The Butterfly and the Bear

The Way To A Bear's Heart Is Through His Stomach

 One of the things I've discovered about myself since I began taking care of my little bear is that I love to feed him.  When he shouts, "YUM!" upon tasting the first spoonful of whatever concoction I have placed before him, (usually something deceivingly yummy with veggies surreptitiously ground into it) I can't begin to tell you the glee I feel.  I have come to call it "Italian Mother" syndrome.  Growing up did you ever have a friend whose Mother, or perhaps your Mother was like this, they would always be able to find a food for whatever ailed you?  They would stand over you while you ate their creations and urge you, "Eat!  Eat! There's plenty more!", clearly gaining satisfaction from your enjoyment of the fruits of their labor.  I never understood that, for me when I cooked it was always for me to enjoy, not for the sake of others, what fun was that?!  My own Mother is like MacGyver in the kitchen.  Despite not being Italian she can rustle up a feast from seemingly empty cupboards and a barren fridge.  She is happiest when she is feeding and sustaining her people.  I never thought I took after her in this way, however, Terrbear has brought out a side of me that I was unaware I even possessed, the ability to not only cook well, but to actually enjoy cooking for others.  What makes this all the more surprising to me is the fact that more often than not, I can't eat the food I make him.  Before, cooking was all about the payback in taste and flavor, the anticipation of eventually eating and enjoying what I had made, now it has become a game of how can I healthfully recreate a recipe and sneak veggies into my little bear being without him being any the wiser.

 So when Terrbear came down with a nasty cold this week and along with a runny nose, puppy dog eyes and a chesty cough, he lost his appetite, I had to really get creative.  I made him his favorite lunch, baked cauliflower and Kale mac and cheese, usually a surefire hit.  When I told him what was for lunch he excitedly ran to his highchair shouting, "YUM! YUM!" But once it was placed before him he took a few bites and then lost interest.  Hmmm, this wouldn't do.  We had zucchini in the fridge that was about a day or two away from going bad, I looked online at several recipes for zucchini muffins but we either didn't have all the ingredients in the house already or they just looked blah to me, so I meshed a few different recipes together and added some of my own additions and made what truly may be THE WORLDS BEST CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS!  I mean, not to be conceited, but they are truly amazing and relatively easy to make.  And the best part, when I placed one in front of my little bear he proclaimed, "YUM!"  and then acted like Bill Murray in "What About Bob" and moaned while he devoured it like a ferrel orphan child.  I looked on and murmured, "Eat!  Eat!  There's plenty more!"

 

You need to watch this clip. Seriously. 

So, if you'd like to amaze your family and friends with your culinary prowess, I now present to you the recipe for the MOST AMAZING CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS EVER!!!  How magnanimous of me, right?  You're welcome!

Do you see that chocolate chunk?  So perfectly imperfect!

MOST AMAZING CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI MUFFINS EVER!!!

• 2 Cups flour
• 3/4 cup raw organic sugar (I like Trader Joes)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup of cocoa powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 3/4 cup of milk
• 1 cup of canola oil
• 4 egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups of zucchini, shredded
• 2 Bars (4oz) of semisweet bakers chocolate (I used Nestle) chopped with a knife into varying size chips and chunks.  You could use chips but we didn't have them in and the different sized chocolate morsels really make for a surprise in each bite!

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a muffin tray with cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine tall the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, egg whites and vanilla. Then add the shredded zucchini and stir. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients until just combined then add your chocolate chunks. Spoon batter into the prepared muffin tray, filling each cup to the top.  Bake in the oven for 20-22 minutes.  

Because of the zucchini these bad boys come out nice and moist. (I hate that word, but, what else can I say?  I also thought of the word succulent but realized I hate that word as well, so, moist it is.)  If you make these please let me know what you think!  As of right now the feedback I've received so far from one little guy can be summed up best with this picture:

"YUM!"

 

 

You know it was good eatin' when half of it ends up on your face!

