Mae Bird

Angeles National Forest Bridge

2012-02-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

We took a quick little drive up the Angeles Crest Hwy a while back and found this neat bridge - it's really impressive (as in, how-in-the-world do people build things like this!?).

I ran across the hwy to the lookout point to get a better view and almost got hit by a car, twice. It was one of those times where I really thought, I could have been killed! Justin, who was watching the whole scene play out, felt the same way: sacred-for-my-life. Anyway, enough morbidity. Just a warning. Run quick and look both ways. And maybe I'm a wimp, but looking down into this canyon made me a little woozy!

The lookout.

Chocolate Cake

2012-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

Did you all know that yesterday (Jan. 27th) was National Chocolate Cake day? ... I'm always a day late on things like this. And seriously, how do I get on the memo list for all the "National days of this or that"? I guess I also missed National Beer Can day this week. Who makes these things up?

A friend posted this New York Times link on Facebook. Which totally inspired me to make a cake, but I didn't have all the ingredients for one of their cakes (which by the way, looked amazing), so I made a great vegan chocolate cake. No, I'm not a vegan, I eat bacon, and cheese. That's so not vegan. But I don't discriminate, I've found alternative recipes to be inspiring. So, to all my vegan (but not limited to) friends out there. This is for you, Happy Day After National Chocolate Cake Day. Oh, and I "made up" a chocolate coconut milkly frosting below. Turned out nicely.

Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/4 cup all purpose unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder
1 cup almond milk (or soymilk)
1/2 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup agave
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9inch cake pan.
Sift together flours, baking powder and baking soda.
In a saucepan, heat up almond milk and coconut oil on low-medium heat. When the coconut oil has melted, add coca powder, whisk well and remove from heat.
Add the maple syrup, agave and vanilla to the chocolate mixture, mix well then add the liquid mixture to the flour mixture.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 for about 25 mins - until a toothpick comes out clean from the center. Let cool and frost with your favorite frosting.

Chocolate Frosting
Once again, I made this up in the moment, so I wrote everything down the best I could remember!
1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup chocolate chips

Whisk together the coconut milk and powdered sugar. Melt the chocolate chips and coconut oil in a double broiler. Whisk the melted chocolate/oil into the coconut milk/powdered sugar. Once mixed well, put in the freezer for about 10 mins. Mix again and use!

Yard

2012-01-26T09:48:00.000-08:00

A little play time out in our side yard. Can I tell you how much I wish we owned this house? A lot. Like more than a lot. A whole lot. At least we get to rent it...

Justin has a collection of succulents. We've had this particular plant for years and it just bloomed for the first time!

Switzer

2012-01-19T14:51:00.000-08:00

It was a ~~cold~~ lovely day for a picnic. Six adults, five kids, three dogs, one muno doll, hamburgers, a creek, lots of birch trees, ... it had it all.

Switzer Picnic area is a gem. I had no idea it existed until recently. Obviously the rest of LA knew it was there, it was pretty busy (as a trail head, not too many people were picnicking).

Seems we have a thing for BBQing in the cold.

Palm Springs Wedding

2012-01-18T13:40:00.000-08:00

Last month Justin and I had the privilege of shooting Ken and Jen's wedding in Palm Springs at the Villa Royale. The place is beautiful, every corner is filled with amazing plants and neat details.

Ken and Jen are so much fun, you could tell that they were really having a good time, as well as all their guests! The wedding was fairly small and it had a very intimate vibe. And seriously, I had just met them and I was holding back tears at certain points - it was just too sweet. I LOVE shooting small weddings!

Anyway, thanks again, Ken and Jen, for letting us be there to shoot your day!

Happy First

2012-01-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

Remember last year when I shot Casey and Colleen's wedding at the Arboretum and Chateau Marmont? That was offically over a year ago. A YEAR!

Happy One Year Anniversary Casey and Col! You are a beautiful couple! And seriously, you are the "funnest" people I know! You sure know how to celebrate and have a good time.

We met them at the Chateau for a quick photo shoot to commemorate the day. The Chateau Marmont is a must-visit in Hollywood. It definitely has a swanky movie star vibe.

2011

2012-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Highlights:
Seeing the first photo and last photo of JW - he has changed a lot in a year!
Our many camping trips
Our trip to the Bahamas
All the great photo shoots I've been able to do this year
And all the little in betweens were pretty great too!

Cheers to 2012.

The last while

2011-12-21T08:36:00.000-08:00

Wow, tomorrow is officially winter, every season I welcome the change. Although, here in California we don't have a dramatic weather. Our windstorm was the craziest weather we've had in a long, long time. I'm secretly hoping for one of those freak snow storms that supposedly happens here once every hundred years, wouldn't that be exciting!?

Here are some bits and pieces of our last couple of months.

We had a family craft day and made pine cone bird feeders. Squirrels are amazing (and annoying). They hung upside down from branches and pulled up the pine cones by the strings and now all the bird feeders are MIA.

Some one started walking last month...

I've discovered Naturally Ella recently. I love her recipes.

Glendora

2011-12-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

I will not whine again about how busy I am.

I will not whine again about how busy I am.

I will not whine again about how busy I am.

...

Wait, does that count as whining?

Dang.

Soon I will have time for things like taking photos of my little boy, cooking and hiking and breathing! Soon! You'll see!

At least my busy-ness includes something I love to do, taking photos. Justin and I had a lot of fun taking photos of these two in Glendora. I'm looking forward to the wedding next year!

We took some photos around downtown Glendora, then up in the hills at a family property, it's beautiful!

And now we are off to shoot another wedding in Palm Springs, really hoping these Santa Ana winds show some mercy!

Wind and what not

2011-12-07T10:49:00.000-08:00

I have many excuses for my silence...
1) I am in the midst of an intense freelance project that takes up all free time
2) on top of that I have photoshoots every weekend in December
3) I have two other jobs besides these
4) I have a baby, who kinda likes to hang out with me
4) we had a crazy windstorm that knocked out our power for almost a week. A WEEK.

Well, I'd hate to exaggerate. We didn't have power from Wednesday night till Saturday morning. And for a few glorious hours we had power on Saturday until... there was a loud HMMM then POP and the lights went out. When they came back on, only a few worked. Turned out we had "low voltage," which I had never heard of. So, our large appliances: heater, stove, computer, etc didn't work, but a few lights in a few outlets worked. That lasted from Saturday till Tuesday night when a neighbor got really motivated and drove around to find Edison guys to get them to come look at our street. Last night they came out to fix it, and after four hours of work, one fireworks show that almost caught our house on fire (which supposedly caused our neighbors dishwasher to explode, it was intense, folks) we finally had power! And it was glorious. We did a little dance, and shed a tear of gratefulness. These Edison guys said they are working 24 hour shifts (8 hours off, 24 on) trying to restore people's power - which, by the way, there are still about 6,000 households that don't have power a week later- I feel for you.

Besides power, our area lost lots of big beautiful trees. The 100mph winds snapped and uprooted trees everywhere. It was surreal driving around. I snapped a few iphone pics.

We saw too many smashed cars, feel terrible for the owners!

the drive the work the next morning lead to many, many dead ends

this is our neighbors house across the street, their house is behind/under the tree

Anza Borrego, Fall 2011

2011-11-09T11:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I took a little break from work and we went on a one-nighter trip to Anza Borrego. We had hoped to go to the Alabama Hills but a forecast of 28˙ at night sounded less than enjoyable with a baby. Last time we were in Anza Borrego was about a year and a half ago during the blooming Spring. This time we camped in a different area, and during the bare-brown fall. This time there were no plants and no blooming flowers, but it was still uniquely beautiful...

This trip was truly rugged, in my opinion.

The desert can be brutal with the strong sun and the dry wind. When we got there we all huddled in a small piece of shade. Then later that night it got cold, the wind picked up and didn't stop ALL NIGHT. I was awake for most of the night, and so was JW. He has been sleeping better at home and I had high hopes for him sleeping well on this trip, but the wind made it impossible. We have a really old tall tent that was practically sideways, and it was making violently wiping and flapping sounds all night. JW didn't stand a chance. He woke up at least every hour and because of the noise I just laid there staring at the slanted walls of the tent feeling terrible that I put my baby through a rough camping trip. Bitter sweetly we decided to retire our tent after this trip. I wanted to burn it and leave in the desert, but perhaps I'm too dramatic.

The redeeming part of the desert was our trip to Font's Point. I never knew a mini Grand Canyon existed in Anza Borrego! Justin found directions and we made our way down a four-mile SAND road to get there. The sand was so thick that 4-wheel drive was recommended. The Smiths piled in our Subaru and we flew at a consistent 35mph the whole way without slowing down a pinch to insure we didn't get stuck. Justin drove white knuckled the whole way. ... and I may or may not have been holding my breath the whole way.

The drive was an adventure and completely worth it. When we got to the edge of the bluff and looked down into the badlands we were all in awe.

Vest & hat borrowed from little Abel.

Font's Point:

Oscie is such a sweet soul.

Halloween

2011-11-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

I've been so insanely busy recently. Unfortunately that means I haven't been behind the camera as much. But that will change once things settle down a bit. (I hope!)

I have so many jobs to keep up with and I'm having a hard time juggling it all - my mind is mush! On top of that I'm mommy, and of course, I want to make time for fun things like camping, parties and cooking. How can I do it ALL?!

I'm just now getting to my Halloween photos...
Halloween was so much fun this year. We had a party at our house and there were kids EVERYWHERE (over 15 kids!). It was so wonderful. They were all dressed up and so excited about everything. We went trick-or-treating, and when we came back the kids ran wild in the backyard chasing monsters (any adult was a monster...) Kids make the holidays so much more fun. Halloween is quickly becoming one of my favorite days of the year!

It's crazy to think about how much all these kids have grown since last year.

God made dirt...

2011-10-21T12:50:00.000-07:00

... so dirt don't hurt. Right?

That's our motto around here. JW loves dirt. And we don't mind letting him get filthy....

We were at the store a couple of days ago and JW was sitting in the cart with his cut-off pants, barefoot, hugging a pumpkin. The lady behind us in line was doting over him and commented how he looked like a little farmer boy... and she said, "it sure looks like he has fun..." I took that to mean he is a little messy, a little dirty, a little wild. Eh. Well, at least he has fun.

Bits & Pieces

2011-10-19T21:19:00.000-07:00

(aka my random post about the latest)

I got to shoot Betty and Greg's wedding last weekend. It was a beautiful fall day! Congrats Betty!

A mini photo shoot with Jamie and Elliot in the backyard.

We went to Oak Glen last weekend, like we do every year. This time my mom came!
We had a little picnic in our favorite park, I made potstickers and quinoa patties from 101cookbooks.
... This photo is so odd...

