't as colorful as it will be in a week or two, but I actually thought the contrast between the still green trees and the trees that had already let autumn take control was even better.

And for some reason, Bean spent the whole drive begging me to take pictures of every little red tree we saw, so this one is for her.

Downtime

We haven't had too many naps from Bean lately, but that means that we need a little downtime late in the afternoon to get through the dinner hour. And a half hour with Baby Neptune or Curious George seems to do the trick. At least for Bean. Notice her grip on Bugaboo's shirt--he only stuck around for the picture and then, after a few good bangs on the TV, was off to see if anything new had been put in the kitchen drawers. In his thinking, you never know when a towel or spoon might show up in there.

Food for thought

I just finished this amazing book(click on the title for the link to their website that explains it all), "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," by Barbara Kingsolover (loved "Poisonwood Bible"!). She and her family decided to try "living la vida local"--they ate only local grown foods for a year, with a very few exceptions (coffee, olive oil, spices--things they couldn't imagine life without and couldn't find a local source). For anyone who is interested in ways they can reduce their negative impact on the planet, or even just interested in eating healthy, fresh food, this might be worth a read.

The book is full of her research findings on the history of farm production and distribution in our country (and I'll admit right here, I have not looked into the statistics she uses, so I guess her research must be taken with a grain of salt, but I figure believing it isn't going to harm me), as well as the story of their experience. For instance, the average US citizen requires 1.2 cultivated acres to cover their nutritional consumption. Their family managed to get by on a 1 acre footprint for the 4 of them. And since it is estimated that by 2050, there will only be about .6 acres per citizen available, that means were all going to need to shift our way of eating.

These type of ideas, as well as how good most of the recipes sound, really got me thinking. I've always enjoyed trying to eat according to the season--soups just taste better when its cold out and garden fresh tomatoes are so much better than the ones in the stores in January--but there is a lot more I can do. I would like to try to find local sources for more of my food when I can. I loved the farm co-op we got boxes from in San Diego and hope to live where we can do that again.

However, I know I can't completely give up my exotic produce--I love avocados and until we make it back to CA, I can't get those from the local farm. Even Barbara admitted that she is sure that she will again buy produce imported from California. But "if every US citizen just ate one meal a week composed of locally and organically raised meats and produce, we would reduce our country's oil consumption by over 1.1 million barrels of oil every week."

So these were the points that really jumped out at me:

*our food, especially anything pre-packaged, processed, travels farther than I do most years.

*the farmers get a VERY small percentage of what we pay for our food--most of it goes into the processing, shipping, and all the middle-men

*there are options for more local foods in most areas

*canning and drying my own foods may not be a complete waste of time and energy (I've always loved the idea of a garden but scorned the whole canning idea--too much work when I could buy it in the store)

*there are hundreds of heirloom breeds--of vegetables, fruits, and even animals--that have gone extinct because we now farm so few varities, but you can order seeds for the ones that still exist and help them survive

and finally, the fact that probably disturbed me the most.

*most crops are now genetically modified and controlled by just 6 companies. And controlled is the key word. "The ultimate unnatural product of genetic engineering is a 'terminator gene' that causes a crop to commit genetic suicide after one generation, just in case some maverick farmer might want to save seed from his expensive, patented crop, instead of purchasing it again from the company that makes it." What?!

Anyway, the book isn't just facts about the food industry. There are fun stories about their adventures in cheese-making, a love-sick turkey, and their battle with zuccini.

I thought I'd share this different look at food with everyone. But don't think I'm a hypocrit when you see me eating guacamole with my tacos in January. At this point, I'm just shooting for the one meal a week and trying to make meals based on what is in season when I can.

Dancing

Bean LOVES her dance class. On recommendation from a friend (Thanks, Isa!), we signed her up for the Creative Dance class through BYU--nothing too structured, but really fun and teaching a lot of body movement and creative expression.

She came home from the first class last week asking for a tutu like the other girls had (bad mom--I didn't ask about what they were supposed to wear to class ahead of time) and was so excited when I bought this the other day that she's had it on for at least a couple hours for three days straight now.

