Food Cube Love

Have I told you about food cubes? I know I told you that I am making most of Noah's baby food, but I'm not sure I mentioned the food cubes.

Basically, the way I am making his food is by pureeing fruit or cooked veggies until they're smooth, spooning them into ice cube trays, freezing them, then storing them in plastic bags. This is fantastic for Noah's food, because not only do I know exactly what's in his food, but I can also control the texture, and it's MUCH cheaper (depending on the food--carrots, definitely; mangoes, not so much).

Anyhow, probably because I'm making food cube batches every week or so, I've got them on the brain and am beginning to see other uses for them. And I thought I'd pass them along.

First of all, you can shred zucchini or steam it and toss it in the food processor/blender, then freeze it, and bingo, you've got something you can toss into a myriad of foods to boost the nutritional content. Just pull a couple of cubes out of the freezer and pop them into marinara sauce, chili, meatloaf, etc. If you have picky eaters in your house, this would be great. Is this in Mrs. Seinfeld's "Deceptively Delicious" book? Because it should be. If you happen to have a summer garden that has produced way more zucchini than you know what to do with, this is a great way to use it. And this method would also work with all kinds of other veggies--butternut squash, carrots, mushrooms, etc.

Also, as I was pureeing some peaches the other day, I realized that I could take a cube of peaches or strawberries, thaw it or melt it in the microwave, and stir it into my cottage cheese or yogurt. It'd not only avoid the extra sugar they use, but it'd also taste better.

I also buy frozen garlic cubes from Trader Joe's. They are incredibly handy for tossing into the pan when you are strapped for time or too lazy to peel and chop fresh garlic. Since they're pressed instead of chopped, they also don't affect the food's texture, and they sort of melt away and get evenly distributed throughout the dish. You could probably make your own by freezing a tray of little clove-sized mounds of chopped or pressed garlic, then, once frozen, dumping them all in a Ziploc. Fresh garlic will always taste better, in my opinion, but if you are frequently strapped for time (let's say you often have a baby insisting on your attention), this is a good alternative.

Trader Joe's also sells chopped herbs in the same type of packages, and I'm sure that if you puree them (maybe adding a little olive oil or water to help them along), you could do the same thing. I might do that with my basil this year, because I know from experience that it will not last through the winter.

My stash

Eight Months Old

Noah is eight months old today!

He is so funny. In the last week, he discovered how much he can move around--although he can't crawl yet, he is great at sitting, twisting, and scooting a little on the floor. And because of this, he is all of a sudden into everything. Everything within reach is fair game. We have to really watch him in the bathtub and on the changing table these days.

He loves to be surprised and scared. We play a game with him where we hide then pop out while making a loud sound, and he squeals with delight.

He has started saying "a-da-da" and "a-meh-meh." Even though he hasn't made the connection with Dada and Mama, those are the syllables he repeats the most. Also, he repeats "da da da" when he's happy or excited, and he says "ma ma ma" when he is hungry or tired or needs comfort. Kind of funny how it happened like that.

This is pretty much what our living room looks like every day now. Toyland.
I don't know what's up with Noah's face in this picture, but I thought it was funny.

Noah and Mommy

He loves to hang upside-down.

When he's excited, he waves both hands at the same time or claps. This picture cracks me up.

Speaking of waving and clapping when he's excited, check out this video, when Nathan was playing with him:

Catching Up

So I haven't posted anything during the last few days, mostly because all the things I have to chat about aren't really significant and would likely make short posts. But maybe if I post them all at once, they'll be interesting. Or maybe not. You be the judge.

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One of the reasons I haven't posted in a few days is because I got caught up reading The Pioneer Woman's love story. You can find it here. But give yourself a few hours. It's like a little novella.

