Moving In

Hey y'all! Sorry for the summertime sabbatical. It's been a busy time, even for my standards. First, after many years of renting, we purchased a home, which we moved into at the end of June. Then after a couple of days of frantic unpacking, we left to spend a week in Detroit with my brother, sister-in-law, and niece. I'll recap our trip in coming days...for now I just want to say hi!

Some of the last things I cooked at the old place...

Candied pecans, because I am still working on that giant bag of pecans we received.

Yummy on breakfast oats!

Soup with lentils, spinach, and tons of smoked paprika.

Packing...

Moving day...I took the kids to the park while Tony supervised the movers, so we wouldn't be underfoot. Blue Monkey coconut water and Vega coconut cashew bar made an excellent playground snack.

First morning in our new home! I love all the natural light. Our rental was cavelike in comparison. Monster enjoys having all the windows to look out of, since he fancies himself our fierce guard dog.

New kitch! I love the island and tiled backsplash. Pardon the clutter. Our rental had a ton of built-in shelving, so we still need to purchase some storage pieces to accommodate our mess.

First breakfast: classic pancakes from How It All Vegan, supplemented with blueberries.

Green olive hummus with carrot sticks for a quick lunch while I was still locating my pots and pans.

Jackson and Olivia were pleased that the new abode passed the crucial, "Is it big enough for sack races?" test.

Hope you are having a lovely summer!

Vegan MoFo Day 5: Quiet Day

It was a quiet day for Olivia and me while Jackson was at school. We took a walk, did some laundry, swept the floors, watched her favorite Bubble Guppies, and colored.

For lunch, we made a pot of Simply Lovely Carrot Soup from How It All Vegan, a warming, golden soup flecked with dill and black pepper. Olivia is getting good with the carrot peeler. 

For dinner I tossed rotini pasta with roasted broccoli, kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, fresh basil, olive oil and lemon juice. For the kids, I served all the components separately and let them pick what they wanted on their pasta. They love broccoli and olives, but can do without artichoke hearts and basil.

First Swim

Last summer, I was super nervous about taking the kids swimming by myself. Olivia was terrified of water and clung tightly to me, and Jackson was a daredevil who hadn't taken a swim lesson. Today, when my friend Amy invited us to hang out at her pool, I learned that much has changed in a year.  And I'm thrilled about that. I love to be in the pool, and it looks like my kids -- a little more confident, a little more skilled than last year -- are part fish, as well.

For dinner we had leftover pasta salad and Big Ben's Lentil Burgers from How It All Vegan. These burgers, they sounded so good! Alas, they didn't work out for me. Way too dry and crumbly. Still, when I smushed them onto a bun and doused them in mustard, Veganaise, and pickles, they didn't taste half bad.

Basil, cherry tomatoes, and okra are currently flourishing in the garden. Okra flowers are gorgeous! I had no idea.