The Zoe and Silas Show

7/31/13: A few weeks ago I picked up spray bottles, sponges and buckets and we played car wash . Those spray bottles have gotten some serious mileage since then - tonight Silas was shining up his bottle before bed. ***** Cook's Notes : After making a meat-based dinner last night I was in the mood for something vegetarian. This is definitely an improv-type recipe, using whatever veggies and greens you have on hand. I picked up some Maharajah curry powder at Penzey's in Minneapolis, and this gave the dish a sweet, not hot, flavor profile. I love sungold tomatoes from Allandale Farm this time of year, so I opted to halve small tomatoes instead of chopping larger ones. Curried Couscous with Tomatoes and Zucchini ACTIVE TIME   10 minutes TOTAL TIME   20 minutes CATEGORIES   vegetarian INGREDIENTS 1  can chickpeas, rinsed and roasted 2  cups of couscous Vegetable broth 1.5  cups frozen peas 1/2  cup pine nuts, toasted 2  large o

7/30/13: Happy at the park with Ta-ta! ***** Cook's Notes : When I came across this recipe on the Eating Well Facebook page, I wasn't sure how it would turn out. The mixture of ground turkey and tofu sounded strange to me, but the ingredients in the sauce sounded interesting and flavorful. It turned out delicious, I served it on brown jasmine rice. I will definitely make this again! EATING WELL Turkey Ma Po Tofu ACTIVE TIME   30 minutes TOTAL TIME   30 minutes CATEGORIES   asian INGREDIENTS 2  tablespoons chile-garlic sauce (see Tips) 1 1/2  tablespoons black bean-garlic sauce (see Tips) 1  tablespoon Chinese rice wine or dry sherry 2  teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce 1 1/4  cups water plus 2 tablespoons, divided 2  tablespoons canola oil 1  pound 93%-lean ground turkey 8  ounces cremini mushrooms, sliced 4  scallions, thinly sliced 1  teaspoon minced fresh ginger 1  14- to 16-ounce package water-packed soft tofu, cut in

7/29/13: Learning the rules of the road. 

7/28/13: We planned on having a beach day today, but it was cloudy and damp this morning and the weather forecast didn't look promising for the afternoon. Zoe & Silas were super disappointed, and so we started the morning off with questions 1-5 of 974 for the day. Why can't we go to the beach? Why is it going to rain? Can we blow bubbles now? Why is it going to rain? Where does rain come from? After breakfast I found them sitting on their deck chairs inside the entryway, looking outside. Sometimes I have glimpses of them when they're 80 years old, and this was one of those times. If we weren't going to have a good beach day our runner-up activity would be going to Hale Reservation. Seriously, it's my favorite spot. I am in heaven when I'm there. I told Derek in the middle of our hike that if I die tomorrow he can sprinkle my ashes into the waterfall that we discovered today. We took a new trail and it was just awesome. 

7/27/13: It was beautiful outside today. I hit the gym first thing this morning, and then the kids and I met up with Tracy, Josef, and Nick at the Farmer's Market while Derek did food shopping for the week. The Rosi Farmer's Market has a nice kids corner set up with various activities - today there were hula hoops! The kids were chasing each other around, and the next thing I knew Zoe was actually hula'ing!!! She's definitely got the moves! ***** Cook's Notes : Between a trip to the farmstand at Allandale earlier this week and today's visit to the Farmer's Market, we have so much great stuff to inspire our summer palates! White peaches, plums, sungold tomatoes, napa cabbage, green and wax beans, white potatoes, scallions, radishes, beets, and cauliflower are included in this week's procurements. I made another frittata for dinner - this one included beet greens, potatoes, ham, and goat cheese. Both kids refused to eat the potatoes

