Begonias

Babies!

I love this trailer for the movie, "Babies". Oh, I just want squeeze each one of them! The movie simultaneously follows four babies from around the world...from birth to their first steps. The babies are from Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco & Tokyo.
Appropriately, it's being released May 7th {Mother's Day weekend}. Can't wait to see it!

Sticky Balsamic Ribs

OK, Folks. No joke, these are the best ribs ever!! I always look at reader reviews when I choose a recipe. They help me decide whether a recipe is worth it, or not. Well, this one had rave reviews...many calling the ribs award-worthy, contest winning, etc. Those words were the truth. After asking my DH what he thought of them, he swallowed his bite & replied, "This may be the best thing I've had in my entire life". But, this is coming from a man who loves him some ribs...anyway, anyhow.
Like all good ribs, these require time, but very little effort. Once they are done marinating & slow cooking in the oven, the grilling part takes about 5 minutes. The perfect thing when you are having company & don't want to be in the kitchen when your guests are there.
This recipe will be a summer regular for us.

Bozo Picture of the Week...

This past Saturday was Opening Day for this years Little League baseball season. Every year there's a ceremony, where each team marches out onto a field, in order from the littlest T-ball players, to the big deal Majors. Then there are a bunch of long speeches & finally an opening pitch.
Along with the ceremony we had 2 games...and, an afternoon Hockey game. It was 7 straight hours of sports. When DH & I finally made it home, both of us were delirious & blurry eyed.
While it won't always be that grueling, it is an indication of how busy my spring will be. Good thing I freaking LOVE watching my kid's sports!!

Grilled Salmon with Blood Orange Salsa

I saw this recipe, which is supposed to be made with nectarines & thought it looked like a yummy backyard dinner. Nectarines are not quite in season yet. So, I decided to try making the salsa with blood oranges. The flavors are very unusual...not like anything I've had before. But, I thought it was delicious. It would be perfect for fish tacos, or even grilled chicken.
My Bozos are super into salmon right now. So, they loved this meal. I skipped the coriander for them...I don't think they would have went for that.

Happy 1st Birthday...

To my precious niece, Sadie Katherine! a.k.a, SK & Sadie Katie. I can't believe it was a year ago that I was out in Oregon with the Bozos, waiting & waiting...
Note: Photos originals courtesy of my sister, Emily.

Happy Earth Day!

If you'd like to help your wee one learn an important & powerful lesson about the planet & preservation, read them "The Lorax", by Dr. Seuss.
It's an all time favorite book in our household. So popular, in fact, that my DH can recite the entire book from memory.

Homemade Ricotta Cheese

The only disappointing thing about making this recipe, was not knowing all these years how simple it was to make my own cheese. And, ricotta cheese at that.
I would be hard pressed to choose a favorite variety of cheese, 'cuz I love 'em all. But, ricotta has always been near the top of that favorite list.
Recently, I have discovered a new way to enjoy it, which is for breakfast, spread on toast with salt & pepper. It has about a 1/4 the amount of calories, per ounce, of butter. Plus, it's loaded with protein. It's great in many classic Italian dishes, such as stuffed shells, baked ziti or lasagne. It's also amazing on pizza.
I have been buying the store bought variety. But, now that I know how simple & delicious it is to make my own, I know I'll be making it a lot.

Champagne Mangoes

Just picked up some of these at Whole Foods today & I am hooked. Why didn't I buy more?

Bozo Picture of the Week...

I know posting has been light lately around here. For those readers out there who were wondering where the heck the posts were...sorry about that!
My Bozos are on their last day of spring break today, so I have been occupied with things other than cooking this past week.
My guys are at the age now where I have to keep them busy 24/7, or else mad chaos ensues. They wake up at 6am & by 6:15 they are at each others throats. Of course, they love each other. But, you know how boys can be.
We kept busy with lots of play dates, a Yankee game for Bozo #1 & I {Bozo #2 will join me for one in June}, and a trip into NYC to visit DH at work & while there, a meetup @ Madison Square Park with friends for a playground session...with the added bonus of some Shake Shack burgers & shakes! YUM!
I didn't have my camera on me for most of our outings...but, here are some iPhone shots.

Grilled Indian Butter Chicken

I was searching around the internets this week, looking for some grilled chicken ideas. I get bored of doing the same old thing, but in the summer, I love grilled chicken. When I saw the title of this recipe, I knew I would love it! Indian spices? Butter?
I was worried my kids wouldn't eat it, so I cut back on the hot spices a bit. They loved it! Bozo #2 said it was his favorite chicken ever...but, he says that a lot, so who knows.
It was a bit time consuming, but it needs to marinate a long time. So, you can prepare it when you have time & have it ready to grill on a busy weeknight.

Egg Salad

I was inspired to make some egg salad last week with some of our leftover Easter eggs. My MIL makes the best egg salad sandwich I've ever had & my recipe is an attempt at making something close to hers {I don't have her recipe}.
I have made many sandwiches over the past few years...for catering jobs, showers, etc. This sandwich is always a big hit. My kids also love egg salad & I try to make it often, for their lunch boxes. I use sweet curry powder in this, because it has no heat & is suitable for kids palates. But, any curry powder can be substituted.

Kitchen Tool of the Week...

Bormioli Rocco “Fido” Canning Jars.

Yesterday, I posted a recipe on how to make your own dill pickles. These are the jars I used. I love them!! And, you don't have to make your own pickles in order to get a ton of use out of them.
Of course, you can use them for pickling, or marinating all sorts of things....artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, or giardiniera {Italian pickled vegetables}. You can use them store summer vegetable garden harvests...such as jams, jellies & tomato sauces.
But, most convenient of all, is simply using them as standard storage jars, for leftovers, salad dressings, lemonade, dry goods {like grains, beans, spices, etc.}...you name it. I especially love using them for leftovers, because glass doesn't stain, or retain any funky odor, like plastic containers do. Plus, they are so pretty!

Dill Pickles

Ever since I made this potato salad with homemade pickled cucumber slices, I've been thinking about making my own pickles. They were so easy & delicious.
The Bozos are obsessed with pickles. If we ever go out for lunch to a place that serves pickles with their sandwiches, we have to ask for extra pickles on the side. So, that's another reason I thought it would be a good idea to try this. They took over a week to be ready & it was a long wait. But, they both said they were the best pickles they ever had.
To make your own pickles, first you will need some glass storage jars with lids. I used 1 liter jars. But, you can use whatever size you have on hand. You will just need to adjust the recipe accordingly.

Happy Easter

My mother got 5 day old chicks this week, to raise in her backyard for eggs. They came just in time for Easter.
The Bozos & I have been having so much fun with them!




I especially love their cute, fluffy bottoms!

Spring Sugar Cookies

I was in charge of bringing in some spring themed cookies, to Bozo #2's classroom this week. We are also hosting Easter brunch at our house this Sunday. So, I decided to go all out & make some homemade sugar cookies. I picked up a cute set of Easter cookie cutters last year & never used them. Now, I got the chance. I loved the carrots, in particular.
Honestly, these do take some time. But, if you have kids, they are a great help. If you like painting, coloring, or glittering, then it will be a fun project for you. The dough couldn't be easier & yields perfect cookies every time. I've used it for my Christmas cookies for 2 years now & it never fails. The best thing about this dough, is that it can be made ahead of time & frozen. The cookies can also be baked off & frozen {before icing} & thawed at room temperature for an hour, or so.