The Boys' Green Thumb

This morning the boys and I did some yard work. I couldn't find my small shovel to dig holes with so I asked Zack to get me a spoon from the kitchen. Big mistake. While I was working on trimming another bush, Zack proceeded to bang my spoon on the sidewalk. Now, it's rough around the edges. Who would want that in their mouths?
So, after I quickly removed the spoons from my 4 year olds hands, I dug some holes and we planted the flowers we got from Pretend City's Spring Event. Aren't they cute?

On a completely different subject, my Mom sent me a photo of my Dad and his two sisters when they were very little. Doesn't that sweet little boy in the middle look like my sweet little Joshy?

Cupcakes for Timothy

My best friend's company "The Sassy Cupcake"is holding a fundraiser for this bundle of joy:

Baby Timothy was born in November 2009 with a rare birth defect called cystic hygroma. Cystic hygroma is a malformation of the lymphatic system which causes lymph fluid to collect in hundreds of tiny cysts. Together, the cysts form a large, collective mass. While the cysts themselves are not malignant, their location in Timothy's neck has obstructed both his airway and normal swallowing anatomy. Timothy has had several surgeries including the placement of a tracheostomy and belly tube to assist with his breathing and eating. Cystic hygroma is difficult to treat, with high recurrance rates for most interventions. Although Timothy had surgery at 6 days old to remove much of the mass, it grew back within weeks. He is having his sixth surgery on April 21 and will continue to need these surgeries since the growth continues to grow back obstructing his windpipe, ear, tongue and throat.
Please join "The Sassy Cupcake" in helping to raise money to help with Timothy's daily needs and ever increasing medical expenses. They are selling boxes of 1 dozen assorted mini cupcakes for $20 each. More details can be found on Facebook under: "Cupcakes for Timothy" or "The Sassy Cupcake".

You can't tell me that a box of these wouldn't make your day!

You can contact me as well for an order form. I'll even pick up your order for you and deliver it if you live in Orange County!

The Farm Box

For the last few months, I've been splitting a Community Supported Agriculture Box from Tanaka Farms with a friend. The box contains organic fruits and vegetables that are so fresh there is still dirt on the vegetables and a few stones in the box! Now, you never know what you're going to get so for some, that might be a bit scary but for me, it's fun! It forces me to try new recipes and find new ways of hiding "that green stuff" so the kids eat it.

Today's box contained 2 different kinds of lettuce, carrots, a bag of tangerines, some oranges, avocados, spinach, a container of the sweetest strawberries around, brociflower, snow peas, and swiss chard.

What is swiss chard you ask? Well, here's a picture:

It's a giant leafy green that really looks scary to cook. But it wasn't difficult at all. The kids kept saying, "Mommy, are we going to eat that?"

So, once all the vegetables from my box were washed, it was time to surf the net for a swiss chard recipe. I found this one and I figured if this chef on food network used swiss chard, this recipe must be good.

Once I had everything assembled and it was in the oven, I went outside and cut these roses. Aren't they beautiful?


The buzzer rang on the oven, I pulled out the dish and waited a few minutes for it to cool. Took one bite and truth be told, it was excellent!

The kids liked it, even with all the "green stuff" in it.

Go, find yourself some obscure vegetable and cook it! You'll probably be surprised at how good it is!