Saturday, October 24, 2009

QOTD, Take Two

Another Quote of the Day:

Reuben: "Mom, do I have to wear shoes outside?"

Mama: "YES."

Reuben: "But I might kick someone."

Money Talks

Quote of the Day:



Cole: "Dad, can you hear me growing?"

Justin: "Yup. It sounds like a cash register."


Thursday, October 22, 2009

Fall Pinto Bean & Yam Soup

Hello! We are all still too busy to blog, apparently. I have big plans for the weekend that include posting some photographs of what we have been up to the last two months....

Ari is 8 weeks old today.

Sigh.

In the meantime, here's a recipe for a fabulous fall soup we tried recently--we loved it and I know you will too. This recipe comes from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook written by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre--our local co-op's resident nutritionists.

FALL PINTO BEAN & YAM SOUP
2 cups dry pinto beans, soaked overnight
6 cups water
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1-2 inch piece kombu seaweed
(my beans had bugs in them...ugh...I substituted with two cans of pinto beans from my pantry!)
2T extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
2 small yams, peeled and diced
3 carrots, cut into rounds
1T ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
8 cups water
28 oz diced fire-roasted tomatoes
2-3 ears of corn, corn cut off cob (I used a 16oz package of frozen corn)
1 small bunch black kale, finely chopped (I used collards--store was out of kale)
1 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 lime, juiced
sea salt or Herbamare, to taste
Rinse and drain soaked beans, place into a 6 quart pot with the water, garlic and kombu, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook for approximately 1 hour, or until beans are soft and mash easily. Remove pot from heat. Drain beans and reserve the cooking water.
To make the soup, heat olive oil in a large 8 quart pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and saute for about 5 mins. Then add the garlic, jalapeno peppers, yams, carrots, cumin, paprika, and chipotle chili powder. Saute and stir for another 5 minutes then add water. Mix well to remove any spices that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
Then add the cooked and drained beans, tomatoes, cut corn, and chopped kale, mix well. If the soup needs more liquid then add some of the reserved bean cooking liquid.
Cover pot and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 20-25 minutes. Add chopped cilantro, lime juice, and sea salt or Herbamare to taste.
Let me know if you try it!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Reubenisms

My favorite thing about three-year-olds is the way they say the most random things---with absolutely no context whatsoever. In honor of Reuben's upcoming birthday (and knowing it means he will outgrow this stage soon), here are a few I've heard lately--completely out of the blue:



"Do you want to look in my belly-button?"



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To Sean (shouting): "SING THE BARBIE SONG!"



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Running into our bedroom first thing in the morning: "I asked God to give me a dream about caterpillars, but He didn't. He gave me a dream about bees."



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Crawling into bed, whispering: "God, I don't want to have any dreams. Don't give me any, okay?"



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"Ella has nice teeth."



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"I'm a human."



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(holding a cup of water): "I am NACHO LIBRE. Remember? He has water?"



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"When I was a baby, what did you call me?" ("We called you Reuben.") "OH."

Next day, looking worried: "When Ari is all growed up, what will we call HIM?!" ("Ari.") "Oh."



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Wide-eyed, walking out of the bathroom wearing only a teeshirt: "I'm 'posed to have underwear on but I don't. IT'S MAGIC!"



Reese (bored): "You peed them dead."



Reuben: "No, I didn't."


Reese (moving on to something better): "You shot them right off."



Reuben: "No!" Runs back into bathroom and emerges holding the elusive spiderman pants.


"Here them is! THEY WERE IN THE BATHROOM!"

Monday, October 5, 2009

Seriously

It's seriously hard work being this wonderful.
But Ari would like you to know that he is up for the challenge....
right after his nap.