Justin and JW this year (2011) in Oak Glen

JW and me last year (2010) in Oak Glen

Hawk sighting in Oak Glen

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Vintage Angeles National Forest

2011-10-13T08:49:00.000-07:00

A while ago I came across a photo album of my dad's old backpacking trips. My dad used to hike and backpack all around the Angeles National Forest - he is definitely where I get my love for being outdoors!

These photos are such an inspiration. I wish I knew more about each one... I know vaguely where some of them were taken... some near the Bridge to Nowhere, some in the San Gorgonio Wilderness... but other than that, I am not sure! I wish my dad was around so I could ask him about his trips. I'd especially love to find out where that first photo was taken, I'd love to go there!

I posted more photos here.

PS I love his clothes! Those cut off shorts, that sheep skin vest, that trucker hat!

Pioneer Town

2011-10-01T20:12:00.000-07:00

Near Joshua Tree in the Yucca Valley is Pioneer Town - an old Western town started in 1946 as a working movie set. In the 50s the industry pulled out, and people stayed. It then became a rough hang out for bikers till the 90s or so. We hear 'ol Pappy and Harriet contributed to the betterment of the town and they left their mark in the form of a great restaurant, bar and venue out in the middle of nowhere called by their namesake Pappy and Harriet's (now owned by different people).

We've been to Pappy's before and we loved it. When we heard Gillian Welch would be playing at Pappy's I about choked on excitement. The fact that we probably shouldn't be spending money on such a trip/show didn't even cross my mind, this is something you don't pass up - I'd sell a kidney for a show like this.

And it was well worth it. Gillian is excellent. And so is Dave Rawlings, he really blew my mind.

On top of all that excitement this was the first night Justin and I were away from little JW. He stayed the night with my mom and did great. I don't even think he missed us. Me on the other hand, I was texting my mom all night demanding photo updates.

When we walked up this house was BLASTING "Highway to Hell!!!" - We realized people LIVE on this strip, "Mane St" as they call it. We met the guy who lives here, Rick, he is a super guy... and a great story teller.

We stopped at this store to admire the pottery and we picked ourselves up a couple of shot glasses. We have to support the local artists!

The best venue.

Bahamas Wedding

2011-09-22T15:02:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned, we went to the Bahamas was for my cousin Stephanie's wedding. It was a blast, Stephanie and Christian are a lot of fun, and the wedding was very relaxed, just my style! The day after the wedding we did a "trash the dress" shoot! Never thought I'd get to do one of those!

Congrats Stephanie and Chris! Hope you like your photos!

Bahamas

2011-09-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

We went to the Bahamas for my cousin Stephanie's wedding - and I got to be the photographer! I will share wedding photos soon, below are the only non-wedding photos I got. I didn't want to worry about lugging my heavy SLR to the beach, nor did I want to get it a) stolen while we were swimming or b) full of sand and sunblock - but it is pretty much full of sand anyways.

We feel so fortunate to have been able to go to the Bahamas, thank you Stephanie & Christian for inviting us! It's a lot different than other places we've traveled (Bangladesh, Guatemala, Peru, China, Chile...). The only bummer was the PRICE OF FOOD. It was outrageously expensive! Keep that in mind if you go... A gallon of milk $10, a medium size bag of chips $6.50, four little yogurt cups $6.

We kept our eating to a minimum and made sure to do lots of swimming and relaxing. It worked out nicely.

Oh, and traveling with a one year old... let's just say we made it with no real incidences, but I was on edge the whole time! I wasn't even anxious about the flight (like I usually am) I was too worried about JW climbing over the seat or hitting the head of the person in front of us. He.is.one.active.boy!


The view from our hotel room. We had a little patio with chairs and everything. By far the best hotel room we've ever stayed in!


There was a rainbow right before the ceremony started.

Love my 50mm lens. My boys with the moon behind them.

What a great moment!

I love this family photo. Once again, I LOVE YOU 50MM!

Frazier Mills

2011-09-18T10:07:00.000-07:00

A few more photos from around Frazier Mills Campground...

My favorite kitchen. Plus a Seirra Nevada with breakfast... a must.

The Nero Tree!

Blackberry Ice Cream

2011-09-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

While camping at Frazier Mills we met the camp host and his family. They are a really great family with an INTENSE love for Mountain Home State Forest. They've been spending summers there for over 50 years. They mentioned that they have a little tradition of berry picking every summer and when they get home his father-in-law would make blackberry ice cream. And now since his father-in-law has passed away he has kept up this tradition. I love it. I'm a sucker for traditions and I'd love to start our own. Growing up we'd go to Washington to visit my grandpa's property and while there we'd pick berries and make a cobbler. I looked forward to it every time.
In honor of the camp host and in hopes of creating a tradition we picked a bunch of berries, brought them home and made black berry ice cream... and we proceeded to devour it ALL. It's so good. Too good. I'm a sucker for ice cream.

Blackberry Swirl Ice Cream
The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Ice cream:
1 cup whole milk
⅔ cup (4.6 ounces) sugar
pinch salt
1½ cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Blackberry swirl:
1½ cups (5.6 ounces) blackberries, fresh or frozen
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon vodka
1 teaspoon lemon juice

To make the ice cream, warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. Pour the cream into a large bowl and set a mesh strainer over the top.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks. Slowly pour the warm milk into the egg yolks, whisking constantly, then scrap the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof spatula, scraping the bottom as your stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream. Add the vanilla and stir until cool over an ice bath. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator.
An hour or so before churning the ice cream, make the blackberry swirl by mash the blackberries together with the sugar, vodka, and lemon juice with a fork (if you using frozen blackberries, let them thaw a bit first) until they’re juicy but with nice-sized chunks of blackberries remaining. Chill until ready to use.
Freeze the ice cream custard in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. As you remove it from the machine, layer it in the container with spoonfuls of the chills blackberry swirl mixture.

Mountain Home

2011-09-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Audrey took a similar photo - I tried to recreate it. And YES it is a far run for a timer photo! It took me a couple of tries to get it!

Hidden Falls is a beautiful area with picturesque swimming holes. I put my legs in, but the water is FREEZING. Next time, next time I will FORCE myself to go in.

This is the best tasting water, ever. Wish we would have brought 5 gallon jugs to fill. It's magic spring water.

Yes, we just returned from the Bahamas and I have photos to share BUT the weekend before we left we went to Mountain Home State Forest and I feel inclined to share things in chronological order... that's just how my mind works. It's one of those things...

So, the weekend before the Bahamas we were in Sequoia-heaven surrounded by huge redwoods and babbling creeks. We were blackberry picking, checking out archeological sites, drinking spring water, walking through meadows, standing in trees, and soaking in cold waterfalls. We posted more photos and wrote more about it on our camping blog, here.

This is the place we attempted to go to in June, but it was snowed in and we ended up at Belknap (which is also wonderful). But Mountain Home State Forest is a gem. I'm tempted to not share it, so it will always stay a hidden gem. BUT what we've learned that is places like this can be easily shut down with budget cuts if they aren't being used... and how can I keep this to myself?

In the last month a few of our friends also went camping up in Frazier Mills... They have amazing photos - here (Nuf's photos make me want a large family, these photos are so nostalgic and dreamy. They are a beautiful family.) and here (these are the photos that made me drool and decide that I HAD to do anything to make it up there!)

Bahamas

2011-09-08T08:48:00.000-07:00

I was 21 when I got my first Passport... JW is ONE. Lucky, lucky boy.

Tonight, actually early, EARLY tomorrow morning (2:30am!), we leave for the Bahamas! My cousin Stephanie is getting married and I get to take the photos!

We've done lots of traveling, but never to a place like the Bahamas. Clear water beaches, a beautiful resort, perfect warm weather, maybe a thunder storm or two... Wow, we've got it rough.

See you when we get back!

una fiesta

2011-08-30T11:51:00.000-07:00

We threw JW a big 'ol FIRST birthday bash last weekend, complete with a taco man and pinata, the whole works because, well, why not! It's his FIRST birthday! (It's more for us anyways, right?) Next year's birthday is going to be waaaay smaller. This party was great but really all he needs are some friends running around having fun and maybe some cake...

JW was such a trooper... he was so tired from the very minute the party started. He had missed his afternoon nap and it was so SO hot he just looked haggered (notice the crazy blank stare below while looking at his birthday cake). But he made it to the end, and through a few presents.

I made JW a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I wasn't sure if he would be into it. He is really into tossing his food on the ground right now, and I was afaird that was the fate of his cake... But he did the appropriate thing and dug right in.

And the cupcakes for the party were made by my friend Jacqui from Baby Boy Bakery. THREE words: BUTTER CREAM FROSTING!

First Birthday

2011-08-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

Someone turned ONE last week.

This feels like years ago and yesterday all at the same time....

Now he is ONE year old .... growing up but very much still a baby. I don't know what I expected at a year old. I had it in mind as such a big milestone. I though for sure he'd be walking, but I am totally ok with that fact that he isn't. He is eating more and more food, he had pancakes for the first time the morning of his birthday! He is super friendly and loves people. He has a great sense of humor. He is still a notoriously bad sleeper (I thought for sure by a year he would be sleeping THE WHOLE NIGHT, but alas...) I see the toddler phase fast approaching and that is just plain crazy...

Please slow down, JW!

Happy birthday little buddy.

I made him these pancakes for his birthday...

Tortellini Salad

2011-08-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

I've been skimpy on the food posts recently... not on purpose though. Life just happens and before you know it, it's been weeks since your last food post. It happens.

This dish is inspired by this. Although... it's nothing like that recipe.

Basically, it's store bought spinach tortellini (but it could be ravioli or another ready to cook stuffed pasta) cooked then sauteed a little bit with sauteed zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes and garlic. Then topped with chopped Greek olives, feta cheese and red pepper flakes.

This was good. I even impressed myself.

Blue Ridge

2011-08-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

We went camping for Cameron's (our housemate) birthday last weekend in hopes of catching a glimpse of a little meteor shower. Although the moon was too bright to see meteors good times were had. Friends + camping + food + music + trees + birds = GOOD. We wrote a tad more about it here.

Casey & Justin climbing a tree... a really, really tall tree. eek.

We played lots of games, like jumping off the stump! I love Casey on the side here... jumping along.

Audrey gave it a shot, too!

So did I... and I split my pants. Seriously. And once again.... Caesy on the side jumping along!

full moon = bright night

Bits & Pieces

2011-08-11T14:18:00.000-07:00

(aka my random post about the latest)

I love this photo. I took it of the Smiths a few weeks ago in our backyard during the golden hour. I love how Abel came creeping into the photo... and how Justin and JW make an appearance in the way back

I got to take photos of Jacqui, Dan and Ryan this last weekend in Laguna, it was a blast! I love Ryan's red hair... an older couple walking by on the beach asked me questions about Ryan like he was MY baby!

