Weekend get-set

Boston, MA
54°F
Current: Partly Cloudy Wind: W at 11 mph Humidity: 40%
Fri67° 50°
Sat77° 58°
Sun76° 61°
Mon76° 58°

That's the forecast for this weekend, boo-yah! I'm so pysched we're going to be home again this weekend! What's on tap? Tonight we'll be keeping things low key. I think Karen and I have come down with something sketchy ( I say sketchy because we feel like garbage), we're both not feeling 100%. Saturday our friends Scott and Jen are coming over for brunch, and that's it for our plans! I'm sure we'll have lots of blog-worthy items to talk about later!

Spring Cooking!

Hi everyone- This is technically my first post. Justin does such a great job summarizing Annie Bananas that I never feel the need to add to anything. But this past weekend, the first in five weekends that we've been home, I thought it would be a great forum for me to use as an outlet for food and cooking it. So many times I make something I really like and never think about it again. This way I can share my ideas, techniques and recipes I come across that I really like.

This past weekend was perfect Spring weather and all I could think about was cooking the perfect Spring dinner. Something simplistic and gorgeous so I dragged Justin and Annie to Whole Foods with nothing in particular in mind, which is my favorite thing to do. Whole Foods had one aisle that really interested me. It consisted of local organic vegetables that looked like they could be in a magazine. I decided on leeks, carrots, and fava beans. To compensate the cost of the produce I picked trout fillets that were on sale. I finished the purchase with lemons and basil. Now one of my favorite challenges about cooking is finding great looking ingredients and figuring out how best they all go together. Tonight's dinner was grilled trout with sauteed spring vegetables.
Grilled Trout:
2 Trout Fillets
1 Lemon and its zest
salt
pepper
chopped basil

About 15 minutes before I wanted to put the fish on the grill I rinsed the fillets and patted them dry on paper towels. Rub on the salt and pepper, lemon zest, basil and olive oil. Frankly, grilling fish scares me. I've found if you buy the Reynolds Release aluminum foil, you can lay it down on the grill and cook the fillets over top. They don't stick at all and it doesn't make your grill stink. Since the fillets were thin, I cooked them on each side for only 3-5 minutes a side. Trout is a thin fish but this recipe could be used with any fish. Salmon would take longer because it's obviously thicker. Once the fish comes off the grill, squeeze lemon juice over it. I swear you don't need any sauce.

Sping Vegetable sautee

Baby Spring Carrots
Leeks
Fava Beans
Basil
Lemon Zest

There are no measurements here because this method is for any vegetables you can find and that are fresh. I decided to pre-cook the carrots and beans beforehand so when the fish went on the grill I could throw the vegetables in the pan to warm them back through. Plus, I actually cooked them when Annie went down for a nap and set them aside until dinner. "Pre-cooking" means boiling them in water for a few minutes to soften. The carrots went in for about 3 minutes.
(Fava beans are a different story. They take a bit of time but are so worh it. They taste like butter when cooked correctly. Fresh fava beans come as bean pods and have to be shelled. Then put them in the boiling water, after the carrots come out, and cook for 2 minutes. Believe it or not, they have to be shelled once more. The boiling loosens the skin on the actual edible part. You need to peel the skin off the bean. I admit it was a lot of work for not much, but I am one of the few that enjoy the process, subsitute regular peas and it would be great.)

Once the fish was on the grill, I sauteed the leeks in a bit of olive oil and added salt and pepper, until soft. Then I added the cooked carrots and beans. I finished the dish with lemon zest, chopped basil and a small pat of butter (it was Saturday night!).

I'm telling you this simple dinner made my weekend. It looked beautiful and tasted really fresh. Oh and did I mention that I found homemade garlic bread at the store for 99 cents??

Anyway, it feels good to share a dinner I enjoyed so much. Most of the time, I just call my mom to share my excitement. It's nice to finally write it down. I actually wanted to write about two dinners I made this weekend. Since I didn't realize how much I had to say about the first, I'll save the second for later. Bye!

Sunny day in the city

This was our first weekend home in what feels like ages but was actually 5 weekends away/busy.  Saturday the weather was beautiful.  We started out by going to brunch at Soundbites.  So good.  Then we needed to pick up a baby gift and Annie needed new shoes,  so we headed across the street to Twinklestar.  Afterwards we went to Davis Square, in Somerville, and went for a long walk on the bike paths.  Then we grabbed a quick lunch on the fly at this organic eatery.  

For those of you who aren't familiar with Davis Square, it's Hipster central.   Very trendy, but not Newbury Street trendy.  Hipster-vintage-organic-granola-crunchy-black framed glasses trendy.  So we both ordered wraps, Karen got some tuna/curry wrap, and I got a chicken terriyaki wrap and a "Bee Strong."  What's a "Bee Strong" -- it's carrot, celery and beet juice.  The first half went down good... and I felt energized.  Later though, my body began to reject all the nutrients and it left me feeling a bit queezy...  So Karen finished it.  Then she felt queezy.

