athen at preschool

Creating window ornaments.
Eastgate Co-operative Preschool. Video taken by Helen Chang. 12.2008

brotherhood beginnings

Carrying Asher in the Bjorn while trying to get Athen dressed as he kept jumping away from me on the bed was proving too difficult a task. With Asher in front of me, my reflexes are not as quick and my arms can't reach well. A fact Athen immediately picked up on and made his keep away game more fun. Athen's giggles and flailing about were so exuberant that Asher couldn't help but yell out several high pitched squeals of delight...

pleased greatly Athen replied, "Asher's laughing at me!"

...and he was.

tortellini with fresh herbs

Have a herb garden? They're inexpensive and it's a great time to grow one. This recipe is quick, healthy and delicious.

Ingredients
1 package cheese tortellini
1/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbl. spoons chopped pine nuts
1 Tbl. spoon chopped fresh parsley
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon fresh basil leaves
1 pint (2 cups) cherry tomatoes cut into fourths
Grated Parmesan
Fresh pepper if desired

Directions
Cook tortellini as directed on package.
While tortellini is cooking, mix all ingredients except tomatoes and pepper in a small bowl.
Toss tortellini, herb mixture and tomatoes.
Sprinkle with pepper. Add Parmesan to taste.

Serves 4. Substitute vermicelli for tortellini as an alternative.
An affordable organic meal.

shoe box

Yesterday afternoon I lured Athen outside with sidewalk chalk.
He made me draw things like an owl, a spiderweb and the moon.
Whenever I would ask him to draw something he would say "I can't."
I insisted he could, so he "drew" a camera. "Is it good?" he asked.
"It's beautiful." I said looking down at his light blue scribble.

Then I went inside to do some emailing at the computer.
Athen came in and started pulling my fingers away from the keyboard.
"Mom, come on, I see a bug, I see a spider!" he said enthusiastically.
Holding onto my fingers he took me over to a small shoe box outside.

He lifted the lid and said "You see?"

There it was. The tiniest baby spider. Smaller than the head of a pin.
Beginning to make a tiny web in the corner of Athen's shoe box. I said
"Oh, wow!" thinking how great it was that he was so observant.
He said "It's beautiful?" Touched, I replied "yes, it is."
He said "Yeah, it's beautiful."



Originally written for: "Confessions of a Young Mother" 4.28.08

rosemary white bean soup

A simple vegetarian recipe that is a hit for dinner. Add a baguette, sliced for dipping and you've got yourself a "gourmet" meal.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
4 cans Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 5-inch spring of rosemary (or 1 tablespood dried)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (not packed in oil)
Fresh parmesan cheese

Directions
Heat oil in a 5-quart pot over medium heat.
Add onion and stir 3 min. or until soft.
Stir in garlic and continue cooking another minute.
Add beans, stock, rosemary and tomatoes.
Season with salt and simmer 20 min.

Discard rosemary stem.
Top each bowl with parmesan cheese and serve.

"Gourmet Made Simple." Serves 8. This recipe was sent to me by my mother.
An affordable organic meal.

new blog concept

I'm amazed at how much sense a three year old can make, how much better I feel when after I've eaten a good meal and how cool it is when my son says, "That sounds like superhero music!" about the beats his Dad creates.

I hope you enjoy....

love, hannah