We went camping again last weekend. More about it here. This creature decided to crawl through our campground... uuuccck! .... As cool as it is, no no no I do NOT like spiders. NO!

Here is a better little detail from our camping trip. We took lots of photos of the small details in the Chaparral. We are off to go camping again tomorrow for a friend's birthday and meteor shower, hope to return with plenty of photos!

"Congradulatins"

2011-08-03T11:38:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago Justin and I were on one of our marathon of camping trips, we went camping every weekend for at least a month and it was a blast (we've been doing something similar recently on Papas Poncho).

One of those weekends we went to Boulder Basin near Idylwild and I found this on a hike:

It was super sweet and we actually wrote back and forth with the people at the Convalescent Hospital a couple of times.

Well, the other day I was on a run (I am training for the SoCal Ragnar Relay!) and I found this tied to a balloon:

Man! I am so lucky! 2,000 dollors AND free food from El Pollo Loco! This is a keeper.

Backyard campout

2011-08-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

Justin turned 32 yesterday! We celebrated with friends... we had a backyard camp out! Yes we did, practically a TWO DAY party. I was purely exhausted by the end, my muscles were twitching, my head was spinning, I couldn't see straight, but it was so worth it.

I couldn't think of a better "theme" for a Justin Birthday than camping. We had a BBQ and campfire Saturday night, some friends spent the night in tents in the backyard, and the next morning we had brunch with even more friends. It was wonderful.

The man of the hour... or day.. actually two days - he had a TWO DAY party... lucky dog.

Early morning bike ride in PJs.

Sweet JW joined us in the morning... he slept straight through the BBQ and campfire.

Audrey and Abel showing off their cool trick

JW and Abel takin' the ol' Beast for a ride.

Jeremy is explaining to the boys, "...this bagel probably has GMOs, just so you know..."

The new Seifert dog, Arrow. (In case you're wondering about the hairy legs and what appears to be a skirt... I wondered the same thing, who-the-heck-is-that? Turns out it's Cam wearing a robe while BBQing some breakfast)

Scoutie. When asked what his favorite vegetable was he replied "corn" and his brother Finn (age 5) added in "Corn isn't my favorite because most corn is genetically modified..." Speaking of that, Finn was featured on OHDEEDOH this weekend! He is one amazing kid.

Little Miss Pearl

GMO OMG

2011-07-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

I posted a couple of weeks ago about my friend Jeremy's movie DIVE coming out on DVD and now he is working on a new project about GMOs - call him the "food activist!"

GMO Film Project Sizzler from Compeller Pictures on Vimeo.

I am truly excited about this film. Jeremy has been traveling around the country for the last month doing some more filming since this sizzler was made and what he has so far is already amazing! (I love the clip of the Haitian lady dancing, so beautiful!)

It is truly worrisome what is going on with our seeds (and what's going on Haiti!) Isn't it just plain nature that we grow food from seeds and those plants go on to produce more seeds, and such is the cycle of life? (Finn explains it so beautifully in the sizzler.) Genetically modified seeds are changing that! Not only that they are being created to produce their own pesticides, and we are eating these toxins! It's all one big science experiment and we are testing it out... yikes.

Truly, these things should be labeled so at least we know what we are eating.

Why don't we care more about what we are putting into our bodies? A lot of what we are eating isn't really "food" anymore. Why don't we care about the ground and soil that provide us with food? We have lost a connection to the earth!

The message of this film is a positive one though, fret not!

" We still have time to heal the planet, feed the world, and live sustainably. But we have to start now."

Please consider supporting this film's Kickstarter campaign - $6000 more in 18 more days - we can do this, right?!
PS... Jeremy's boys are too dang adorable in this film. I think little Pearl needs to make her film debut!

Papas Poncho

2011-07-25T14:49:00.000-07:00

Our little family has started a little project. Well, if you can call camping a "project."

We've made it a loose goal to go to as many campgrounds as possible in the Angeles National Forest and San Bernadino National Forest (and beyond), and to take photos and write about it. In the last 6 weeks or so we've gone camping 4 times and we've posted about each trip here on our blog: Papas Poncho.

Justin is beyond thrilled about this adventure and I think it's pretty darn cool, too. Check out the blog if you are interested in learning more about the campgrounds we visit or if you want to follow our little journey. We also hope to highlight some hikes, maybe some camp food and other random musings.

This is hopefully just the beginning. We hope to post regularly. I think we may do a big hike next, and then camp again in a couple of weeks... up near Wrightwood hopefully!

Papas Poncho!

Chilao Campground

JW napping @ Manker Flats Campground

Manker Flats Campground

Blue Ridge Campground

Blue Ridge Campground - Pacific Crest Trail

Nature Preserve @ McGrath State Beach

Backyard

2011-07-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try to take photos and post them in the same day, didn't happen.
I took these photos last night, uploaded them to my computer, edited them (which meant I opened them in photoshop, adjusted some levels and re-saved them). IT TOOK MY COMPUTER AN HOUR FOR 8 PHOTOS! It is agonizingly S-L-O-W!
So, all that to say, I took these last night and I'm posting them today - I wanted an excuse to bad mouth my computer. My dirty rotten computer!

These are all from our backyard, our little slice of paradise:

My dirty little boy. Yes, that's dirt in the corner of his mouth, yes his pants are wet from crawling in wet grass, YES he is FILTHY!

Pipes we found while cleaning out a little shed in our yard. A BONE PIPE and a CORN COB PIPE!

We call this our $20 tomato. We aren't having much luck with tomatoes... I don't know what the deal is. We can't seem to grow a decent bush of tomatoes, shouldn't be that hard right?!

Something we are going to have a lot of this fall are persimmons - and I'm pretty sure they are the "good" ones... the ones you can eat like an apple. The other kind that are good for baking, I do not love!

I think we are going to have some luck with our potatoes. I am not sure when they are ready to harvest though, anyone know???

Bits & Pieces

2011-07-20T12:42:00.000-07:00

(aka my random post about the latest)

Good ol' Altadena. Check Cashing Stand Ice Cream Milk Chips Money Orders. I love our town. Speaking of our town, Paco, the robber chaser dog around the corner from us went viral this week.

I love Green Kitchen Stories. I noticed I had all the ingredients for their yogurt pie so I whipped it up the other night. It is so good and easy. You should make it. Like, now.

We've gone on a couple more camping trips since my last post. We went to Blue Ridge Campground a couple of weeks ago. It was a rough trip for JW, but he was so happy here on this stump! ... He just wasn't happy about sleeping, which made him an all around "unhappy camper." You win some, you lose some.

This last weekend we camped at McGrath State Beach with some friends. Beach camping was a nice change of scenery. JW loves, loves, loves sand, but not so sure how he feels about the water since we traumatized him. Anyway, we went on a nice little hike around a nature preserve at the beach - JW was sleep hiking. Doesn't he have the BEST LIPS!?

Lastly, Justin's band played a show at Mr T's Bowl in Highland Park last week. I love them. And it's not just because I'm married to the bassist, and that I live with half the band or anything. They are just great.

Boy will be boys

2011-07-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

He loves to get dirty, how can I stop him?
I don't mind, as long as we get the pre-bedtime bath.

What's the definition of a boy?
"Boy, n.: a noise with dirt on it."

Yeah, sounds about right.

By the way, adult feet kinda gross me out, but baby feet oh god I could kiss 'em!

Top photo was from a camping trip last weekend.
Bottom photo was in our backyard.

Salmon Tostadas

2011-07-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

(Just another week night meal around here...)

Before you go thinking we throw $15 salmon on tostadas like it's nothing... That salmon right there is rescued salmon... aka dumpster salmon aka Trader Joe's was throwing it out and we got it instead aka it was perfectly fine salmon it's just that the "sell by" date happened to be that day.

We don't do much dumpster diving these days but we get to benefit from other peoples efforts!

A while ago I mentioned that a friend of mine made a documentary called DIVE! It's about dumpster diving, but not in the way you might think ... it doesn't show how cool dumpster diving is, it doesn't try to get everyone to dumpster dive, the point of the documentary is to show HOW MUCH FOOD is thrown away every day... back up... how much PERFECTLY EDIBLE food is thrown away, while people are going hungry. It's truly a great film and I am not saying that just because all of my closet friends are in it... :) .. really...

Since the last time I mentioned the film it has gone on to win many, many film festival awards AND it just got distributed! It will be released on DVD July 19th and will be available on Netflix so be sure to add it to your queues!

On top of that, the soundtrack was released this week. And I am not saying this because everyone in the band also happens to be our best friends (same people who are IN the movie), but seriously their music is incredible. I listened to their music before we were even friends! So, I highly encourage you to check it out, it's a little rockish, a little folky, and little gospely... I think you'll like it. Nay, LOVE IT.

One more thing, Jeremy (creator of DIVE!) has started a petition on Change.org to get Trader Joe's (and hopefully other stores) to change their food waste policies... There are over 70,000 signatures so far! See the link on the right hand side bar of my blog to sign. Please sign!

Back to the tostadas. Honestly, this is something we just threw together. One of those things you don't plan for but it turns out amazing. I don't have a recipe to share, because there is none... I can explain it in pieces though:

We toasted some corn tortillas in the toaster oven (or you could buy tostada shells) and I spread some re-fried black beans on top. (Notice, I only had enough left over beans from the previous night to cover 2 of the 4 tostadas! Really, this was a "what we had on hand meal.")
I cooked that salmon on the stove till nice and crispy flaky on each side.

Cumin Carrot Slaw
Cabbage, shredded carrots, a diced jalapeno, dash of cumin, lime juice, little of of chopped red onions, salt.

Pico de gallo
Chopped tomatoes, dice red onions (soaked in just a tad of rice vinegar for a couple of mins), diced jalapeno, chopped cilantro, lime juice.

Guacamole
Smashed avocado, greek yogurt, lime juice, diced jalapeno, chopped cilantro.

Assemble and viola! This is Justin trying to be so patient while I take a quick photo... And yes, he has my name tattooed on his chest!

Lastly, this is JW's version - fit for 10 month old. Black beans, yogurt, avocado and bits of salmon.

I'm doing it...

2011-07-06T09:37:00.000-07:00

I am going to do something I've never done before... I am going to post photos that aren't from my 5d. Yes, I've gone and done it, I've become a user of the iphone camera. I can't help it. It takes decent photos and it's so convenient!

Our 4th of July weekend was pretty great and busy. JW is still recovering and sleeping lots.