Then it was off to Whole Foods, which ranks right up there with Costco in my book.  I know Whole Foods' nickname is whole paycheck... But it's worth it.  This is a place where you know pretty much everything you buy is good for you.  Everything is organic, good for the Earth and good for you.  We got some fresh trout, fava beans, baby carrots (not the kind in plastic), and leeks for dinner.  So good... And Annie got some oatmeal that she had for breakfast Sunday.

Annie had so much fun... She played with mommy in her tutu.  And she got to feed herself...  So, we were feeding Annie her chicken with brown rice, and midway through she decides she's done.  So we give her the spoon and bowl (I don't know what we were thinking... just that a bath was in her future) and she went crazy.  Crazy.  And I think she probably got a few more spoonfuls in her mouth, so I'm chalking that up as a win.  Annie is also getting to love bathtime.  She loves to crawl back and forth in the bath, she loves it when the faucet is on and playing in the water pouring down on her!  And I have to say her least favorite part is getting the lotion... A constant battle.  And she's getting so much smarter about avoiding things she hates.  She hates to have her nose wiped.  If she sees a kleenex her head turns like in the Exorist.  And if she sees lotion... fuggadeboutit.  Here is some video from her feeding herself...  Clean freaks beware, this video is cringe-worthy...

Easter Weekend

Bea and Snuffaluffagus

Everyone in their Easter best (Thanks for the dress Auntie Alicia!!! -- it's from Bangkok!)

Easter morning

Larry (the Godfather) with Annie & Bea

Justin, Annie, Uncle Chuck, Stephanie, and Karen

We had so much fun at Easter! Luckily Annie was over her pink eye, and by the time we arrived in Detroit she was at least not contagious. Mom and Dad ran into one small snag though... When we arrived at Logan, we headed to Terminal E. We were both so surprised at how peaceful and calm everything was in the Northwest terminal. Well... turns out since NWA merged with Delta, NWA moved into Delta's terminal... and we were in the wrong place, D'uh! Luckily, Terminal E connects to Terminal A, although you have to take the longest pedestrian walkway ever. And since we were just going to Detroit for the long weekend, we were carry-on only. I swear we walked at least a mile, and then when we had to ditch the luggage cart through security, to get to our gate we had to walk through another long tunnel under the tarmac. Exhausting...

But it was well worth it. We arrived in Detroit and Grandpa and Grandma Drummy took us out to lunch! Annie had a blast. Then I got to go to the Tigers opening day. Well, we went to a party at the Detroit Athletic Club (DAC -- where our wedding reception was) that overlooked the game. That was a ton of fun. Meanwhile the girls (Annie and Mom) had a play-date and had a great time!

Saturday we got to meet Bea! Larry , Alex and Bea drove up from Dayton. Annie and Bea had so much fun together! Later that day we went to a brunch and got to see a lot of friends we haven't seen in quite some time. Saturday night I finished up a paper (boring) and we all had a delicious dinner. Sunday we went to Easter mass, and then all the Griffiths came over for dinner. Joan outdid herself and made one heck of a leg of lamb. Monday our flight wasn't until late afternoon, so we were able to catch our breath, pack at a leisurely pace and not rush at the airport. Annie was such a trooper the whole time. I can't believe what an easy little girl she is. She just rolls with the punches and has a smile on her face (most of the time).

They laugh - They cy - They love eachother!

Also from last weekend (4/3), some photos of Liv and Annie laughing, crying, and playing together. I don't know why I don't have any pics of Jackson and Sam, but at least they're represented in the video below. Albeit having their hopes and dreams crushed by Uncle Jordan!

The Scarlett Letter isn't an A...

It's P -- for Pink Eye!!!

I got the call yesterday at 3. "Mr. Ferguson, our little cherub has pink eye. She'll need to be picked up and won't be allowed back for 24hrs and she has a Dr.'s note."

side note -- "cherub" really? who talks like that. this isn't 1864 and i'm not 12 yrs old.

Ugh. So, last night we spent an hour at the doctor's office, followed by an hour at CVS. Why so long at CVS? Well, that's because the prescription was allegedly sent to a different CVS, and my insurance wouldn't authorize another refill until the other pharmacy was called, the order was cancelled and the system updated. What do people without insurance do?

The good news is that Annie was an absolute champ through the whole thing. She didn't fuss at the doctor, although she was less than cooperative during the exam. She was just there two weeks ago, but this time was reaching and clinging to dad the whole time! I have to admit, it felt really good to have Annie not want to be with anyone else but Dad! Of course Mom wasn't there, if she was I know she'd be #1. In the past few weeks Annie has really started loving her parents, reaching for us and wanting to be held, which feels really really good. And she sure loves her mom! Probably because her mom doesn't let her cry in her crib at night like her dad!

So as for today, I'm at home with Bananas and we'll be focusing on naps and applying ointment! And Annie is only contagious for today, and by the time we leave for Detroit-rock city she'll be good as new when she meets her cousin Bea!

If you want to know what it's like to defeat children...

