HodgePodge

Dentist yesterday and the day before. Filled two cavities. I have dental anxiety (and needle anxiety), but I was pretty proud with how well I handled it. My teeth chattered only a little (do yours when you’re anxious?) and my heart pounded for a bit, but overall, it was an improvement. (I’m having a baby soon after all! The comparison was useful.)

He did have to go deeper than he thought, and said if I get throbbing pain, then I’ll need to come in for a root canal. Now that makes me nervous!

I hate that it’s been so long since I’ve posted. There’s soooooooo much I meant to share. So many pictures waiting to be flourished by words. There was a wedding, two family visitors, a surprise birthday party for Tucker, food, garden, cute kids (Collin & Molly), a hike, a boat ride, a baby shower, and MORE!

My computer has been acting weird, which has been a big hindrance. It doesn’t like to wake up from sleep/hibernate mode. I have to turn it off and on many times, then wait forever for it to come back to life – but more often than not, it doesn’t and I give up. So now I have computer anxiety because I’m afraid it’s going to give up on me. It’s already on life support – a laptop tied down by its need for electricity since its battery quit working some time ago. The poor thing just isn’t like it used to be.

And unfortunately for me, I mistakenly looked at Mac’s on the Apple website. This was totally prompted by Tucker and just as I had built my more than amazing desktop iMac, he quickly reminded me that this was out of the question due to the large sum of money we’d have to fork over for such a beautiful happy-inducing piece of modern technology. Sigh. I was quickly plummeted into a minor state of depression (i.e. poutiness), but by the morning, practicality had set in, and I decided that a plan to one day get my dream computer could actually happen. Fingers crossed!

Pregnancy-wise I am 33 weeks and 5 days along. I am ready to be done. It’s true. I’m hoping this baby is a 37 weeker. That would mean he could safely arrive starting on August 11th. I have baby anxiety as well, you know, the whole having a baby part, yeah that.

I have not been enjoying this third trimester very much. My grand plans are now being pushed aside until next year. All sorts of baking, canning, pickling, gardening – all falling to the wayside. Sad. I’ve been getting some done here and there, but since I’m prone to pre-term labor symptoms, I have to take it easy, as too much activity provokes a slew of contractions. Plus, added to this pregnancy has been some varicose veins in my legs (blek and uncomfortable) as well as something called SPD – not cool. So essentially my legs, pelvis, and hips, hate me. I am certain that pregnancy gets worse the more kids you have. Has this been your experience?

Well, I had better get going with my plan of freezing a whole lotta meals for when the baby boy comes. I think I’ll start with cookies…and there’s some apricot jam to make. Me taking it easy.

Food Pictures: No one loved the upside-down apricot cake which was disappointing. The best part was the apricot infused buttery, sugary topping (or bottom?). The cake part was just not interesting enough. I’ll try another recipe next time.

The Dutch baby (from ATK’s Cook’s Country) was tasty and fun to watch puff up in the oven. It’s like a mix of a popover and French toast. We ate it with lemon juice and powdered sugar (there’s lemon zest in the batter). Next time I would add berries and whipped cream. This morning Tucker and I finished it off topped with maple syrup. Collin wasn’t a fan as it was too eggy for him, and well, he doesn’t like eggs, but he did help make it – and he’s a good and eager helper.

 

Strawberries (2), Baking Extravaganza, and an Operation (of Sorts)

Please tell me it is not just the nesting instinct that has me cooking and baking up a storm. I so want it to stick! Of course I have always loved to do both, but I’ve never been this overzealous – and the pictures only reveal a smidgen of the goods.

Our garden has seen the same treatment. Vegetables started from seed inside under lamps for the first time. Several new garden beds. Accomplishing so much and it’s still only May! Makes time slow down to the speed of plant growth. Really forces you to take the days one at a time. Even the chilly ones like today, with windy gusts up to 40 mph.

Summer has lots of garden goodness in store as well. I’m so ready to put  my tomatoes in the ground, but I hear it’s better to wait with the night temps still in the 40’s. I can wait…cuz I have to.

I realize that the bounty I have set ourselves up for will be all crazy productive (I hope!) and ready for preserving right at the time that we’ll be welcoming our sweet little boy to our home. I’m sure I’ll be relying on Tucker and my mom heavily at this time…and I’ll be ever so grateful!!! Can’t let it go to waste!!!

Monday night we had game night. Operation, homemade pizza, and strawberry cobbler. Mmmmm. We heard our fair share of buzzing coming from the game. It was a good night.

Strawberry Summer Cake – This was oh-so-tasty. The house smelled absolutely divine, like strawberries warming in the sun. It’s a simple – and delightful – way to use up your strawberry harvest. Serve with homemade whipped cream (it only takes like 5 minutes and is infinitely better!). Recipe from Smitten Kitchen. (She has a cookbook coming out!!)

Bread – I recently got a cookbook out from the library called River Cottage Everyday. I had never heard of River Cottage or Hugh Fearneley-Whittingstall, but the pages appealed to me, so I checked it out. I very much enjoyed, the food, his manner, and the philosophies behind his take on food and meals. It is definitely a cookbook I will be adding to my shelf.

My most recent trip to the library procured another book of his (along with a collaboration with Fizz Carr – what a spunky name, eh? Check out the fun names she gave her girls!). This one is The River Cottage Family Cookbook. I love how it is divided, the feel of it, the recipes, the family-oriented theme. It’s a fun cookbook and will also one day be mine.

This simple and easily varied white bread recipe was a pleasure to make. The kneading, the rising, the smell of warm yeast – all good for the soul, I swear. Oh, and the eating! Yum! The first warm slices slathered thick with butter. Later additions of jam. Cinnamon sugar toast. Lightly toasted cheese sandwiches (buttered slices with cold extra sharp white cheddar). Oh homemade bread…I love you, truly I do.

The loaf disappeared in just a couple of days. The second is going the same. I am sure this will now be a weekly ritual.

(I found out recently that the River Cottage television show is on You Tube. Can’t wait to give it a watch!)

Pizza – The pizza is a very easy crust and sauce that we have been using for sometime now. Both recipes come from America’s Test Kitchen. It’s their Basic Pizza Dough and Quick Pizza Sauce. The recipe makes enough for two 14-inch pizzas. We just eat one and freeze the second ball of dough. I’m going to get ahead of the game, and freeze several – pizza every week! The dough lasts for a month in the freezer.

With a little amount of preparation, you can forgo the store bought frozen pizza and make your very own far superior creation!

Strawberry Fruit Cobbler – This scrumptious desert also came from America’s Test Kitchen. Another simple, tasty strawberry baked good. I had never made a cobbler before (there’s always so many firsts!). The biscuit topping, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, was my favorite part, especially with the bottoms soaked in strawberry juices. Oh, and of course each bite was accompanied by an equal sized portion of vanilla ice cream.

The cobbler went fast, largely devoured by me. (Collin doesn’t like strawberries! And Tucker is so so with fruit, but making large strides in the right direction – the right direction being FRUIT IS AMAZING, of course.) Many a breakfast, snack and dessert ended up being cobbler.

Questions: Did you have a spike in baking/cooking while pregnant? Do you have family or friends who don’t particularly like fruit? (?!) What’s your favorite way to eat up strawberries?