Happy, Happy

Happy (half) birthday my love!

I am so "lucky" to be your mama.

those eyes

those lips

that little nose

too cute!

and Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all as well.

Irish Soda Bread and Homemade Butter

We made Irish soda bread and homemade butter (and buttermilk!) to celebrate the holiday and our Irish roots. Even though it is a small percentage of our heritage, Ryan is so proud when he grows a beard that it is so red.
Basically, it is any soda bread recipe with a handfull of oats and raisins and a tablespoon of caraway seeds thrown in. To make the handmade butter, pour chilled cream (the good stuff, organic/heavy)
into a jar and shake it until it becomes whipped cream (at which point you can pour a little into a bowl for the kiddos to dip their fingers in) Keep shaking the rest until it seperates into butter and buttermilk.
Chill the butter to spread onto your soda bread and drink the buttermilk immediately as it is so delicious!!!

Lavender Fairy

Garden Girls

A New Pig

I love finding little things like this around the house. 

"Grace" holding a pig--a new pig named finger because he is as big as her little finger. Ryan brought a farmer holding a pig in Germany last week and Gracie immediately took the pig out from under his arm to have and to hold herself. The only problem is that he is so small, he keeps getting misplaced.

In The Garden :: Chard and Pea Shoots

My sweet pea loves to eat sweet peas!

We had some friends over for brunch last weekend and served this quick spring frittata with chard and pea shoots from the garden.

Red Quinoa Frittata with Ruby Chard and Pea Shoots:
heat a large fry pan over medium heat
warm olive oil and add a few cloves of garlic
add chard and pea shoots (or any greens you have on hand)
when they have wilted a bit  sprinkle cooked quinoa over the top
beat 6-8 eggs and pour over green
sprinkle a bit of cheese on top
cook until bottom is firm then place under broiler to finish top

Food 4 Friday :: Chicken Soup 5 Ways

At the beach, there was a copy of this month's Everyday Food magazine. I very rarely get to sit and browse a magazine so it was quite a treat, plus, there was an article about turning your basic chicken soup (which you know we eat A LOT of) into 5 different soups. BINGO!

Classic Chicken Vegetable Soup
with carrots, celery and potatoes

Rustic Chicken Minestrone
with onion, garlic, tomatoes, pasta, carrots, parmesan, kale, zucchini, chickpeas,

Down Home Chicken Soup with Dumplings
with spinach, lemon and dumplings (flour, cornmeal, baking soda, buttermilk)

Asian Style Chicken Soup
with vermicelli rice noodles, fish sauce, soy sauce, scallions, ginger, cilantro, basil, cherry tomatoes, lime wedges and sliced jalepeno

Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
with garlic, tomatoes, chili powder, tortillas, avacodo, cilantro, scallion, lime wedges and cotija cheese

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