Thursday, June 18, 2009

Eating Eco

With the coming of Food, Inc. and a sick son on the mend, we've been inspired to eat more healthy food. We are striving to eat - food. Just food. Not processed food, not something that resembles food. Just food.

We started at the Mercato in Little Italy.

Enjoying a conversation with the farmers who grow this produce; the farmers who raise the chickens. How else would I know that of all the egg-layers at San Pasqual Academy, none have fallen ill with the tragic chicken sicknesses so common in commercial layers. Why important? Because if your chickens aren't crammed together and making each other sick, they don't need to be injected with antibiotics. Hmmm.

Some familiar faces are also at the Mercato. Here we have what might just be Bread and Cie - although I'm not sure and there are several artisan bread vendors.

And is that Venissimo behind there? Noah sampled his first pecorino cheese and enjoyed an imported goat gouda at that very booth. Delicious!

The Mercato is every Saturday morning from 9 to 1. Come enjoy some sustainably farmed produce, imported cheeses and fresh breads. Your tastebuds will thank you!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Noah's First Cake

Heavenly Apple Cake from epicurious.com.


The full photo album here.


Soooo yummy ... moist and appley with just a touch of cinnamon!

Great work, Noah!

Saturday, June 6, 2009

My Little Pretty ...

After not knitting (*gasp*!!) for a week I worked through the "empire" row and beyond today. This yarn is a cotton/acrylic blend that is butter soft and delightful.

I do hope that this doesn't "bloom" like a lace. What work a sweater is to be such a mystery at the end! To the Whims of Blocking Fate ... Be Kind.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Ahh... nothing more than an update to catch everyone up on the goings on around here. May '09 shall be summed up with "The Month Noah Was Sick." On to June ...

Noah has been out of school since ... well, way back in May. At least 5 weeks with a virus, Bells Palsy, and migraines. It's been spectacular. After 2 1/2 years of struggling to keep up between bouts of what we thought was IBS but now seems to be abdominal migraines, I have just given up. It's a wonderfully freeing feeling!

We are going to the pediatric neurologist next week to find out exactly what causes all of these (By "all" I mean daily. Every day. Without fail.) headaches. His doctor and his current school director have both recommended home schooling or a variation thereon for a while and I'm starting to think it might just be a good idea. A pain in the butt, but a good idea. More on homeschooling in the near future ...

And at work .. well. I have been working so hard and thinking so hard the past few weeks my trainer probably saw smoke coming from my ears. I was about ready to give up and head for phones when we started; I thought I was at the end of my learning curve. But Kristina busted me right through. And how you ask??

Like this:

By completely overwhelming me with 100's of pages of Mobile Field Force, SWAT, and Critical Response Team data. By scaring me to death with endless maps of our divisions, long lists of beat responsibilities ... an overload of information. So much information that suddenly *poof* telling two officers to point their cars toward a bad guy and do their thing seemed SIMPLE.

See why I am so difficult? Do you see?

That was all going so well that we signed up at the Y. We've been doing cardio on the bikes, lifting weights, and swimming. The swimming is fun time but today I think Noah swam 6 laps or so ... not bad for a sick kid. He might recover yet!

And in anticipation of Food, Inc, and all it brings ...


... we round out the week with Organic Chocolate Chip Cookies. Mmm... Those are fair trade, organic chocolate chips you see there - and tasty!!