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Last week, Nathan discovered The Pioneer Woman website, too. I had been talking about it, because she has the most awesome recipe webpage, complete with awesome food photography. I want to make just about everything she talks about, although I don't, because I am on a diet, after all, and she uses a lot of butter and other unhealthy (translation: "tasty") stuff. But it's delicious-looking all the same. Anyhow, Nathan caught on to the fact that they live on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma, and slowly, PW's funny stories started working their way into his conversation. Pretty soon I realized that Nathan had read pretty much the entire website. Scratch that--he had devoured pretty much the entire website.

It's all because his dream job would be to have her husband's life--he has started waxing poetic about getting up at 5am and doing physical work all day rather than sitting in an office. He would love, more than just about anything, to be a country boy and build things and work with animals. The reason he chose geology as a career is because he wanted to do something in the sciences, and geology was the thing that was the most outdoorsy. I am sure that we will not always live in a city.

So now you know. I've outed Nathan as a closet Pioneer Woman fan.

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Truth be told, he reads all of your blogs, too. I usually find out one of you has a new post because he tells me, not because I see it myself.

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Last night, I made una cena centroamericana (a Central American dinner). I miss eating at El Meson, a fantastic Central/South American restaurant near Rice. (Or is it Cuban?) Ah, the black beans. Ah, the fried plantains. Palomillo, you're calling my name. Mmmm, platanos maduros . . . I digress. Anyway, last night I made fried plantains, black bean cakes, and cornbread with cheese and green onions. Okay, so the cornbread is more southwestern than South American. But whatever. It was yummy.

Even though I hatched the idea without any help, I looked up recipes for black bean cakes, and I found that you pretty much make them the way I had been planning to, which is basically like meatballs, except substituting cilantro for parsley. Here is the recipe I used. Although I'm sure their sauce is good, I topped them with sour cream, a squeeze of lime, and some avocado. I didn't really measure, so I didn't follow the recipe exactly. But I will tell you that they were great. Crispy on the outside and warm and tasty on the inside. The squeeze of lime really made a difference. And don't you dare try to improvise and do without the cilantro. It is an essential ingredient. Mmm.

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Last weekend, we hosted a surprise birthday party for Damien. He and his wife, Sara, were in our Bible study for a couple of years before they moved to Virginia. They were up for a visit, and Sara asked me to host a surprise party for Damien's 30th birthday, which Nathan and I were more than happy to do! After BBQ and birthday cake, we settled down to play a game, which is kind of our thing. Our group always enjoys a good game. It was such a fun time--it was great to see them, what with their great sense of humor and Damien's fun French accent.

Some of our friends: Sara J., Bonnie, Dave, and Bryan:

And here's the birthday boy with the homemade strawberry cake I made him:

One of the reasons the party was fun was because of all the kiddos. Nathan remarked afterward how nice it was to know such nice kids. The little girl is Hannah, whose mom and dad (Caleb & Kendra) are sitting in the chairs in the background, and the little boy is Nathan, whose mom, Sara R., is sitting on the floor with him. As you can see, they were quite exuberant and were having a great time. It was a fun night!----------

On Labor Day, we went out to the park near our house. It was a fantastic day--sunny and warm, but not hot. We sunned ourselves, and I took a little catnap on our beach towel (thank goodness for daddies who keep babies occupied while mommies catnap). Later, we went back with Kendra and Caleb, who wanted to go to that park, too. It was just a great day to be outside. However, it was also the day that Noah decided that the camera looked like a pretty interesting plaything.

Oooh, the camera. Can I play with that?

Oh gosh, come on!

Help me out here, Dad!

I'm taking things into my own hands.

Nathan's Pondering of the Day

"If someone asks you what the Socratic Method is, is it ever appropriate to give them an answer?"

Six Degrees from Lauren

Simply because I don't have anything else to blog about at the moment, I'm going to tell you how I know all the people whose blogs I've linked to. Just for fun. And to spread their wonderfulness to the world.

Living Proof is Beth Moore's blog (her org is called Living Proof Ministries). It's a great hodge podge of girly reflections (like shoes), ministry (like a nationwide summer Bible study organized through the blog), life stuff (like getting a new dog), and exhortation (like remembering to have reverence for God). Beth and both her daughters, Amanda and Melissa, all contribute.