7/26/13: "When I grow up I'm going to drink coffee." It was another rainy day so Derek and I hit the pool (him laps, me water aerobics) at the Y while the kids played in the Child Watch room. I made chicken soft tacos for dinner with an amazing seasoning we picked up in Minneapolis at Penzey's Spices . I sauteed red onion along with red and green peppers to go inside the tacos. I also got some Spanish Rice going in the rice cooker before the kids and I made a post-nap run to Target for more camping prep. ALLRECIPES.COM Spanish Rice YIELD   4 servings ACTIVE TIME   10 Min TOTAL TIME   40 Min CATEGORIES   rice, side dish, mexican INGREDIENTS 2  tablespoons vegetable oil 1  cup uncooked white rice 1  onion, chopped 1/2  green bell pepper, chopped (optional) 2  cups water or broth 1  (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles 2  teaspoons chili powder, or 1/2 chili powder + 1/2 cumin 1  teaspoon salt

7/25/13: S&Z had a lot of fun making art projects at the Y while Daddy worked out on a rainy Thursday morning. ****** Cook's Notes : Dreary, cold weather and grief over my grandfather's death called for some quick and easy comfort food. THE BEST SIMPLE RECIPES FROM AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN Tomato-Basil Baked Gnocchi CATEGORIES   pasta INGREDIENTS 3  T. olive oil 1  lb. gnocchi 1  onion, chopped fine 6  garlic cloves, minced 1/8  t. red pepper flakes 1  28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 1  c. water 1/2  c. chopped fresh basil (or try spinach?) 2  c. shredded mozzarella cheese INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Heat 2 T. oil in a large ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Cook gnocchi, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer to plate. Add 1 T. oil and onion to empty skillet and cook until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepp

7/24/13: My grandfather died in his sleep at age 90 sometime during the night. He lived a long life and passed without suffering, but I am still really, really sad. The last two times I saw him were at Christmas in MN in 2007, and 2008. He loved his family and wife of 60 years very much. We will miss you, Grandpa!

7/23/13: When I got home from the gym on Tuesday I found Zoe and Ta-ta doing their "exercises". Apparently Mommy & Daddy's new-found workout routine is rubbing off on Zoe :) ***** Cook's Notes : Derek was off so we grilled some chicken and veggies. Yogurt-based marinades are so easy and the protein doesn't require too much marinating time. For the veggies we did red onion and red and green pepper on skewers, and cut summer squash and zucchini into planks for easy grilling. I cooked up a box of Near East couscous, which takes about 7 total minutes, and mixed in the grilled veggies when everything was done cooking. Simple summer fare at its finest. DINNER: A LOVE STORY Lemon Pepper Grilled Chicken CATEGORIES   marinade, chicken INGREDIENTS Boneless chicken cutlets Marinade 1/2  cup plain yogurt 1  minced clove of garlic 2  tsp salt Juice from two lemons 1  good squeeze of honey 1  tbsp olive oil A very health

7/22/13: Silas rockin' a Billy Idol sneer (although Elvis came to mind for Auntie Aud!). Photo credit: Ta-ta ***** Cook's Notes : I needed a quick and easy dinner, so I threw together salmon patties and got some  coconut rice  going in the rice cooker. It was a perfect post-gym Monday night dinner!

Zoe and Silas have recently started talking about what they want to be when they grow up. A few days ago Zoe said that she wanted to be "a scientist, like Mommy". Yesterday Silas said he wanted to be a doctor. As of today they have both decided that working in emergency services "like Daddy" is the way to go. This will be a fun conversation to track now this milestone has been hit. Stay tuned!

7/21/13: In order for us to make time to go to the gym regularly we are having to re-arrange our schedule and priorities. Our weekly grocery shopping tends to be pretty elaborate, typically involving Stop & Stop, BJ's, and a stop at a farmstand/co-op/Farmer's Market. Throw bimonthly weekend research visits on top of everything else and it's really hard to get everything done. We made it to the gym both Friday and Saturday this weekend, but today we needed to split up in order to get stuff done for the week. The heat wave finally broke last night so I also really wanted to get the kids outside. We decided that Derek would do food shopping while I took S&Z to our favorite spot, Hale Reservation. We pulled into the parking lot for Noanet Pond and there were zero cars. My dad makes fun of me because I count how many people we see when we go to Hale. Today's count was 12. This meant we had the beach to ourselves. The kids had a blast wi