Dress-Up Fun

Samantha is always asking Thatchie to play with her. She reads him books and shows him her toys. I always prop him up next to her and let her hold him. The only thing he does is pull her hair and drool on her. After that happens she is done playing.

Samantha spotted her old Halloween costumes and wanted to play dress-up with her brother. She thought this was the greatest thing ever and Thatchie was a pretty good sport about it.

Sammie was so upset that she couldn't get the lamb costume to fit her.

I had to show her this picture to get her to understand that it fit her when she was a little baby.

Growing Up Fast

Yes, I propped him up there :)

He has been described by friends as "Stout", "Sturdy" and "Someone you want to wrestle with." He seems to have skipped that newborn stage where they are small, delicate and wobbly. I am afraid he is going to grab the keys to my car and go for a drive or something. Slow down Thatchie!!

Jerk Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple Salsa

This marinade is excellent for pork tenderloin. I skipped the habanero chiles and used some mild jalapenos instead because I was afraid of making it too spicy for the whole family. The pineapple salsa is a great accompaniment (I omitted the jicama the recipe calls for only because they didn't have any at the store I went to). I recommend barbecuing the pork because it will give it a nice smokey flavor and crispy outer skin. Great summer recipe!

Adapted from Food and Wine Magazine

Serves 4

Ingredients
1/4 cup canola oil
2 scallions, thickly sliced
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 Scotch bonnet or habanero chiles, stemmed and seeded
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
One 1-inch piece of fresh ginger
2 pork tenderloins (14 ounces each)
Salt

Directions

1.In a blender, combine 3 tablespoons of the oil with the scallions, garlic, chiles, soy sauce, lime juice, brown sugar, allspice, black pepper, thyme, nutmeg and ginger. Puree until smooth. Transfer the marinade to a resealable plastic bag. Add the pork tenderloins, turning to coat. Seal the bag, pressing out the air, and refrigerate for 4 to 8 hours.

2.Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Remove the pork from the marinade. Brush with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and season generously with salt. Grill the pork over moderately low heat, turning occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer reaches 135 when inserted in the center of the meat, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. Slice the pork and serve with the salsa.

Pineapple Salsa

Ingredients
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
1 1/4 pounds peeled pineapple, cut into 1/2-inch dice (3 cups)
2 tablespoons fresh pineapple juice, squeezed from the rind
5 ounces jicama, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 jalapeño—stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
1 scallion, thinly sliced

Directions
1.In a bowl, combine the red onion with the lime juice and let stand for 10 minutes. Add the pineapple, pineapple juice, jicama, cilantro, brown sugar, jalapeño and scallion to the bowl and toss. Serve with the jerk pork tenderloin.

Pistachio-Crusted Tuna Steaks

I have to preface this by saying I burned the outer part of the tuna steaks (as evidenced in the picture below). With that being said, you can screw this one up and it will still taste good!! So, if you don't have a newborn in your arms and a toddler wrapped around your ankles, you will be able to pay more attention to making sure you are not burning the pistachio crust :)

From Eating Well Magazine

Serves 4

Ingredients
•1 tablespoon thinly sliced shallot
•1 bay leaf
•1/2 cup white wine
•3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
•2 teaspoons lemon juice
•2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, divided
•1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
•1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
•1/4 cup coarse dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat (see Note)
•1/4 cup shelled pistachios
•4 4-ounce tuna steaks, 1-1 1/4 inches thick
•1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Preparation

1.Place shallot, bay leaf and wine in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce until the wine is almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, discard bay leaf and transfer to a small bowl. Add sour cream, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon dill, mustard and 1/4 teaspoon salt; stir to combine.

2.Put breadcrumbs, pistachios, the remaining 1 teaspoon dill and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender or food processor. Process until finely ground. Transfer to a shallow bowl. Dredge both sides of the tuna in the pistachio mixture.