Meredith is my sister-in-law. Besides her cuteness, impeccable accessorizing taste, and wry wit, she is also very socially conscious. A little bit of all of that trickles into her blog, although she updates it WAY too infrequently (hint, hint, Aunt Merri!). The link for Linda Grayson Design is her little handbag business. Like I said, she has impeccable taste when it comes to accessorizing. I am always amazed at how the girl can dress up a stinkin' t-shirt with the perfect jewelry. I totally lack that skill.

Can you guess who Mom is? Dangit, I gave it away. ;) Yes, that is my mom. (Okay, that was a bad joke.) Mom mostly writes about things that are going on in the everyday life of my family. So if you want to know about my grandparents, the crazy recent family crises, or what she teaches at school, that's your go-to spot.

Nancy is a friend of a friend who I met through the blogosphere. We have never met in person. Isn't it funny how many people you get to know this way without ever meeting them? Nancy and I have too many mutual friends to never meet, though, so I am sure that one day we will. The best thing about her blog is her quirky sense of humor and appreciation of the humor in everyday life. Her blog will make you laugh.

Katie Curry is a friend of mine from Baylor. We were both involved in Sing Alliance, where we created a show and performed it at a big event at Baylor. She was a chair of our group, and I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the soloists. We became friends right away and still try to get together whenever we can, because we always laugh our heads off when we're together. When we were in college, we used to go to HFBC's Metro together (a singles Bible study, which at the time was mostly college students), where we'd play "Six Degrees from Katie and Lauren." Oddly enough, every single person we spoke to was really within six degrees of one of us. Fun times. The legacy continues, though, because Katie's younger sister, Lindsay, and my sister-in-law, Deborah, both ended up in Baylor's Theater department at the same time. So we were, like, double two degrees from each other . . . or something.

Next up: Kim and Mark. Mark and Nathan were roommates at Rice from their first day there until Nathan moved out to marry little ol' me. So that would be around three and a half years. Kim is his wife (also a Rice alum), and they are about the coolest couple you will ever meet. Mark and Kim both love good food and are great at making it. We wish we lived closer so we could sample more of their goodies . . . I digress. Anyway, Kim has a great blog that's mostly about food but also incorporates other lovely things. And she takes gorgeous pictures of her food, which makes you want to make it even more.

Becky Davis is a girl I know from high school. Becky is a really sweet girl who has two of the cutest little boys you'll ever see.

Next is April Drolet. Sigh. Where do I start with April? I guess the right place to start is in my front yard when we were 8 years old. Because that's when we met. We grew up across the street from one another and have been the greatest of friends ever since. She and her husband, Jonathan, are not only the most fun couple you will ever hang out with, but they are also incredibly godly people who love others.

Lori Granniss is another friend of mine from high school. Lori and I were born a day apart, and our names are "Lori" and "Lauren," so we dubbed ourselves twins when we met. We were good friends in high school and remain involved in one another's lives, at least through blogging! I think the most scandalous thing about Lori is that she met her husband in college--except he wasn't a student; he was the soccer coach. Ha! She married the college soccer coach! She and her family just moved up a couple of hours away in Connecticut, and we are hoping to get together sometime soon. She runs the Bargain Shopper Lady website I have linked to the right, and she is totally on top of all the ways you can save money.

Kendra and Caleb Hug are some friends we've known in Boston for nearly the whole time we've lived here. Caleb is a Ph.D. student at MIT, and we met them when we joined a Bible study comprised of MIT students and their spouses. Their blog is full of everyday happenings of life here in Boston. They're great people, and we have enjoyed their fellowship a lot.

Amanda Jones and I were in a small group Bible study together one summer in college, when we did one of her mom's (Beth Moore's) Bible studies. We met that way and would see each other periodically at our megachurch in Houston before we both moved out of the area, but we didn't really keep in touch until we reconnected via the blogosphere. Amanda is a great writer, so her blog is always a great read. She's also a sweet girl, and I guess one of the reasons I like her is because we think alike about a lot of things.