Along with BBQs, birthday parties and swimming pools we went to a great beach near Malibu on Sunday. It wasn't very crowded, which was so surprising for a 4th of July weekend! JW was having a great time, he LOVES sand. We sat him down close to the water so that when a wave came it barely reached his legs. As JW was playing in the sand a little crab walked by and Justin and I were trying to get JW to look at it, "look at the crab!! ooh! look!" ... and CRASH. An unexpected wave came up and knocked over poor JW. The water went right over him! I picked him up and he had seaweed all over him, he had swallowed a little bit of water, and he had sand EVERYWHERE. Oh God, we felt like horrible parents! It totally put a damper on our beach day! But I think JW is over it ... I think. Hopefully he doesn't hate the ocean now... or us...

Bits & Pieces

2011-07-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Dinner is a beautiful thing: okra, sweet potatoes, green soup, homemade biscuits, red rice and avocado. I love what happens when I don't have anything in particular to make for dinner and we end up eating a hodgepodge of things, it's my favorite. And the Red Racer beer is a bonus!

We've been on a juice kick! This is Carrots, cucumbers and BEETS... another food work of art.

View from Chilao Campground in the Angeles National Forest. We've been doing lots of camping recently... we have a little project we are working on, hope to share more about that soon!

JW and Justin waving, Chilao campground.

Little JW and me near Mt. Baldy, Ca - we went camping at Manker Flats the weekend after Chilao.

JW and Justin having fun with bubbles in the tent, Manker Flats Campground.

10 months

2011-06-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

I love this age, Jackson has the best little personality. I am enjoying every moment of this age but part of me is already sad that he will grow up and change... it kills me inside!

At 10 months old he has been on four camping trips, with another one this weekend. He LOVES to get dirty, he loves playing in sand/dirt. He takes the sand in his hands, he raises his arms and dumps it all over his head.

He doesn't like brushing his teeth, he doesn't get it. He looks absolutely confused and horrified that I am trying to stick this thing in his mouth and scratch him with it.

He loves swimming and is really enjoying his swim class. He laughs hysterically and splashes the water with his hands.

At 10 months old he is asleep by 7:30pm, he wakes up around 4:00am, nurses back to sleep, wakes up at 5:00am, nurses back to sleep then up for the day around 6:00am. He is really good about going to sleep, I can put him in the crib awake and he will peacefully fall asleep, it's those early morning hours that we haven't figured out!

At 10 months Jackson is a great little eater. He eats anything we put in front of him, peas, carrots, blueberries, cottage cheese, broccoli, tofu... his favorite is BANANA. He would eat straight through a peel if I let him. I'm enjoying how easy going he is about food ... because I am sure that will change come the toddler months!

And he loved it.

2011-06-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

First time to the beach.

First feel of the sand.

First taste of sand...

First time in the water.

And he loved it.

And for those of you who are wondering about the pink pacifier...
We lost his pacifier in the sequoias somewhere and we made an emergency trip to the store to get him a new one... and all they had were PINK pacifiers (and that is the only brand he will take). What were we to do!? But I am ok with it. Justin is ok with it. JW is ok with it. I don't think it's a big deal. So, there we have it, a pretty little boy with a pink pacifier.

An Ode to Super Natural ...

2011-06-15T08:42:00.000-07:00

I've made many, many recipes from Heidi Swanson's new book Super Natural Every Day, and I've loved every one.

If you think I'm a little obsessed with 101cookbooks.com and Heidi, you're right.

I have a food crush, it's no secret.

I am grateful for the renewed inspiration to cook that this book has brought me! I haven't been that inspired to cook since baby... at first I was too exhausted, then I was lazy and really, I'd rather go outside and play in the grass with baby. But I'm figuring it out, I'm learning how to balance our time. Making all of JW's food has got me in the kitchen. Speaking of that, wouldn't a cookbook that had great recipes with related baby food recipes be cool!? A WHOLE family cookbook?! Maybe there is something like that out there... I'm probably really out of the loop...

In addition to the Pomegranate Glazed Eggplant, here are a few other things I've made:

Dukkah - we put it on hard boiled eggs, as suggest in the book and it was SO GOOD!

I could eat ghee (clarified butter) with a spoon... it.is.amazing. It smells so nutty and perfect. I've been using it in replace of oil or butter for everything. And since that link says that ghee is good for you, I don't feel bad eating so much of it ;)

I've made these at least 5 times so far... they are so easy! You can get the recipe here. If you're a biscuit fan you won't be disappointed! I've been meaning to make biscuits and gravy with these... instead I end up devouring them with honey and butter before I have a chance to do anything else...

White beans and cabbage, mm, mmm, mmmmmm. This is the cover image recipe for the book (her photo is much better than mine, of course). This dish made me like cabbage, I was never really a fan before...

Sequoias

2011-06-07T17:00:00.000-07:00

We went on a much needed camping trip last weekend.

We intended to go to Frazier Mills Campground, but when we were almost there, we found out it was closed! And there was only one other area to camp nearby: Camp Nelson. We were disappointed, and didn't have high expectations for Camp Nelson - we were just hoping to make the best of the situation.

But it turned out that Camp Nelson is BEAUTIFUL. We stayed at Belknap Campground and I would go back in a heartbeat. There were redwoods, a river, soft ground, the smell of pine, not a lot of people, fishing, hiking ... it was lacking nothing.

Jackson had a great time. He is an amazing little camper. Good thing because mama and papa are hoping to go camping a lot more this summer.

Pomegranate

2011-05-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

So, POM Wonderful sent me some pomegranate juice in the mail. There was a non-pressure suggestion, "Hey, see if you can come up with something using it." At first I wasn't sure if I should even accept it. It's a new thing for this blog and I don't particularly want to start advertising here. But I thought "hey, it's pomegranate juice." I have no moral obligations against accepting something like JUICE. It's good, it's healthy, I like it. (Although I always promise to disclose if I accept anything and write about it here. There is my disclaimer, had to get it out there.)

So anyways, I was drawing blanks, "what to do with pomegranate juice... hmmm."
I thought, ... um... you can drink it? Um... My son likes to drink it? and... Hm. I got about half way through the juice they sent and I found it...

....I discovered pomegranate molasses - this whole world of ideas came flooding in!

You can find pomegranate molasses at middle eastern stores, or you can make your own. And if you have a pomegranate tree, even better! Juice those things and make it!

You can do so much with pomegranate molasses - one thing I've really, really been wanting to make is my friend Gilda's recipe for Muhammara (SO GOOD!). A chef friend of mine also mentioned that you can make candy with it! ... I'm not much of a candy maker, but I thought that was interesting. The batch of molasses that I made came out VERY thick, it practically is candy.

What I've made with pomegranate molasses so far (I have enough to make a few things!) is a recipe from my favorite cook, and recipe-extraordinaire, Heidi Swanson. I made her Pomegranate Glazed Eggplant from her new cookbook "Super Natural Every Day." I've made at least 7 recipes of this book... I'm a little obsessed and plan on making many more of them. I can't help it. It's too good. So good. So obsessed.

Anyway, back to the recipe. The molasses is super easy to make and is really nice in the Pomegranate Glazed Eggplant which ends up being perfectly sweet and spicy.

Pomegranate Molasses Recipe
from Simply Recipes

Ingredients
4 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

In a large, uncovered saucepan, heat pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice on medium high until the sugar has dissolved and the juice simmers. Reduce heat just enough to maintain a simmer. Simmer for about an hour, or until the juice has a syrupy consistency, and has reduced to 1 to 1 1/4 cups. Pour out into a jar. Let cool. Store chilled in the refrigerator.

If you want your pomegranate molasses to be sweeter, add more sugar to taste, while you are cooking it.

Pomegranate Glazed Eggplant (with tempeh, sweet potato and cashews)
Adapted from Super Natural Everyday

1 eggplant cut into 1 inch chunks
8 oz tempeh cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 sweet potato cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 ts sea salt
2 garlic cloves
1/2 ts red pepper flakes (more if you like spicy)
1/3 cup pomegranate molasses
1/3 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (or if you're like me and you didn't have any you could add some cashews, why not?)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mound eggplant, tempeh, and sweet potato on a rimmed baking sheet.

Start making glaze by sprinkling the salt over the garlic. Chop and smash garlic into a paste using both the flat side and blade of your knife. Combine the garlic paste in a bowl with red pepper flakes and pomegranate molasses. Whisk in the olive oil. Drizzle three-quarters of the glaze over the ingredients on the baking sheet. Toss well and arrange in a single layer.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, tossing everything around 35 minutes, until eggplant and sweet potato start to caramelize.

Drizzle with remaining pomegranate glaze, sprinkle with cilantro, cheese and/or cashews, and serve.

Obligatory JW shot! I swear, he is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Aye aye aye he kills me!

May Day Wedding

2011-05-21T20:31:00.001-07:00

I kind of breezed by this but on May 1st I turned 30! The big THREE-O!

On that day I was taking photos at a wedding in Redlands, Ca. I really wanted to do this wedding for the experience and I was so glad I did. The wedding/reception was indoors and I've never shot indoors, so it was a challenge (a good one!). We got to take some photos outside, too. I had a really good time and I very much appreciate Phillip & Johanna letting me take their photos, ME, the amateur! If it wasn't for brave folks like these, people like me would never get anywhere in their photography!

I was really happy with how some of the photos turned out. It was my third wedding, AND I have another one in September! Bring it on!

Without further ado...

Eaton Canyon

2011-05-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

We <3 Eaton Canyon

And I think JW loves it too.

He sat in the dirt along the creek for a while picking up rocks and rolling them around in his little hands. He would kick his feet in the sand, pondering the new textures.

Hope he loves places like this as much as we do.

Lemon Julius

2011-05-15T10:24:00.001-07:00

We have loads of lemons (STILL, and we are towards the end of lemon season...)

I can think of so many ways to use up lemons, that is no problem. But grapefruits on the other hand, we have TONS of grapefruits (NOT my favorite). Actually we have more grapefruit trees than any other kind of fruit tree (we have over 20 fruit bearing trees!)

This is one way to use up lots of lemons at one time - and you could also sneak in a juiced grapefruit or two. And as I type it's a rainy cold day here in Altadena, doesn't seem like the ideal day for a cold frothy drink... but that's citrus season here! Maybe if the weather affects you you can squeeze a bunch of lemons and save the juice for the summer time? I suspect this drink would be amazing in the heat of July!

Lemon Julius
1 cup of lemon juice (sneak in a grapefruit if you need to)
1/4 cup agave
1/4 cup water
1 tb vanilla
1 egg white
1 tray of ice cubes (about two cups?)

Put all the ingredients in your blender and blend for about 45 seconds (maybe longer if you don't have a vitamix?). It should be really frothy and white.