After class today, she was excited to show me the new moves they learned--bridges, skips, jumps, and gallops.

Family Baking

I got a little help today when I was baking bread. Bugaboo was just so happy to be able to climb the stool and stand up there with his big sister. And Bean, as always, had her hands in everything. The girl loves raw flour. Dough, I can understand--she got that from me, but I'm not too fond of plain flour.
And guess who has turned into the camera ham, just like his sister. Where did these two come from?!

Mint Brownies. . . Mmmmm

I love brownies.

I love them from a mix.

I love them with nuts.

I love them with ice cream and hot fudge.

But my favorite brownies are Mint Brownies made from scratch. I got to whip up a batch of these last night for Daddy-o to take to school (who would have thought that graduate level classes would still require snack-time).

This recipe is one of the few that I feel I've made enough changes to that I can call it my own. It was actually originally two recipes: one for the brownies and one for the two frostings. But I added some wheat flour (and you can't even tell!) and mint to the brownie recipe and changed the mint flavoring in the frosting and here's the result.

Mint Brownies

3/4 C. butter

1 1/2 C. sugar

1 teaspoon mint extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

3/4 C. flour (replace 1/4 C. with whole wheat flour if you want to pretend they're healthy)

1/2 C. cocoa

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

3/8 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a mixer, cream butter and sugar together well. Add mint and vanilla and eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt, then add to creamed mixture.

Pour into a greased 8-by-8-inch pan. Bake 35-45 minutes (I always go for the lower time because I LOVE fudgy-chewy brownies).

Let cool in pan before frosting.

Mint Frosting

2 C. confectioners sugar

1/2 C. butter

1 1/2 Tablespoons mint extract

Beat all ingredients until smoot. Spread evenly over cooled brownies, then chill until set.

Chocolate Frosting

6 Tablespoons butter

1 C. semisweet chocolate chips

Melt butter and chocolate chips in microwave until smooth, stirring well. Allow to cool slightly, then spread over the top of the mint layer. Cover and chill for at least one hour before cutting.

Parenting 101

So, I think my friends have decided that I need to be evaluating my job as a parent more closely--I've just been challenged to make a list of all the good and bad things that I've done as a parent the last few days. I was going to start with the good because of course I'd rather think about that, but then realized that would mean leaving all the bad stuff fresh in everyone's minds as they finish reading this post, and lets face it, I'd prefer it if my friends and family all continue to see me as the fabulous person I've pretended to be all these years :)

So the bad:

~I forced Bean to fall asleep against her will (but really, that was for her own good--she NEEDED a nap)
~I put off a couple diaper changes for about an hour even though I knew Bugaboo was poopy
~I let Bean eat 3 brownies and 1 cookie for lunch (she did eat half a slice of watermelon first)
~I continue to fix dinners that I know Bean won't eat because I get tired of eating pasta and burritos every night
~I wasn't as patient during the morning hair-brushing wrestle as I should have been
~I let Bugaboo play with toys that are probably too small just to keep him from screaming
~I keep falling asleep while breastfeeding Bugaboo at night so he still sleeps in our bed half the night
~I complain about how I get no sleep at night (yet I haven't really tried to change it)
~I let Bean watch Extreme Makeover, Home Edition last night just so I could read blogs
~I got mad when Bean pushed Bugaboo and snapped at her
~I forgot to give the kids their amoxicillin this a.m.



The good:

~I took Bean to her first dance class today and she LOVED it!
~I prepped dinner during afternoon naptime
~I planned our meals for the week and made a shopping list
~I made baby food
~I washed diapers (and keep doing so every 2 days--need to buy a few more so it isn't such a tight schedule)
~I made a new hairclip for Bean
~I bought the goods for Halloween costumes for both kids already (still have to do the sewing)
~I have washed all the bedding in our house in hot water and de-dustmited the mattresses
~I made Beans favorite breakfast this morning (oatmeal--what kid loves oatmeal more than pancakes?!)
~I have supported my child's wishes even when she makes no sense to me and is dissappointing others--but what she thinks of me and feels towards me comes first

So who else wants to play? How about Isa, Margo, and Sheila? (cause I know you ladies think about this stuff too!)

