It worked!

We welcomed our daughter, Rebecca, into the world on June 20th at 2:44 a.m. She is absolutely the most amazing thing that's ever happened to us.

Eggplant Parmigiana

Eggplant sauted in olive oil.

A marinara sauce with LOTS of herbs.
Layer upon layer: sauce/eggplant/cheese, repeat!

Baked Eggplant Parmigiana.

I had very little planned today, mostly because I thought today would be a perfectly lovely day to have a baby. But no baby yet. So instead I thought I'd make something lavish that is rumored to induce labor.

So after my morning 2 mile walk, I ran over to the grocery store and LOADED up a basket with tons of goodies: eggplant, bread crumbs, cheeses, spices, tomatoes, and pineapple and nectarines for dessert. As I lugged the basket to the counter, I sighed heavily. The teenager checking me out raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?" she asked, looking pretty worried. She grabbed a cart for me to roll out to the car in our 95 degree heat, and I'm glad she did.

I spent the last two hours in the kitchen, chopping, sauteing, and stirring -- which I haven't done in a while, and it's been lovely. Will the famous eggplant parmigiana send me into labor in my 40th week here? Hard to predict. But we will enjoy it nevertheless:) Happy Friday!

Rice and Vegetable Medley

I like to eat dinner early on Sundays, so we usually do. As my due date approaches, I haven't felt like cooking quite as often so we've been dining on Thai takeout again, our old staple. But tonight I whipped up an easy rice mix and added the following:

2 diced tomatoes
1 diced red pepper
2 chopped carrots
1/2 diced yellow onion
2 T garlic
2 leaves of basil (torn) (I heard this herb could help bring on labor - cheers to that tip...)
1/2 t oregano
1 potato (sliced and boiled)
a handful of dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan and Gruyere cheese (skip the cheese to make this a completely vegan dish)
pepper to taste

I sauted the garlic and onion in extra virgin olive oil, added the red pepper, carrot, cranberries, boiled potato and spices, and then added that entire mixture to the rice and tomatoes. I added the cheese and pepper at the end. Then we ate;) Early. Sunday-style.

Voila: The concoction was festive with its reds, oranges, and flecks of green.

Blueberry Muffins

While it rained and thundered outside today, I baked these muffins. The recipe made 16 muffins (not 12). I'm planning to freeze them so that we can slowly eat them for breakfast this summer. I love the lemony topping - yum;)

Strawberry Festival

We went to the Strawberry Festival in Kimmswick, MO today - a short little day trip. Part of me hoped that walking around outside would bring on labor (but no).

Jake and I kept laughing that the town had an inferiority complex about this festival being the second biggest festival in town, second to the apple butter festival in October. It's one of the first things mentioned on the festival website. And sure enough, we get there and the first person we talk to tells us, "This isn't Kimmswick's biggest festival, you know." Yeah, we know.

Here are a few more pics from the day:

garden kitsch

My strawberry salad at Mary's Sweet Shoppe.

barbershop quartet sings "Barbara Ann"

Of course, my favorite reporter dropped his ice cream;)

Amazing Peanut Butter Cookies

So yes, Smitten Kitchen's recipe for peanut butter cookies is possibly the best cookie recipe ever. The cookie is cake-like, the peanut and chocolate butter chips melty, and the fairy-like sugary dusting...perfecta.

Voila:

Angel Hair Pasta

Sautéd onion and garlic/pot of tomato sauce on the stove.

The raw materials: shredded Parmesan and garlic from a can (usually I buy the bulbs).

Pasta!

Happy June! Woo hoo, so glad it's finally June, and I hope you had a lovely and long Memorial Day weekend. I spent mine trying to stay cool indoors most of the time, watching movies, and reading about the sad life of Sylvia Plath. I really must find more upbeat reading material. We also went here and made a picnic out of falafel, pita and hummus.

So Jake and I made this easy pasta dish (yes, again) last night. I bought some angel hair pasta at Whole Foods yesterday and then added a fairly light sauce made from one can of Whole Foods organic tomato sauce, 1/4 sautéd yellow onion and 2 T minced garlic, and shredded Parmesan cheese. I liked that the sauce was low in sugar and sodium, which is rare for tomato sauce.

Today I'm meeting my dad at the boathouse for dinner, where I'll likely eat their veggie burger - it's delicious. I've also recently been scouring Smitten Kitchen's famous blog for dessert recipes, so perhaps I'll make something totally decadent soon.

In other news, I'm tightening up a couple articles and editing chapter 2 of my dissertation, cleaning, buying last-minute items for the baby, and waiting! (and waiting. and waiting. and waiting). It feels like it will happen in the next two weeks, though I'm no psychic. So ex*cit*ing!

Breakfast Smoothie

Blend the following:

1 peach
1/2 banana
1 low fat Stonyfield plain yogurt
1/2 c soymilk
2 T wheat germ
ice cubes

YUM!

Freezing a Large Batch of Chili

I know, I know, do I make anything other than chili? Not much. But I really think it's the perfect food with a good slice of bread. So today I decided to make a pretty big batch and freeze it so that Jake and I and perhaps my mom can eat it in the first week or so after the baby is here. Jake keeps asking, "Are we really people who cook and freeze things?" Yes, my dear, we really are. Whatever that means. To me, it means we are planners.

So after googling the heck out of this, the Internet's verdict is to cook the chili, put it in small containers and let them cool to room temperature, and then freeze for "ages," which seems prettty open to interpretation, no?

(Vegan) Chili:

2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T garlic (I heart garlic)
3/4 of a yellow onion, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 large carrots, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes with onions (chili style)
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
Half-pound of Morningstar tofu (acts like ground beef)
as much oregano and chili powder as you desire

Saute your garlic and onion in olive oil for about 5-7 minutes on medium heat, then add your peppers. Rock out to Rilo Kiley or whatever you like, then add the carrots, then tomatoes, then beans and tofu. Taste test your chili as you add your spices -- just like Anne Burrell says (orders).

Potato, Bean and Cheese Torta

uncooked:

cooked!

School is now out for summer, and Jake and I are finishing birth classes, adjusting our birth plan, baby proofing our home and finally...waiting. The due date is one month from today! My mother thinks I will deliver early; I get no sort of hunch about this... At this point, I certainly feel like I've seen many movies about birth, attended enough classes, and read quite a bit -- but who is ever really ready/prepared for such a major event? Well, we are certainly trying to be.

Otherwise I've been trying to transform a chapter into an article, see friends a bit more, and take regular walks even though my current pace is a 30 minute mile, my all time low. Jake has been sweet about walking at my snail-like pace, and I hope to go to the Botanical Garden next weekend with him. He has never been there except to attend a wedding (and he calls himself a St. Louisan!)

Tomorrow we see our brunch group, and I'm craving protein right now, so I made this yummy torta again. I made this dish a few months ago, but I tweaked it since then so it would be tastier (no more olives/a bit more cheese & tomatoes). Here is the recipe:

Torta:
1 cup diced cooked potatoes
1 red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T olive oil
3/4 cup diced tomato
1 can low sodium black beans

8 eggs

1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
2/3 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
1/3 cup shredded aged cheddar cheese

First boil your potatoes and then add then to a frying pan with a little olive oil, your red pepper, and garlic. Saute this mixture for about 5-8 minutes, then take off the burner. Add your tomato and beans and stir. In a bowl mix the eggs spices, and cheese. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish and put the potato-bean layer on first, then put the egg mixture on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 400. Delicious.

If I had an onion, I would have added it, too. To my lovely vegan friends, you might also substitute vegan cheese and use tofu instead of eggs to make this a vegan dish.