It tastes like a creamy iced lemonade!

Lastly, I was asked to share a photo of our citrus trees that grow two types of fruit on the same tree. The photo on the left shows the two types of trees grafted together at the bottom and on the right it shows another tree that has two types of branches. The smoother darker branch is the orange tree and the lighter spiky branch is a lemon tree with sumo looking lemons.

Bits & Pieces

2011-05-09T16:08:00.000-07:00

Our house is coming along... Slowly but surely. This is Jackson's cute little room. It's the perfect size for a kid. The roof is really slanted, I fit in the shortest part, but Justin doesn't. And the glass cabinet is built in.

Jackson crawling in the backyard... He is 8 1/2 months now. He is standing, crawling, and very active! He can say "mama," in fact, it's his favorite word, all day he says: "mamamamamamama." And he can also say "papapa." AND ... he is sleeping better. Not perfect, but I am grateful for any improvement!

For my birthday a couple of weeks ago Justin and Cam went to the California Cactus Center and got me these amazing plants! The piece of wood in the photo on the left is a piece of petrified wood that Justin found in the yard!

I love, love, love this green lamp that was in the house when we moved in! Wish I had seen it at a thrift store so I could buy it and own it! I guess this is the next best thing. I also love the cute humming bird nozzle top.

Bits & Pieces

2011-04-21T10:56:00.000-07:00

Our porch - lots and lots of potted plants.

I'm always trying to find new things to feed Jackson. Not sure if he is sick of his food choices, but I am! I made red lentils, with squash and carrots - it was a hit!

We found a swing at the thrift store and Jackson LOVES it. He kicks his legs back and forth and squeals with excitement.

Lots and lots of camellia flowers in our backyard. We are always discovering new things back there, citrus blends (over 12 citrus trees!), persimmon tree, grapevine, kumquats!

There is an old, I mean OLD garage on our property that is falling apart. Off the side of the garage is a tiny little room that looks like an outhouse, but it turns out it was an old play room for the lady who grew up here. It looks like it hasn't been touched in over 40 years. There are still old, OLD toys in there.

An old newspaper in the basement of our house. There are TONS of papers from the 40s down there! Along with old Mad Magazines.

Work in Progress

2011-04-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait until the house we are renting is "done" to share photos because really, who knows when it will be done!! There is still a long list of things to be done. This is an OLD HOUSE that needs lots of work. When it's done, it will allll be worth it.

We are loving it here. Almost every time we explore the backyard we discover something new. The other day it was grapevines! Yesterday it was a citrus tree that grows TWO types of lemons!

So, like I've mentioned before, the owner was a botanist who created lots of different experimental citrus trees in the backyard. He also created different types of Wisteria that are also in the backyard! Wisteria and citrus blooms have to be my two favorite smells.

And in the living room he did all the wood work on the ceiling, shelves & cabinets. It still seems unreal that we get to live in such an amazing house, we are LOVING IT!

Local Nomad

2011-04-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

Four years in Pasadena and four moves...

After spending months in Peru after our wedding we came home to our honeymoon-bungalow on Sierra Bonita. It was nice because I could walk to work, but we had no yard, so we started to get restless!

Then we moved to the Mentor house with the Smiths, for a little compound living. We had a great time living with the Smiths, only down side was our crazy landlord. Then I got pregnant and it was time for us to move on...

We moved to our teeny tiny one bedroom duplex with a giant backyard on Merrett Dr. The place treated us well for the time we needed it, but we needed space for baby sooo....

Next stop..... the Raymond house in Altadena. Just wait till you see it!! It's our dream home. An old farm house on .65 acre filled with amazing plants... AND get this, the basement is FILLED WITH ANTIQUES. Tons of antique furniture that they said we could use!

It's not quite ready yet. We had some glitches with the move-in. They are still working on it, the place is filthy and we are still unpacking. When it's all ready and when I get internet access there I will share some photos!

Just realized that each place has a photo of Justin lounging around... didn't pick those out on purpose...

seven

2011-03-26T22:00:00.000-07:00

Little JW is 7 months now. He's getting so big, he is in the 90 percentile for height! (and for head size!!). He is eating lots of different kinds of fruits & veggies now... zucchini, carrots, pears, avocado, prunes, apples, sweet potatoes, peas... and oats. Anyone know of any good finger foods for a 7 month old?? I think he'd like to eat something by himself... besides toys, dirt and whatever else he can find on the ground.

He is one active little guy. He is so close to crawling, he can get around pretty good by rolling or shuffling himself around. He's so interested in everything, he is always staring around our house, looking at everything, like he's never seen the place before! And whenever someone holds him the first thing he does is go for the face, grab a nose here, poke an eye there, eat a chin here... He's one curious baby.

Next week we move and JW gets his own room, it's time for this transition. Not only does he get his own room he gets to live with two great uncles as well, he's a lucky kid.

Bits & Pieces

2011-03-21T15:13:00.000-07:00

Justin and I celebrated 4 years of marriage last week! We try make eachother something every year, I usually end up baking because ... that's what I can do. I made him these cookies and they were good!

I've been enjoying making baby food for JW. I got the Beaba Baby Food Maker and love it! So far I've made pears, sweet potatoes, apples and peas.

We are moving in a couple of weeks to an old farm house on a HUGE lot in Altadena that used to belong to a botanist who planted lots of experimental citrus on the property. We are so so so excited! This house is amazing AND we get to move in with two really great friends... many adventures ahead!

A mobile that Justin & I made for JW before he was born. Justin found the branch in Eaton Canyon and I cut out all birds.

I don't have anything to say about this one, I just like chard.

Zoo

2011-03-14T21:43:00.000-07:00

JW's first trip to the zoo! Not that he will remember it.. but we have photos to prove it! I can't even remember the last time I went to the zoo, but I have photos of me there when I was a kid so it must have happened! (that's how a lot of my childhood memories go... I don't remember much, thank God for photos!)

Casey and Col were kind of enough to take us to the LA ZOO on Saturday. We had a great time! The trip to India Sweets & Spices after was the topper - mmmmm masala dosa.... Thanks for the fun friends!

(Justin gets credit for these photos!)

At just over six months little JW is growing so fast! He is eating lots of different foods: sweet potatoes, pears, peas, and apples. He can sit up now and he loves to play with his toys for a good chunk of time. He loves, loves, loves to laugh and he is super ticklish (I have a solid stance that tickling IS torture, by the way). He is still not a great sleeper... but hoping for a miracle!

A half birthday at the mountain

2011-03-01T07:55:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Jackson's 1/2 birthday by taking him on his first camping trip to the Salton Sea. This is a trip we've done, many, many, many times before - we love it out there. I'm a little attached to the crazy, post-apocalyptic-ness!

When we camp down there we like to make our usual rounds: we go to the mountain, we eat at Ballesteros (or Bobby D's), we take a dip in the hot springs, we visit the mud pots. What we didn't do this trip was make it out to Slab City for their music night on Saturday. Justin, Jackson, and I ended up leaving on Saturday afternoon because it was windy and cold. Poor Jackson was pretty miserable at certain points. On Friday night it was so windy, Jackson was tripping out in our wind-slanted tent with the walls whipping around making crazy noises, that he just lost it. Jackson and I ended up sleeping in the car where it was nice and quiet and he slept pretty good. Actually, he slept better there than he has at home the last couple of nights!

I'm already looking forward to the next camping trip, we have many adventures ahead.

My baby boy is six freakin months old

Salvation Mountain

The S fam at the Mountain - Pearl's first time at the mountain too!

Noah & Abel @ the moutain

The kiddos in the mountain.

The Smith Family at the mountain.

Jackson slept almost the whole time he was at the mountain... sensory overload perhaps.

From our campground at the Red Hill Marnia, Salton Sea.

Salton Sea from a random dirt road.

No babies were harmed in the taking of this photo. No hot bubbling mud came in contact with my baby boy, promise.

The gang at the mudpots... the kids were having a blast! I'm looking forward to when Jackson is old enough to enjoy the mudpots!

Saturday

2011-02-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

In between rainstorms on Saturday we got to go on a hike in Eaton Canyon.

It was such a beautiful day, crisp, cool, clean air. And the next morning was even more beautiful because all the foothills were covered in snow, but, of course, I didn't get any photos before it mostly melted away. fail.

It's a goal of Justin's to hike every Saturday. Most of the time Jackson and I aren't able to go, but Jackson is getting older and more sturdy now, and he fits nicely in his backpack!! He still had a mini-breakdown on this hike, but eventually he will be a full-fledged hiker!

After our hike we went to Little Ethiopia to get some food. I had forgotten how AMAZING Ethiopian food was... we ate until we could not eat anymore.

Reception @ Magnolias

2011-02-15T09:06:00.000-08:00

Back in December our friends Casey & Colleen had a small, intimate wedding that I was lucky enough to photograph, and at the end of January they had a bigger reception/party at Magnolia's in Pasadena and it.was.a.blast! They are so much fun and we are so truly happy for them. I had a great time taking photos at Magnolia's!

... I can't leave it at that because as I look around my house I am reminded of how amazing these two are... from the jembe that they bought for Jackson in Portland, to the wooden shaker and animal book that they gave him! Col even bought Lucky a fancy doggy dessert one time, who does that?! Only the most generous, sweetest person! Then I look over at our record player and see some amazing, rare records that Carey has given to Justin. And I cannot tell you how much Justin loves records, how much he loves these records in particular! Oh Casey and Col, you are too sweet, so generous, and oh so great for each other. Congrats again.

And you sure know how to through a party!

...I gotta throw in here that Casey and Justin are in a band, so far called: Camal n Justin Case" ... Here is a little sample. I love them.

bits-and-pieces

2011-02-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

I went through a little period where I was obsessed with making Almond Flour biscuits. They are really good and buttery tasting. They aren't flaky, flour-like biscuits, but they are special in their own way. I made them so many times in one week I kind of burned out on them. I am taking a little break and will probably make them again next week... and try to restrain myself from making them over and over and over. The honey in this photo is Zor-Honey from the Altadena Urban Farmer's Market - if you're in the area, I highly, HIGHLY recommend this market!

Lucky is notorious for being afraid of cameras. If something even resembling a camera is pointed in her direction she cowers off and hides somewhere. The other night I put this shirt on her (old baby shirt), and she totally changed, she sat there and posed for me. That's never happened before! Justin's theory is that she doesn't like her picture to be taken while naked. I think she wears this shirt rather well, good job my little model!

Jackson is loving his jumper. He had been using it for a few days before he discovered he could bounce; then one day he jumped, and looked around really shocked, jumped again and shrieked! And he hasn't stopped jumping since... It's nice to have him off the ground for a while with these crazy dogs running around everywhere!