3.Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the tuna and cook until browned, adjusting the heat as necessary to prevent burning, 4 to 5 minutes per side for medium-rare. Serve with the lemon-dill sauce.

Just Like Their Dad

Everyone says Samantha looks like me. And the jury is still out on who Thatcher looks like but a lot of people say he looks like Samantha, which I guess would mean he looks like me, and others say he looks more like Todd. I see a lot of Todd in both kids, especially in their expressions, eyes, chin and lips.

Look at these baby pictures of Todd compared with the kids. What do you think?

I don't know who he looks like in this picture but I had to include it :)

Thatch

1st Day of Preschool

Yesterday was Samantha's first day of preschool. Surprisingly, she was very upset when we got there. I say surprisingly because she has been asking to go to preschool for several months now. When we toured several schools prior to choosing St. Mark, Samantha would become hysterical when it was time to leave. In fact, I began to panic (and sweat) when a tour was coming to an end realizing I would have to get her in the car with me somehow. On top of that, Samantha actually joined her new class a couple weeks ago for about an hour while we filled out paperwork and was not the least bit upset for us to leave her and gave us the most concerned look when we came back to pick her up. The only way we got her out of there was to assure her that she was going to be coming back very soon.

Fast forward to her real first day and I could barely pry her off my leg. It actually started when we pulled into the parking lot and she said, "I don't want to go to preschool. I want to go home." And when we entered the preschool playyard it became cries of, "No Mommy, don't leave me. Please, Mommy, don't go." Complete opposite of how Sam usually is.

Thankfully Sam had her friend (and classmate!) Isabella there to greet her and show her the ropes. Isabella was so sweet to Samantha and tried her hardest to get her to calm down with hugs and special requests, "Sampta, do you want to pet the bunny with me?", "Sampta, do you want to play in the sand with me", "We can bake a cake together", "Sampta, how about making a castle with me?"

Unfortunately, Sam was still attached to my leg so Teacher Patty (Sam's new teacher) suggested we all go into the classroom and that I should say a quick goodbye and exit. As soon as we got into the classroom Samantha began to remember how much fun she had before. And sweet Isabella tried one more time, "Sampta, will you play ponies with me?" That did the trick!! I bent down, gave her a kiss and hug, told her I would be back soon and out the door I went. I was so glad that I didn't have to leave with her being upset.

Go figure that when I returned to pick her up and went to hold and hug her, she said, "No Mommy, put me down!" She was back to her old self :)

Outstanding in the Field

My dear friend Holley surprised me with the most amazing birthday gift this year. She took me to the Outstanding in the Field event at Coleman Farms in the beautiful Carpinteria Foothills.

The event starts out with a tour of the farm which was fascinating to see and learn about. After the tour you walk over to one gigantic long table to attend a dinner party set right in the middle of the field. All the food is made with farm fresh ingredients (literally picked from the fields that day) and prepared by guest chefs who intermingle with the attendees educating them on the dishes ingredients, how it is prepared and most importantly, where it all came from.

We were lucky enough to sit amongst several farmers who gave us the inside scoop on all aspects of the farming culture, one of which was an onion farmer who had to endure my countless questions on the life cycle of an onion....lucky guy! side note: get what you can at your local farmers market in case you didn't know that already :)

The five course meal paired with wines was amazing!! The atmosphere, the food, wine and the great company made for such a wonderful evening.

The experience has encouraged me to be even more conscious about the food I buy and make for our family. I can't wait to attend another one of these events. They just announced a European tour - how cool would that be??!?!?

Click HERE to learn the full story about Outstanding in the Field.

2 and a Half

Our precious first born Sammie turned 2 ½ a couple weeks ago. She is our spunky, smart, sassy, ballerina, dirt eating, late night, blondie, somersaulting, fiery, Daddy's girl, messy faced, sugar monster, knee sock wearing, time out testing toddler who is going to be starting preschool next week! Love you little Sammie Sam!