Striving For Pleasant

 

You ever hear a word and suddenly out of the blue it strikes a chord in you?  It is almost as if it is the first time you are really hearing it or perhaps truly comprehending what it actually means?  A few weeks ago we had Memorial weekend at my parents, everyone came and for two lovely days we lounged by the pool, laughed, ate great food, everyone pitched in and cooked, cleaned, we played a raucous game of Taboo, no one bickered or got on each others nerves, everyone was happy to be there and it was just a really relaxed and wonderful weekend.  At the end of the weekend as she was leaving my sister Claire said to me, “Thank you for being so great this weekend, you were so pleasant.”  The word "pleasant" stood out to me, as if it was the first time I was really understanding exactly what it meant.  I realized that the entire weekend had indeed been pleasant, and everyone involved had behaved in a pleasant manner.  When I was younger if you had described someone as being “pleasant” to me I’d have thought, “Wow, they sound about as fun as a bag of bricks”, I associated pleasant with being staid, boring, and unadventurous.  Now I think to myself, “Say!  That’s someone I’d like to get to know better!”   When Claire said I was pleasant  I realized how much I truly took for granted being pleasant and how much I really enjoyed life when it was simply "pleasant".

I say all this knowing that I can be particularly UNpleasant.  In fact as recently as a few weeks ago I was guilty of being unpleasant, bawdy, boisterous, disagreeable and downright insufferable.  Things that I am repelled by in others I have displayed in myself.  Just recently after a night out where I had a few too many drinks I turned into Dr. Jekyll's loud mouthed and rather unpleasant sister.  My friend informed me that whenever she said something that I apparently disagreed with I would slap her on the mouth.  I would categorize that as highly UNpleasant behavior.  I was mortified and apologised profusely to her of course, (lucky for me she had a good sense of humor about it and accepted my shamefaced mea culpa).  I realised not only am I horrified when others behave that way, but when I am the one being unpleasant and disagreeable I feel downright hypocritical and embarrassed.  If I desire to live a more productive and happier life, if I want to be a certain type of person, then I must learn to be more pleasant.  

So, spurned on by my embarrassment over my own bad behaviour and my newfound comprehension of the word "pleasant", I made a resolution to be decidedly more pleasant.  See, what I didn’t realize when I was younger is pleasant isn’t synonymous with boring, why, a picnic in the park is pleasant!  Strolling on the beach on a summers day: pleasant!  Flowers being delivered from a secret admirer: a pleasant surprise!  Pleasant isn’t dull and uneventful, it's actually rather delightful!  It's living by the golden rule, expecting more from yourself than you do of others, creating the life you wish to live, and above all treating others with love and kindness.  So my new goal is to be pleasant, make good conversation, make sure the people I care for are aware that I indeed cherish and care for them (that means no more slaps on the mouth), enjoy myself and not sweat the small things, create a life that I am proud of and that makes me happy, and lastly, keep the vodka consumption to a pleasant 2 or 3 drink maximum.  

I went searching on the interwebs for quotes referring to the art of being pleasant and lo and behold there was a perfect quote from one of those old Greek guys again!  

“It is impossible to live a pleasant life without living wisely and well and justly. And it is impossible to live wisely and well and justly without living a pleasant life.” -Epicurious

Did these guys have it all figured out or what?  I feel like I will have what I think are these massive epiphany's, and just when I am ready to call the media and hire a sky writer I stumble upon a quote from one of them circa 500 BC that boldly illustrates to me how much I still have to learn about living and being a good person.  Smart guys.  Indeed, they seem like pleasant chaps I would say!  

Here’s to us all having a pleasant summer! 

This little guy has pleasant all figured out!

 

How Can I Sleep With Your Voice In My Head

I am going to start this post with a few disclaimers:

This post may not make total sense, because, I am not even sure what I am trying to say. And secondly, no I am not insane. And lastly, I am not being haunted by a ghost.

So, now that all of that is out of the way...