I bought this wooden puzzle thing for Jackson in Bangladesh, before we were even pregnant. I thought it was pretty cute and wanted to get it for my future kid. It's weird to think.. "that future kid" is Jackson! I love this thing because it's so odd. The characters are funny looking. I don't even know what the pink thing is between the farmer man and the horse on the bottom left. I thought it might be a baby, but it looks like it has a mustache and is carrying a purse...

Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce

2011-02-02T08:03:00.000-08:00

Am I delusional to think that Jackson might be happy to have a mom who will make him lots of tasty treats? What if he prefers Baskin Robins to homemade ice cream? Or Oreos to almond flour chocolate chip cookies? That might kill me. I have no idea how to handle future food battles. My goal is to not make that huge of a deal out of it, I won't force him to eat - I think that would back fire. I don't plan on giving him certain foods, like oreos, mcdonalds, etc., simply because we don't eat things like that. But will keeping him from those things make him want them even more?!

Ok, I think I need to relax. We will do our best to teach him about healthy options without turning him off. Any tips?

On to ice cream... I love our ice cream maker.

Peanut butter and chocolate are a force to be reckoned with.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream

(with coconut milk)

1 15 oz can of lite coconut milk (you can use regular coconut milk, I prefer the lighter texture)
1/3 cup agave
1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl until well combined. This can take a bit if you're peanut butter is thick.
Once mixed together well, add to your ice cream maker and follow it's usual instructions.
When done pour the ice cream into a container and freeze for another hour or two. Scoop to serve!

Chocolate "magic shell" sauce

(with coconut oil)

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips
2 teaspoons unsweetened chocolate powder
1 tablespoon agave

Melt the coconut oil in a small pot on the stove over a low flame.
Once it's melted turn off the heat then add the chocolate chips and stir until melted.
Add the other ingredients and stir until combined.
Let it cool for 15 mins or so because serving.

Chipotle Beans

2011-01-28T15:30:00.000-08:00

This is by far my favorite 101 Cookbooks recipe.

First time I had it was when we lived with the Smiths in the Mentor house... and we made it HOT HOT HOT on accident ... I had to have tons of Greek yogurt with every bite to withstand it, but it tasted soooo good I couldn't stop.

Anywho, this is still a regular meal around here. Justin and I consumed the whole pot last night... serves 6?! Bahahahahhahhaah

Chipotle Beans
From 101 cookbooks

Chipotle-tomato sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 big pinches of red pepper flakes
2 pinches of salt
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers

Cilantro Pesto:
1 medium clove of garlic
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
big pinch of salt

2 cans of beans - I used white beans and black beans
2/3 cup kale or chard, washed, de-stemmed, and very finely chopped
1 cup queso fresco

1 1/2 cup whole-grain breadcrumbs, toasted in a skillet with a tablespoon of olive oil

Make your tomato sauce. Place the 2 tablespoons olive oil, red pepper flakes, couple pinches of salt, and chopped garlic into a cold medium saucepan. Stir while you heat the saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute just 45 seconds or so until everything is fragrant - you don't want the garlic to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and the fresh oregano and heat to a gentle simmer, this takes just a couple minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the adobo sauce - carefully take a taste (you don't want to burn your tongue)...If the sauce needs more salt add it now, more chipotle flavor? Go for it. Set aside.

Make the cilantro pesto by combining the clove of garlic and cilantro in a food processor. Pulse while you drizzle in the olive oil - alternately, you could do this by hand. Season with a bit of salt and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. In a 9x13 baking pan (or large oven-proof casserole/dutch oven) toss the beans with the tomato sauce and the kale. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake in the top-third of the oven for roughly twenty-five to forty minutes, I look for the cheese to start browning and any visible beans to get a bit crusty. Remove from oven and let sit for about ten minutes. Top the beans with the breadcrumbs and just before serving drizzle with the cilantro pesto.

Serves about 6.

In other news: Jackson had rice cereal for the first time this week... mmmmmm. Can't wait till he can dinner with us!

FIVE months

2011-01-25T09:36:00.000-08:00

My baby boy is FIVE months old.

I feel like maybe I have "mom eyes" because he is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen! He has the best smile (he is always smiling) and he has the biggest blue eyes.

He gets so excited when he sees Justin or me - he greets us with a huge smile and spastic arm/leg movements, like he is swimming in air. He is really enjoying his jumper now, really working out those legs. He isn't quite sitting up on his own yet, only for a few seconds at a time.

He is really into eating his feet ... and pretty much anything he can get his hands on. He does this thing now where he grabs our hair (and between the both of us, he has a lot to grab) and pulls us in with his mouth wide open and he tries to chomp on our faces... I'd like to think it's a kiss.

I've been waking up in the middle night to find him rolling around in circles in his crib.. this mobility thing is really exciting to him... too exciting to sleep, I suppose.

He isn't sleeping that great, he is up at least a few times a night and not really going back to sleep very easily. Some days I feel it more than others but whenever I start to get down about the lack of sleep I try to remember this is a short phase and soon enough I will be looking back fondly on this time wishing I could hold my baby. So, I'm going to try to relax and quit reading all these baby books on what to do... because, honestly, nothing is working (although I haven't tried EVERYTHING...won't let him cry it out). Honestly, I've learned to function off less sleep, thank God. So, I'm getting by. Plus, that face makes it a whole lot easier too.

bits-and-pieces

2011-01-16T15:30:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to get Jackson to nap without feeding him or rocking him to sleep... Not sure how to do that. He doesn't quite have the skills to get tired and fall asleep in his crib yet. But I've been putting him in there and once he squawks I go, pick him up and rock him to sleep.

This is Jackson sitting up for 2 seconds before he face plants it into the ground - he's not quite there yet. The ball is a toy that Justin's mom made for HIM when he was a baby, it's one of Jackson's favorite things.

My mom saved a lot of my baby clothes and brought some over the other day. Now, we have to have a girl. Most of the clothes are handmade by family and super cute. I don't want to start thinking about another kid until I get some sleep, BUT these clothes are too cute... either we have another one (hopefully a girl!) or Jackson has to start wearing these.

It's dog central around here. We've got Lucky, and our neighbors dog Brutus, who thinks he is our dog - he is at our place all day (we share a yard with the neighbors). These two are made for each-other, such trouble makers.

This is my first success at growing herbs in a kitchen window, thank you chia pet -- and you're weird spongy-non-dirt-soil, it's magic.

Big Day

2011-01-04T20:28:00.000-08:00

Today was a big day in our house... Jackson rolled over for the first time! Yep, he is really growing up fast. He is a little over four months now and he is making strides daily. He loves to laugh and to play with his toys and he loves it when we read him books. He is teething and I think a tooth will be coming through soon. So cliche but it sure does go by fast!

2010

2011-01-03T09:58:00.000-08:00

A year in review: 2010 was the year of expecting Jackson, it was definitely ruled by him and he has made it the best year ever.

Along the way we had a few adventures: Alabama Hills, Anza Borrego, Big Sur, Orgeon, and Table Mountain. We also got our dear little Lucky in February of 2010 and then in November she was hit by a car... BUT she lived up to her name and survived and she is better than ever (I think we are more traumatized than her).

There was plenty of tragedy in 2010, we lost TWO kids in our family... CHILDREN. Everyone is still healing but can anyone really recover from that ...

I think overall 2010 was the year of change: we moved, got a dog, got a new car, had a baby, which consequently changed (along with many other things) my work situation. Phew. That's a lot of change.

Here is 2010 in the best way I know how to describe it:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

An Arboretum Wedding

2010-12-19T13:05:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday two good friends were married at the L.A. Arboretum - only immediate family was in attendance so it was a real privilege to be there to take photos! It was beautiful and simple and perfect. There were only 13 people there, no chairs, just standing. The reception was an amazing dinner at the Chateau Marmont. It was fancy-smancy! After dinner we shot some more photos around their cottage... it was BEAUTIFUL! I can't say it enough! BEAUTIFUL!

This wedding was my idea of the perfect wedding to photograph... they are so fun and laid back... Here are a few of my favorite shots. It was so hard to narrow it down.

Keeping me sane...

2010-12-17T13:27:00.000-08:00

I'm still playing around with eating gluten-free, and because I'm a glutton for punishment, I'm also not eating dairy or soy for a little while (I have my breastfeeding reasons behind this torture!).

Little jewels like these cookies are keeping me sane. I love these cookies... almost as much as regular 'ol chocolate chip cookies - if not more. (Although... I really don't remember what regular 'ol chocolate chip cookies taste like (white flour, white sugar...) it's been a long time!)

(Almond Flour) Chocolate Chip Cookies
From Elana's Pantry

2 ½ cups blanched almond flour**
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup grapeseed oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ cup agave nectar
1 cup dark chocolate chips 73% cacao

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl
Stir together wet ingredients in a smaller bowl
Mix wet ingredients into dry
Form ½ inch balls and press onto a parchment lined baking sheet
Bake at 350° for 7-10 minutes
Cool and serve

Makes 24 cookies

** Elana mentions on her blog that the recipe does NOT work with Bob's Mills Almond Flour. The first I made these cookies I didn't read that, and it's true, it didn't work. The cookies spread out on to the baking sheet and make one huge, flat cookie, that still tasted good but was not presentable at all. The second time around I used Bob's Mills Almond Flour AGAIN (because I still had some) and instead of 1/2 cup agave I used 2 tablespoons agave and 6 tablespoons of natural brown sugar and a tiny pinch of water to get it all to mix together. IT WORKED PERFECTLY. The cookies help their shape and they tasted great. I've them this way a few times now, so it's not a fluke! FYI in case you can't get a hold of another brand of almond flour....

Curry Quinoa Salad

2010-12-03T13:19:00.001-08:00

One of the best things about having a baby is all the food you get from friends and family - the way to my heart! It's been one of our considerations for having another one. We just sat back, hung out with baby and the food came to us, it was magical. A friend made us a curry couscous dish that I've been meaning to recreate... and this is close enough. It's a different, but it turned out great! (It's also inspired by this quinoa salad) Oh, and in case you make this salad and are distracted by baby needs, it's really good at room temperature, it can wait for you.

Curry Quinoa Salad

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa* then add some curry powder, dash of cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and salt
1/8 cup golden raisins
1/8 cup toasted cashews
2 diced green onions
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1 zucchini diced and sauteed
1/2 avocado diced

This is more of a recommendation than a recipe, use what you have/want.

* FYI: I've had great success making quinoa in a rice cooker!

Yes, no recipe is complete with a Jackson photo:

Chocolate (tahini) Molten Cake

2010-11-21T18:42:00.000-08:00

I jumped off the pumpkin train this week and made these... a couple of times. The chocolate train is my favorite train... and these mmm so goey and good!