And here are some more people I know from high school: Peter and Melissa Murrell. We all went to the same school. Peter and Melissa have actually been together since 9th grade. Isn't that sweet? :) How many people have a story like that? They now have two awesome little boys. Gabe is just a couple of weeks younger than Noah.

The first memory I have of Tracy Preskenis is of her welcoming Nathan and me to her church one Sunday after the service. My second memory is of walking into her cute house (which was decorated so tastefully) for a girls' dinner night and being made to feel right at home. Those weekly dinner nights lasted for at least a year, and it cultivated a strong friendship between a core group of five or six of us. More than anyone else I know, Tracy has the gift of hospitality. She knows how to make you feel welcome.

Michelle Sanders and I sang in the praise band at HFBC back in the day. As in, before Nathan and I moved to Boston. Michelle is another one of those people who has a great sense of humor and can see how funny some of the everyday things in life are. She has two little boys, and her youngest, Jack, was born exactly a week before Noah. So I think we bonded over nausea and swollen ankles.

Courtney Schisler. Ah, Courtney Schisler. She is easily one of the funniest people I know. She's another one of those people with a wry sense of humor which makes you laugh at things you wouldn't normally think of as funny. She is also very compassionate, throws the greatest parties ever (the most important of which I couldn't attend), and has one of the cutest little girls around. Let's see . . . what else is interesting about Courtney? Well, she married a guy 20 years older than her, which is so not weird when it comes to Mike and Courtney. They're just, well, Mike and Courtney.

I met Christina Serina at the College of Biblical Studies, where I worked in college and for a year after I graduated. Christina is one of the sweetest, most selfless people I know (I think you have to be selfless when you are one of seven children). She just had a little boy!

Morgan Teague is one of the girls in that girls' dinner group I mentioned. She and her husband, Bruce, along with their little boy, Elijah, moved to northern Africa several months ago to "learn the language and love the people," if you can read my churchy code. They are expecting their second baby before too long! They are such fun people to be around, and they also have such a genuine love for God and other people.

Ben and Julie Waters are another couple we met in our MIT Bible study. They recently moved to Dallas (well, I guess it was a year ago--time flies!) after Ben graduated. He's an engineer/MBA, and Julie is a lawyer. They are such cool people. I think the coolest thing about Julie is that she has a strong enough personality to stand up for what is right no matter what. And the coolest things about Ben are his sword collection and unquestionable prowess at Lord of the Rings Trivial Pursuit.

So now that you "know" everyone, go check out their blogs! Be sure to leave a comments!

29

Yesterday I realized my birthday is in two weeks.
Yay!

Then I remembered I will be turning 29.
Dangit.

September Arbonne Specials

Happy Labor Day, everyone! I hope you have all had a good summer! I am already beginning to transition from thinking about the beach and picnics to thinking about fall and all that it brings: cooler weather, apple picking, and amazing New England foliage (which I never cease to appreciate). Enjoy the end of your summer!

Here are Arbonne's specials this month:

20% Off Big Not-So-Basics
Enjoy the Arbonne Intelligence Big Not-So-Basic Hand Cream, a $20 value, for $16, and the Arbonne Intelligence Big Not-So-Basic Foot Cream, a $24.50 value, for $19.60.

Holiday Line Candles for $12-16
With every $75 SRP order increment, enjoy the option to purchase the Ginger Citrus, Awaken, Reactivate or Unwind Candles, a $30 value, for $12. Or the Nature’s Scented Garden Black Orchid Cassis or Star Jasmine Tuberose Luxury Scented Candle, a $40 value, for $16. These candles are only available for a limited time, and they are only at this price this month.

The Holiday Line is officially available, everyone! You can check it out here. Arbonne is introducing several new items and two new scents this year, and as always, everything is packaged beautifully. They'll make lovely gifts.

Best,
Lauren

Independent Consultant, Arbonne International
laurenbenesh@gmail.com