Lately I feel like I've been a little lost in my head.  I spent a large part of the weekend lost in my own thoughts, reevaluating what I am doing, where I am going, the choices I've made and the people I have surrounded myself with.  I have been composing a post in my head for the last several days and can't seem to settle my racing mind enough to even articulate how I am feeling or determine what is vexing me at the moment.  Not being able to really pinpoint this feeling of malcontent and hence not being able to put into words how I am feeling is only serving to frustrate me further.  How can I blog when I feel like there is this constant white noise in my head, when I am unable to find the words to even express what I am feeling?  So, last night after not sleeping well Sunday night because I was rolling around in my mind lost in a sea of agitation and restlessness I figured I would sleep like the dead the following night.  No such luck, my head hit the pillow, my eyes closed and then there was that general feeling of disquiet again.   So, until this unease decides to reveal itself to me, like a person inhabiting a haunted house, I have decided to simply tell the ghost of my agitation, "We can both exist together, ok?  You stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours."  

Oddly, having bartered with my mind seemed to have worked on some level,  I woke up today feeling better and more focused than I had in several weeks.  "Screw it", I thought to myself, I am just going to blog about how I feel, even if I am not completely certain of how I actually feel and try to just push through this haze that seems to have settled in my mind.  Hence, this slightly bizarre post.  And yet, I feel better! And really, it's still there, the ghost lurking in the corner of my mind, however, until it chooses to reveal itself to me as opposed to being just generally annoying and distracting, I will keep focused on the things that matter, my family, my Terrbear, the many blessings I have and the simple joys I am fortunate enough to encounter in my every day life.  

 

I mean, how can one be distracted with this face smiling at you?

PS.  The title of this post is a line from one of my favorite songs, "Swing of Things" by a-ha.  Fabulous song and even better eye candy.  You're welcome.

"I wonder what it would be like to live in a world where it was always June". -- L. M. Montgomery

 

It's here!  Summer is finally and officially here!  I feel like I am just waking up from a long slumber. After a looong and very snowy winter followed by a short and rainy Spring, as if overnight summer has arrived!  And for the record it literally was overnight, last week after 10 days of rain and 50 degree weather, Memorial day weekend came and thankfully brought with it 80 degree days and lots of sun.  We had a lovely weekend swimming, lounging, laughing, eating and drinking.  It was one of those weekends where you really enjoy your family, everyone is in a good mood and everyone pitches in to make the celebration a good one.  I felt as if I had been dropped into a resort in a tropical locale!  Since there was really no spring this year, no buildup to summer, laying by the pool soaking in the sun felt totally bizarre, yet blissfully wonderful to me.  So yesterday as I strolled around Manor park and pointed out the sail boats in the water to Terrbear I started thinking once again about my love affair with summer, how despite what it does to my hair, the creepy crawlers and the bug bites, the heat and the sweating, it truly is my favorite time of the year.  As we walked I made  mental notes of what I’m looking forward to doing this summer:

 

Roasting marshmallows over the fire pit with my niece!

Gossip, laugh, and lazily swill gimlets on the porch with my bestie Marge and her hub Stofferman, cuddle and play with my Goddaughter Linnea and her sister Vivi and chillax with some of my favorite peeps when we go to Rehoboth in July! 

Me, Marge and little Linnea

Play in the sand with Terrbear!

 

Dine Al Fresco!

More celebrations and Pimm's Cup by the Pool!  

 

Spend the weekend in New Hope with my Rosie girls!

 

Swim in the Sea, Jellyfish be damned! 

Once again see the love of my life and his band perform live with Blommer!

Swim with Terrbear and soak in that face he makes when the water first hits him, it is a look of both pure delight and glee.

Not the actual "face", but a cute one non the less!

Long walks on the beach and the wonderful feeling of the cool sand between my toes, the warm sun on my skin and the cold tide skimming my feet.

Drinking copious amounts of Iced Tea with my Mother’s freshly plucked

 mint from her garden!

Many more raucous rounds of Ta-booo!

Celebrate Terrbear’s SECOND birthday!  (How is this possible?  Where does the time go?!)

Terrbear Memorial Day 2010

That was a year ago, and look at this big beautiful boy now!  Where did the last year go?!  Nothing demonstrates the passage of time more profoundly than growing children.

 
And now, 23 months!

 

 

And above all else I plan on enjoying my family and friends and counting my blessings!  I’m sure I’ll think of more things when we go out for our walk today, for now though these all sound pretty fabulous to me!  Happy Summer everyone, what are you looking forward to doing and enjoying over the next few months?