Jobs

A friend just posted a list of why her "job" is so much easier than staying at home with her kids (here) which I thought was pretty funny, as well as oh-so-true. I've actually been thinking about this quite a bit lately--happens every so often when I start wishing I could have a break, but when it comes down to it, I would rather deal with the tough days at home.

Now, its not that I've never had a tough job, although I'm sure there are people reading this who have had jobs that are tougher than their kids--hey, some people have pretty easy going kids! And yes, some people have some pretty rough jobs.

I've had jobs

that have left me crying, on the job (and this is as an adult),
outside in negative degree weather for the entire day (Farenheit, not just Celcius),
outside in 90 degree weather with humidity for the entire day,
performing 3 brain surgeries a day (ok, so it was on rats, but it still IS brain surgery),
getting peed on (so its not just for SAHMs, but at least I was getting paid when it happened),
having wads of paper thrown at me,
and even one that caused me to faint once.

So now, I want to hear about what jobs you've had (and if anyone can list what all the jobs were that I described, I'll send out a prize ;) Come on, tell us all your horror stories! (Yes, this is a blatant attempt at getting some comments from people--I want to see who more of my readers are.)

So my jobs haven't been easy, and yes, my kids can be even tougher, but they can also make me feel like a rock start when they light up and start shaking with excitement when they see me walk through the door and give some of the best hugs and kisses ever. Guess I'll keep my job.

Thanksgiving Point

The kids and I took another break from organizing the house today (if you look around our house at the boxes, you can see we've taken a lot more breaks than we've earned so far--I'm debating leaving the rest of the boxes packed so I won't have to do anything with them in May.)

We spent the morning at the Children's Discovery Garden at Thanksgiving Point with the cousins and Grandma. I had never been to the gardens and was very impressed with what we saw. And the kids had a blast! Anything that involves getting wet is always a huge hit.

At first, just watching the water was enough.But we all knew that couldn't last for long.

We also enjoyed a nice little picnic lunch

And some wildlife encounters.

All in all, it was a great morning. I'm excited because we just got a membership so I'm looking forward to more days at the gardens before the snow comes.

Back to School

I had to get the first day of school shot :) Today was probably Daddy-o's last first day ever. As much as he loves his program, I don't think that thought is too sad for him.

The rest of us had a pretty normal day (for us). I took the kids in for check-ups, and came home with 2 prescriptions for amoxicillin and one for Claritin. Apparently the crying and clinginess we've had the last couple weeks may not be all related to the move--both kids have ear infections and Bean may have some allergies. In fact, the dr. said that if her ear had the fluid build-up that Bean's does, she'd be screaming all day. Wouldn't you know, ear pain is the only thing Bean isn't sensitive to--at least not enough to tell us what's wrong.

A little photo backtracking of the fun we've had since arriving in Provo last week:

Unpacking--I really can't wait for the year that I don't have to box and unbox all of our belongings. But at least I have my helpers.We took a break to visit the cousins and dress up(and see the new baby--so amazing the changes that occur in the first year--Bugaboo seems like a big lug after holding a 2 week old!)

A little water fun in the yard (notice the baby bath being put to good use--Bugaboo sure didn't like it when we tried to bathe him in it). The local pools have had an outbreak of cryptospiridia and kids under 5 are no longer allowed to swim (not that we would have wanted to chance it even if they hadn't decided to ban them) so no visit to Seven Peaks--this had to suffice. And from their expressions, I don't think the kids minded.
And we've already had visitors--good friends from our single days in San Diego who we hadn't seen for 3 years. It was so great to catch up and see the kids play together. And so begins another year!