Chocolate (tahini) Molten Cake
Adapted from here

2 extra large eggs
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons tahini nut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour (wheat, millet, spelt... whatever you got)
3 small pieces of chocolate
Pinch of sea salt

Preheat the oven to 450F and butter 3 ramekins; set aside.
Place the chocolate and tahini in a bowl and place it over a pot of simmering water. Cook until melted.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs with the sugar and a pinch of salt. Beat until pale and light in color, and the volume of the batter has doubled.
Fold in gently the flour and then chocolate. Divide the batter between the cups (keep 1/3 of the batter). Add pieces of chocolate and cover with the rest of the batter. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. The less time you bake the cakes the more gooey the center will be.

My obligatory baby shot... he almost THREE MONTHS!!

Pumpkin

2010-11-09T17:23:00.000-08:00

I got a little excited about fall and all the pumpkin goodness that I might bake so, I bought a couple of pumpkins, stocked up on canned pumpkin, and then we got TWO more pumpkins in our CSA box. .. a little bit of an overload.

I had every intention of trying out a bunch of new recipes... The first pumpkin recipe I made was this one. But it was so darn good that I haven't made anything else. I've made them THREE times! That's 72 muffins!! Each time I used gluten-free flour and they were amazing, soft and moist! I'm a creature of habit... I plan on breaking out and making something else... eventually. Maybe this next - which I've made before... creature of habit.

Pumpkin Muffins
adapted from here

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour, or other flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1.5 teaspoons sea salt
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup coconut oil
2 cups Sucanat (or brown sugar)
2 large eggs
15 ounces canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter 24 muffin cups (or fit with paper). Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; set aside.

Put butter and coconut oil in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add Sucanat and mix well on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Reduce speed to low. Add pumpkin, milk and vanilla; mix until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add flour mixture; mix until combined.

Pour or scoop batter into muffin molds, filling them about 1/2 to 3/4 full. Bake for about 10 to 15 minutes, keeping an eye on them along the way. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Halloween

2010-11-01T15:00:00.000-07:00

Jackson's first Halloween and I didn't dress him up.... shaaaaame! I couldn't find a cute costume to buy and I didn't have the time or energy to make one. But next year, for sure. I promise. Or maybe I will commission a friend to make it - see costumes below - impressive!

Last night made us realize how lucky we are to be in such a great community of people with so many kids! It was so fun seeing all the kids dressed up and having so much fun - and going bonkers for candy. I can't wait until Jackson is a little bit older so he can enjoy all these friends that he has! There were 3 babies there last night all around the same age - just weeks apart AND my friend Jamie had her baby this weekend!! We are so excited to welcome another little one! So much love! AND we still have more friend babies on the way!

Two Months

2010-10-25T14:54:00.000-07:00

Jackson is TWO MONTHS OLD. Time is a'flyin!

He is now smiling, cooing and laughing. He also stares at us very intently and can even mimic! I will stick out my tongue, and a few seconds later he will copy me, brilliant!

His new favorite carrier is the moby wrap - he is sadly growing out of his favorite sling - he is over TWO FEET TALL and is just not fitting anymore. He is getting more and more head control, which I'm excited about - can't wait to hold him on my hip!

He is a great sleeper. Since he was 5 weeks old he has been sleeping at least a 6 hour stretch. Now it's 7-8 hours, then he eats and goes right back to sleep for a little bit longer. (THANK YOU GOD!)

Looks like his eyes will stay blue!

Banana Nut Muffins

2010-10-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

I'm way too excited to bake again. The oven doesn't get turned on much during the summer here and I have a whole list of things I want to bake for the fall. But, of course, I am going through one of my no-gluten phases again. Every once in a while I'll decide that I don't want to eat it for whatever reason. So, in this recipe I used this in place of the wheat flour and it turned out great.

Banana Nut Muffins
(gluten-free option)

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup agave
3/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup coconut oil (or applesauce - haven't tried it, but hear it will work)
1 ts vanilla

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or the mix I mention above, I've made both versions and both are great!)
1 ts baking soda
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts salt
1/2 cup pecan pieces
optional dark chocolate chips

Combine wet ingredients in a bowl, mix well. In another bowl sift dry ingredients then gently mix in wet ingredients. Spoon batter into baking cups - 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (I have small baking cups, adjust for your size).

p.s. muffins in mason jars, it's going to take over the world.

My world

2010-10-01T22:34:00.000-07:00

Jackson is my world right now. I don't have much else to share besides his beautiful face!
Although, I am feeling a slight sense of normalcy returning. We were blessed to have friends and family bring us food for the first few weeks after he was born, and now we are fending for ourselves again. We've been trying to get out at least once a day, whether it's getting a cappuccino at Intelligentsia or going to Target (exciting!). I am feeling more and more like we are getting the hang of being parents. And as the cliche goes... I feel like this is going by WAY TOO fast! Jackson is growing and growing and growing... I already look at the photos from when he was days old and feel nostalgic!

Homegrown

2010-09-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

No joke.

Store bought tomatoes ain't got nothing on homegrown tomatoes. I don't think I even knew what a real tomato tasted like before these. Heirloom Brandywines... incredible.

I bet people who actually know how to grow tomatoes grow even more amazing ones... Our tomatoes are great, but I don't know much about growing them. But, hey, at least we got some this year!

This

2010-09-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

A whole lot of this going on...

We are enjoying our time in baby land and making plans about assimilating back into the "real world" soon. I try to remind myself: there is no hurry. Babies are only this tiny for such a little time... so here we are baby! Let's soak it in!

Jackson

2010-08-29T20:18:00.001-07:00

I've been in baby-land.

Introducing Baby Jackson!

Born August 25th, 2010 at 4:14am.
7lbs 8oz • 20.5 inches long

Table Mountain

2010-08-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling really great recently. Maybe next week I will start to feel like I don't want to be pregnant anymore?? ... but for now, I'm feeling good (of course I have the typical aches and pains, but overall good). Although, I am ready for baby. My to-do list is nearly complete, I am on maternity leave, this list is almost checked off. But it's all in baby's timing (as long as she/he decides to come BEFORE week 42!!! please!).

Last weekend we went camping at Table Mountain in Wrightwood. I really really wanted to go to the Eastern Sierras but being that I am 38 weeks pregnant I thought we should stick to a 2 hour drive... and lower elevation.

This time last year we were camping in Onion Valley, North Lake, and Bolder Basin, ... I've been itching to get in a good camping trip this summer, but we are in a time of wait, waiting for baby. It's a good time, just different. We will get many camping trips in later with baby, and we can't wait!

Tomorrow I am 39 weeks... Oh my goodness!

31

2010-08-04T19:45:00.001-07:00

Justin turned 31 on July 31st. Cheers to another year! 31 will be great, he will become a dad at 31!

For his birthday I made him Orangette's Winning Hearts and Minds cake... and it broke when I was taking it out of the pan. BUT it still tasted AMAZING (and looked rustic?)! It was so rich, soft and GOOD. I love chocolate though, there is almost no such thing as "too-chocolatey" to me. I think. Anyway, make it, you won't regret it!

Justin's idea of the perfect way to celebrate his birthday is hanging out with friends and playing music... so that's what we did. They played music in our garage (aka Justin's "man cave") and good times were had.

Friends

2010-07-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

Our friends showered us with some love last weekend, Mediterranean Style. Kabobs, falafel, baklava, hummus, oh my...

Justin had such a great time, he kept calling it his "bachelor party"

Little two and a half week old Pearl even came to party

Devin and Ben formed a band and played us a song

Our amazing hosts

36 weeks

Dear friends, we love you. Thank you for showering us with love!

This is Crazy

2010-07-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

... But I'm not complaining.

I must be the luckiest summertime pregnant lady ever. Besides the one week heat wave we had a couple of weeks ago the weather has been so mild. Tonight, we even made SOUP. Normally I don't even want to turn on the stove this time of the year. This is crazy.

We made Quinoa Soup - a staple when we lived in Peru right after we got married. We love it. I could eat bowls and bowls of this stuff...

It changes everytime I make it depending on what's in season or what we have on hand. Here is the general recipe that I follow:

Quinoa Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 cup quinoa
4 cups water
1 medium zucchini chopped into small pieces
1 sweet potato chopped into small pieces
1 onion chopped
1 jalapeño diced
1 red pepper chopped into small pieces
1/2 ts cumin
1 ts oregano
1 ts salt (or more)
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 ts red pepper flakes
and this time, I added 1/4 chunky peanut butter

garnish w/
diced tomatoes, avocado, greek yogurt and cilantro

Saute onions, jalapeno and red pepper in a heavy pot, 3-4 mins. Add spices, vegetables, qunioa and water - boil until vegetables and quinoa are cooked - about 15 mins. Then add peanut butter until it's all mixed in. Taste and add more spices/salt if needed.

And yes, I made heart shaped bread to go with it.

I would share a recipe on how to make those little breads because they are so great, but I don't have a recipe. It's always a guessing game, nothing is ever measured. It's some whole wheat pastry flour, dash of olive oil, little bit of salt, tiny bit of baking powder with water added until its the right texture. And this time I threw in some sliced green olives and diced onions. I roll it out and cook them on a cast iron grill. I could eat a million of these things.

Spoiled

2010-07-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

All the most important women in my life came together to spoil baby and me. Last weekend my mom, mom-in-law, and cousin Kim threw me a great baby shower! My mom got cupcakes from Violet's (MMM!), and they made these cool citrus centerpieces, we played games, measured my belly, and had a great time. Thank you everyone! (36 weeks this Friday!)

Summer

2010-07-07T20:06:00.000-07:00

A few weeks into summer and (around) 6 1/2 weeks till baby is here!
Summer has been kind to me thus far... It's been nice and cool here, we haven't had to run our new (used) AC once! Although, I will admit, I'm looking forward to a nice warm day at the beach. That day will come soon enough and I will be begging for the kinder weather...

Some things I want to do this summer:

1. ~~Go to the beach~~ it was cold, maybe it shouldn't count...

2. SWIM in the ocean

3. ~~Swim as much as I can~~ only a couple of times ...

4. Make doughnuts

5. Go on a few more hikes

6. ~~Go see the Cobbler Lady one more time~~ she said I'm having a BOY!

7. ~~Go out to eat some good Indian Food~~ Buffet at New Dehli Palace.. mmm

8. ~~Buy a car~~

9. ~~Pick tomatoes~~

10. Visit the Pasadena Library and find a good book

11. ~~Make a braided head-band~~

12. Go on a picnic

13. ~~Hear some music at the Levitt Pavilion~~ We saw Dengue Fever ON my due date at the Levitt Pavilion..