This video is hilarious. While we were home last weekend, my nephew Jackson said that he is the fastest kid in his first grade class. Uncle Jordan (who you may remember called Annie a Keebler Elf), somehow heard a challenge, and raced Jackson and Sam. I think the video speaks for itself.

Chicago roundup -- part 2

Here is the video of Annie taking her first official crawl:

That was the big thing that happened this trip, Annie began crawling. Since we've been home, she's really been crawling her way into trouble! She has become very adventurous and hard to keep track of! Getting ready in the morning has become more complex with Annie crawling after everything.

Saturday the weather was beautiful, sunny and in the 50s. The big item on the agenda was getting the best deep dish pizza in the city. We heading to Pizano's (http://www.pizanoschicago.com/index.htm) and met up with some of the girls. Alicia, Carmie, and "The Godmother" Dayna met up with us for the Deep Dish. It was awesome. The place had lots of charm, and our waiter was an old pro who knew the menu and steered us in the right direction. That night while the girls were catching up, the rest of us crashed from our pizza coma (of course, since some of us, namely me, decided to eat more pizza when he got home... that didn't help).

Sunday the weather was again beautiful and we went out to brunch. Again, the *awesome* thing about Chicago is all the great restaurants within each neighborhood. We went to this place called Nookies, at 10:30am, 6 adults, 2 kids and NO wait. Unbelievable. Why, because Chicago is soo big there's so many places for everyone to go! Home, whenever we go out to brunch we're the early birds so we don't have to wait for 45 min to get a table. And the food... I think I'm going to have to start posting regular pics so you don't think I've become some kind of shut-in bingeing all the time who weighs 400 lbs. Sunday evening we flew home, Annie slept the whole flight back and it couldn't have been easier!

We had so much fun catching up with friends and hanging out in Chi-town. Thanks to the Sullivans for hosting us, we're coming back soon!

Lots happening...

Lots happening + travel = delinquent blog postings.

The past few weeks have been extremely busy for us, and on the 28th, my grandma Hodkinson passed away. So the for the past two weekends we have been in BF. My grandma had a long, great life, and I'm so glad we got to spend time with her before she passed away. Below is what I wrote for her funeral, which was this past weekend:

On Saturday we lost one of the original “Pioneer Women.” I say Pioneer not because she grew up on the range, even though she did grow up in Belfort ­ but because in many ways Grandma was ahead of her time.

Before it became cool to recycle and care about the Earth, Grandma was known for reusing any and everything. If you were to look in her cupboards right now, you’d probably find more than 5 Cool Whip containers being put to good use. She was even known to wash out the plastic bag from a loaf of bread, reusing it multiple times. She never wasted anything, and leftover food was collected and composted in her garden.

Before it became cool to seek out alternative and homeopathic remedies, Grandma was eating garlic cloves and prescribing vinegar or cod liver oil to fix your ailment. I’ll never forget the time we were talking, and she casually said, “You know Justin, if you put a little urine on your face that acne will clear right up.” She had a natural remedy for everything and was always giving advice.

Before everyone had cell phones, if you ever called Grandma looking for your mom or dad, and they weren’t there… She would immediately get in the car and drive around until she found them and gave them your message.

Before people worked out in gyms, she knew the importance of exercise. For cardio she could always be seen walking the sidewalks of Croghan, and in the winter wearing a full-on snowsuit. For strength training she would move around her living room furniture for family gatherings without anyone’s help. One minute there was a chair behind you, and the next minute it was gone. She had the strength of 10 people.

Before Martha Stewart published her baking cook books, Grandma had perfected her pie crust recipe and could churn out pies and cookies faster than you could eat them. I mentioned how she never wasted anything, well if you wasted your pie crust ­ watch out. It was hard to make Grandma mad, but not eating your pie crust was sure to get you in trouble.

Before we stayed in touch by email, she would communicate in person. Growing up, if you hadn’t seen her for a while Grandpa and Grandma would stop by. They never let much time pass before stopping in to see how you were doing and find out what was going on.

And before you could say I love you, she showed you. Grandma loved each of us, and was never too tired to show any of us. Grandma was the first to find out if something was wrong, and she was the first to tell our parents to lighten up on us. Grandma always knew what kind of pie you wanted for your birthday, and her face always lit up when you walked into a room. You could never make her disappointed and she only wanted one thing. She wanted each of us to be happy and she wanted to know what each of us was doing.

Today we say good bye to Mary Hodkinson. She was a wife, mother, grandmother, and friend to many. At times like this we may all be feeling some thing different, and I think that’s ok. It’s ok to feel sad because we’ll miss her. It’s ok to feel joyful because she’s in Heaven and her pain and suffering have ended. And it’s ok to not know how to feel. What’s important is that she knew we loved her, and she knew we knew she loved us.

I am thankful for the time we had with her. I am thankful for all the times she said something crazy to me, or told me to put urine on my face. I am thankful for all the birthday parties and holiday gatherings she always had.

I will miss her dearly, but I can’t mourn her loss, because she wouldn’t have it.

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I'll be getting back to regular blogging soon... But we're also gone this weekend, so no promises!