carrot white bean salad

This salad is sooooo good. Lately I've been looking for new ideas for both grain and bean salads. I just could not believe how delicious this one was. We were able to use the carrots and dill from the garden. It's a 101 cookbooks recipe. Gosh, what would I do without that website? Yes, there are wonderful things about the internet!





Carrot, Dill & White Bean Salad Recipe
(www.101cookbooks.com)

I like to buy young carrots at the farmers' market - slice them slightly thicker than a banana chip for this salad.

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon fine grain salt
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots

more olive oil (or ghee) for cooking
2 cups sliced carrots, cut 1/4-inch thick on deep bias
3 cups cooked white beans
scant 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey)
1/3 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and shallots in a small bowl. Stir and set aside.

In your largest skillet over medium high heat, toss the carrots with a splash of olive oil or a spoonful of ghee (I love ghee with carrots). Let them cook in a single layer - they'll give off a bit of water at first. Keep cooking, tossing gently every three or four minutes until the carrots are deeply browned. All told, about twelve minutes.

Add the beans and dill to the skillet and cook for another five minutes, or until the beans as well heated through. If you are using beans that weren't canned you can allow them to brown a bit as well (just cook a bit longer, and stir less frequently) - they can handle this in a way that most canned beans can't. If you need to add a bit more olive oil to the pan - do so.

Place the contents of the skillet in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour the 3/4 of the lemon-olive oil mixture over the top. Toss gently. Let sit for ten minutes. Toss gently once again, taste and adjust with more salt or sugar or lemon juice if needed to balance the flavors. Serve warm or at room temperature and finish by sprinkling with the almonds just before serving.

Serves 6 - 8 as a side.

raspberry country cake

we decided to make a cake today. no birthday. no holiday. we just really needed some cake. the girls picked some raspberries and we threw them on. sloppy and oh so delish!

this photo just makes me laugh. and i bet you know whose little hand this is. he just could not wait to taste that whipped cream. but mommy made him eat his whole salad first. bummer. however the wait was well worth it. i snuck him some extra whipped cream just to see him practically burst with delight :)

still lovin the chub!

Mom requested some new pictures of the chubby one so Sela snapped a few as we were headed out the door.

Evan is often shirtless because I just love to cuddle his soft little baby skin.

Sela showed me a trick to get him to smile and it worked! Tickle his chin.

Please just lay me down already, I'm pooped!

sunday nap

I don't know what it was about finding Rollin asleep in the garden with his bowl of freshly picked raspberries that gave me a lump in my throat, but before I went for my camera, I sat down on the garden box for a few moments and just watched him. I stared at his precious raspberry stained face and chubby little feet covered in dirt and I wanted time to stand still. I love this little guy with all my heart and soul. He does nothing half-hearted. He is a bundle of energy and often I can't keep a step ahead of him, but boy has he captured my heart.

Yep, I'm a pushover!

Meet Phoebe.
Queen Phoebe Glovin (a combination of the last names Glover and Serafin), that is.


The girls, along with Sophia and Emma, sold me hard on this little pet. They beat me down with their charm and it was hard to resist their the excitement and the longing in their bright little eyes. Not to mention, they were VERY persuasive and handled all my concerns quite well. They were good and it worked.

So we loaded everyone up and headed to Denny's Pet World...just to see, of course. I think each one of the girls had a little wad of cash in their pockets. So confident they were that they were bringing home a new pet.

They held several, closely examining the possibilities.

But in the end, it was unanimous, and we brought this little lady home. Sophia and Emma let us borrow their extra cage. They have two guinea pigs of their own. They've already had a playdate with little Phoebe, and all went well.

Rollin is rather fond of Phoebe, and so far very gentle with her.

Sophia showed us how guinea pigs like to swim in the tub...not mine, mind you!

The girls were totally stressing about Zig's reaction to this new addition. And with good reason. I had a pretty good idea of how he would respond. We've actually talked about a guinea pig before and it was vetoed. Something about the smell and his not being willing to take care (read: clean cage) of another animal right now. The girls wanted him to be happy about Phoebe more than anything though, and I knew they were very worried. I met him at the door when he got home and gave him a one minute briefing while the girls waited anxiously inside. I told him how excited the girls were and to please consider responding with an open mind, and if possible, don't say it looks like a rat when you first see it!

He was very sweet. They sat him right down when he came in, asked him what his least favorite animal is (he lied, a turtle), and then brought out thebig surprise. He smiled and said it was cute and then they asked if he would give it a chance and he said sure. So all is well. And Daddy is a hero and the girls are happy.


These kids don't ask for much and really the only things they ever want are ice cream cones and more pets. Maybe some new markers. And since they've promised me a hundred times that the cage will never stink, I've taken them at their word. You're only a kid once!


P.S. As we were checking out, the salesperson decided to throw this little tidbit my way..."You know, guinea pigs are very social. They do much better in pairs."

Good to know. So very good to know. Impeccable timing.

sleeping like a baby

Rollin's new hobby

While the girls were busy with raspberry stand and swimming, Rollin and Zig had a full day as well. Rollin just idolizes Zig and lives for special one-on-one time. Zig had plenty to due on Saturday, but he devoted the entire day to just hanging with Rollie. They went to the feed store, to the barber shop, on a bike ride, and to a parking lot to skateboard. Rollin was dirty and tired and very happy at the end of the day. Zig sent me this picture of Rollin from his phone.