The Windy City

Our much anticipated trip to Chicago. I have been a cubs fan for about 20 years, so this city has been high on my list to visit for a long, long time. We decided that it wouldn't be too much hassle to make a stop there on the way home, so while Daddy-o drove our car stuffed with belongings, the kids and I took the train. Our trip was a bit stressful since the station agent wouldn't even let Daddy-o help me get all the suitcases and car seats onboard, and then, we beat Daddy-o to Chicago by a couple hours, which turned out to be a problem because he had reserved the hotel and they wouldn't let us up to the room, but in the end we all made it.

Our hotel, thanks to a pretty sweet Priceline deal, was really nice and in a great place. Easy to get to lots of the sights. It was perfect for a short trip. Too bad that this was when we realized things were not going to be easy. Both our kids had been a little sick and were insanely cranky. Bean, who hardly ever naps anymore, actually fell asleep in the stroller numerous times. We didn't find out until we got home that they were actually both pretty sick--like double ear infection type sick. Poor babies. But at the time, they sure challenged our trip.

Despite the two little monsters we traveled with, we did get to see quite a bit.

First up, the Shedd Aquarium.

The kids had fun--would have enjoyed it more if they were well, I'm sure.

And the Field Museum. This girl is a museum kid. But don't let the smiles fool you. There were plenty of tears mixed in.

We did a lot of walking that day. It was fun wandering around and seeing the harbor,

the parks,

 the buildings.

 A quiet moment.

 Day 2--We got to ride on the El. We thought it would be something the kids would actually like to do, but Bean completely lost it and threw one of the biggest tantrums of her life. It wasn't pretty and I'm sure no one on that train was sorry when we finally got off at Wrigley Field.

So I got to see where my beloved Cubs played, but it was pretty anticlimactic considering. You can see the oh-so-cooperative Bean in the stroller, refusing to have her picture taken.

Bean fell asleep a little later and we thought it might be a good time to go up to the John Hancock Observatory.

We went up to the 94th floor observation tower and all was good, until Bean woke up. I don't know if it had anything to do with finding herself towering over the city, or more likely her general disposition on the trip, but she threw her second tantrum of the day. She really has a gift for picking the worst possible locations to lose it. The only way to get down was an elevator, which happened to have a pretty long wait to get on it. Daddy-o took her to the bathroom instead, trying to get her somewhere slightly private, but you could still hear her screaming all over the floor. That girl has some lungs! She did stop, eventually.

But it was a pretty awesome view.

Look, he's a window washer. :)

After that, we kind of gave up on sight seeing. We were tired and hungry. We walked to Lou Malnati's, which claims to be one of the best deep-dish pizzerias in Chicago.

I'd say getting to sit outside, where if one of our kids started screaming, we wouldn't be affecting everyone else inside, may have been the best part. The food was good, although we actually prefer Pizza Papalis in Michigan, but at that point, anything felt like a total relief.

The last morning, we decided to split up. The day before had been so exhausting and difficult for us to keep our patience and we thought it might be easier to tackle the kids one-on-one for a few hours. Daddy-o really wanted to visit the Art Museum, so he took Bug, who luckily took a good nap while they were there so he got to actually see some of it. And I took Bean with me. I thought staying outside might keep her happier, so we hopped on a water taxi and saw the city from the river.

Bean didn't lose it this time and even seemed kind of happy. It was a little slower paced day which was what she needed. What we all needed. It was nice.

Which is more than I can say for the ride to the airport. That poor taxi driver deserved a medal for getting us there without a wreck. I didn't even put them in car seats because they were both screaming and crying so much and I was trying to hold them and get them in the car and act like a good mother.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Or in our case, Trains, Planes and Automobiles. . .

Lots of stories, but for now, we'll leave it as a literal travel log--we took the train to Chicago where we did a ton of walking and rode the El and a water taxi.

Had a taxi ride that was pure torture (sorry--no pictures--and I feel the most for the taxi driver who had probably never encoutered the type of torture my kids can enact) to the airport where we flew to Denver.

Luckily we had almost a week to recover there, and then loaded up and drove the final leg of our trip.

After 10 days of travel and "vacation", we are now back in Provo and settling in for one more year of school.

More stories once the boxes are unpacked!