14. ~~Make bagels~~
15. ~~Make a mobile for baby~~

Bagels

2010-07-01T07:53:00.000-07:00

Audrey inspired me.

I made bagels. Although it seemed intimidating, it was very do-able. I would even be willing to do it again. Here is the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I can mark this off my "want to-do list."

Now if I can get myself to make some homemade donuts... I really want to, but I have a fear of frying!

2 Years Old!

2010-06-29T07:07:00.000-07:00

We lived with Abel for a little more than a year and we are so grateful to have gotten to know him so well. He is an amazing kid and we love him! Living with him convinced us that we wanted to have a baby, and now here we are 8 weeks away! Happy 2nd Birthday little Abel!

Walnut Lentil Burger

2010-06-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

Ever since I got pregnant I've been craving MEAT... and now we eat it about once a week. When we do we try to eat grass-fed, well-raised, good meat (Animal, Vegetable, Miracle was a nice inspiration for that as well). We can't have it all the time because ... it's expensive. But I think once or twice a week is good enough, so my vegetarian recipes still come in handy. These "burgers" were really good, sort of like a falafel burger.

Recipe for Walnut Lentil Burger is here. Obviously, instead of pita bread or a hamburger bun, I used an english muffin... but I bet a pita would be really good!

Carrots

2010-06-15T20:24:00.000-07:00

...they grew! It's a miracle!

We harvested our little carrots this last weekend. It was our first success growing them, and it gave us a little boost of confidence in the vegetable growing department. In an attempt to use up every last carrot I hope to make this carrot salad and if there are still carrots left, then maybe I will make these carrot cookies again. But really, I think we could just snack on these and they will be gone in no time... all that water, love and anticipation and it's eaten up so quick...

Next up are our tomatoes... hope those guys do well!

really she doesn't look this sad all the time... she just hates the camera...

Homemade Yogurt

2010-06-10T22:12:00.000-07:00

I've been reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - has anyone else read it?

I love it. I love their adventure of eating local and growing their own food. I love the time they put into making as much from scratch as possible: bread, cheese, yogurt, etc. I hope to try to make my own cheese soon, we'll see-I'm a little bit intimidated. Anyway, this book is inspiring on many levels, inspiring me to keep growing food our in yard, to get chickens (working on getting a coop), and most importantly I think, to eat in season!

In the meantime I've been enjoying making my own yogurt. I almost broke down and bought a yogurt maker because I have a hard time keeping my yogurt and a certain temperature overnight and I always seemed to mess it up. .... Until I came across this Homemade Yogurt in a Crockpot recipe. It was so easy and the yogurt came out great!

Crock Pot Yogurt

From Nourishing Days

This recipe uses a 2 quart crock. In using a 4 or 4 1/2 quart crock I found the yogurt to have a bit of a "springy" texture. I was able to alleviate this by heating the milk an additional 15 minutes for a total of 2 hours and 45 minutes.

Turn your crock pot to low and pour in 1/2 gallon of milk.

Heat on low for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Once 2 hours and 30 minutes have elapsed turn your crock pot off and unplug it. Let the milk cool in the crock with the lid on for 3 hours.

After 3 hours remove 1-2 cups of the warmed milk and place in a bowl. To that add 1/2 cup of yogurt with live active cultures and mix very well.

Pour the yogurt-milk mixture back into the milk and whisk thoroughly.

Place the cover back on the crock and wrap the entire crock pot in a thick bath towel or two.

Let it culture overnight, 8-12 hours.

In the morning stir yogurt (if desired) and store in glass quart jars or a container of your choice.

For optimum texture, refrigerate for at least 8 hours before using.

Chocolate "pudding"

2010-06-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am craving sweets right now, more than usual, and I mean CRAVE! I try to make better choices when eating, and I am thankful for many creative recipes that I've come across, like this one. And... if anyone else have any other recipes to share, please do so! No really, please...

Maybe my taste buds are changed, but I think I like this MORE than a traditional pudding. It's rich and creamy and chocolatey and decadent and wonderful and so easy to make ... sold?

Chocolate Pudding Pie in a Jar

makes enough for 2

Crust

1/2 cup pecans

1-2 dates

1 tablespoon cacao nibs (optional)
1 tablespoon coconut flakes (optional)

a tiny bit of salt

Pulse in food processor until well mixed. Then divide between the two jars, press down at the bottom of the jar.

Pudding

adapted from here

2 bananas (don't use soft, blackened bananas)

4-5 tablespoons of unsweetened cacao powder

2-3 tablespoons of almond butter (or any other nut butter would work)

if needed to get things moving in your blender add a little bit of liquid: soy milk, almond milk, regular milk... whatever you have

Blend together until smooth. Pour (or scoop) into the jar and chill for about an hour before serving.

Road Trip at 29 weeks

2010-06-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

And we are back!

This was our third annual road trip up north and after this year, things will change! Baby will be here and ... road trips will be forever different. So we knew this trip was sort of an "end of an era." And disappointingly... I didn't take as many photos as I'd hoped on this trip. Bad. In fact, below are pretty much the only photos I got...

We left LA last Friday and made our way up to the Mt Shasta area, then the next morning went up to Eagle Point, Oregon to meet up with our dear friends Brian & Lori Jo, then the next day up to Portland - where we spent a few days. Then back down to Talent, Oregon and then to San Fransisco to stay with Cait. Phew!

We stayed at McMenamins Edgefield near Portland again (we went last year). That place is amazing! They have a winery, distillery, gardens, a brewery, and a soaking tub. Plenty to do. GO there.

Here are the few photos I did get along the way. The first... a belly shot near Shasta - 29 weeks. Time to embrace the big belly:

These photos are of Sims Flat Campground near Shasta. Our plans to stay here were foiled, twice. Once by illness, then later by rain. But we stopped and wandered around for a bit.

We also got to drive through the Crater Lake area stopping at the Rouge River and Toketee Falls, which is AMAZING:

We had a great time with our friends and are so thankful for our friendship and the many adventures we've been able to share. LOVE YOU GUYS!

Chocolate Cupcakes (with Coconut Flour)

2010-05-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

I love coconut flour, I'm sold. I got the original recipe from here and bought my coconut flour from here.

Chocolate Cupcakes
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
¼ cup coconut oil
½ cup agave nectar

In a medium bowl, combine coconut flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda
In a large bowl, blend together eggs, oil and agave
Blend dry ingredients into wet thoroughly
Line a cupcake tin with paper liners and scoop a scant 1/4 cup into each
Bake at 375° for 20-22 minutes
Cool and cover with chocolate frosting
Serve
Makes 10 cupcakes

Friday we leave for OREGON. I cannot wait!

Creamy Green Soup

2010-05-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

I'm fighting a cold right now. I'm doing everything I can to fight it: salt gargling, neti pot, emergen-c, ginger-lemon-honey-tea, drinking lots and lots of water... what am I missing?

I made this soup a couple of nights ago when it was chilly outside. The weather changed quick and now I'm sitting here in a skirt and a tank top sweating (maybe that has a lot to do with the pregnancy!). I don't know if there will be too many more chilly soup days because summer is fast approaching, but this was nice... especially when sick. I used a bunch of stuff that we had on hand and it came out really good! This might sound like a gross comparison but it reminds me of a warm, savory green smoothie! mmm healthy! No, really it's good, trust me.

Creamy Green Soup
1 head of broccoli, chopped
1-2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (small cubes so it cooks faster)
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
2 cups spinach
1 cup frozen peas
1 ts kosher salt
1 ts oregano
1/2 ts red pepper flakes
1/2 ts cayenne pepper (optional, I was craving spicy!)
1/2 cup half & half
5 cups water or broth (you can add more when blending if it seems too thick)

Saute the onions in a little bit of oil for about 5-10 mins. Add the potatoes, broccoli, salt, oregano, garlic, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and water/broth - boil until potatoes and broccoli are soft (15 mins?).

Add the frozen peas and spinach and return to a boil for a couple of mins.

Remove from heat and blend in a blender until smoooth (blend hot liquids with caution!). Return to the pot and mix in half and half. Heat until heated through, add more salt to taste if needed. And eat!

Louisiana Style Baby Shower

2010-05-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

There seems to be a baby boom right now. Anyone else noticing this?

I get to be pregnant at the same time as a quite a few of my friends (I can think of at least 6!!)! It's great! I love the clothes swapping, the advice swapping and the simple fact that someone is going through the same thing as me, at the same time.

This last weekend we had a baby shower for our friend Jen - Louisiana Seafood Boil Style! It was great, this was a new experience for me and - it was MMM good! Amazing job Smiths on putting that together!!

There is no shortage of cute toe-headed little boys amongst our friends. Jen's expecting a little girl this time, that should mix things up a bit.

(Soaked) Waffles

2010-05-09T23:35:00.000-07:00

Two things are shaking up my baking world. One is coconut FLOUR (and coconut sugar - I'll share about both later) the other is Soaking Grains before baking. Read here why that's beneficial.

I've made this waffle recipe several times now with a different grain combination each time and it's been SO GOOD each time. The waffles come out light and crispy, as apposed to the dense thick whole grain waffles I'm used to. I think it's a combination of the soaking and blending that give it the nice texture. Here is my favorite combination/version so far:

(Soaked Blender) Whole Grain Waffles

1. Place in blender; blend at highest speed for 3 minutes.
1 1/2 – 1 3/4 cups buttermilk or kefir (or non-dairy alternative: almond milk with 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar)
2 Tbls olive oil (I used coconut oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup oats

The batter should always swirl about a vortex in the blender. If it doesn’t, slowly add more liquid until the hole reappears. This is the secret to light and tender waffles. Batter for pancakes may be thicker, but keep batter relatively thin and keep it churning.

2. Cover blender; let stand at room temperature overnight or 12-24 hours.

3. Preheat waffle iron at highest temperature, or griddle on medium high.

4. Just before baking, add and re-blend on highest speed for 1 minute and add one egg.

5. Blend in thoroughly, but briefly (assisted with rubber spatula, if needed):
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt, to taste

6. Pour batter onto hot waffle iron, sprayed with oil. Bake according to waffle maker instructions.

Enjoy with good butter and maple syrup!!

For other grain variations refer to the original recipe here. I've used buckwheat, whole wheat, oats and brown rice all with good results. I've also made soaked oatmeal for breakfast, and as I type I'm making Soaked Granola... hopefully with good results!

Tires

2010-05-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

I had a great birthday weekend last weekend... and I have NO photos to show for it. I cannot show you how we went to West Hollywood to get records at Amoeba (we got Smile by Brian Wilson and a Stars of the Lid album), and how we ate at the Den that evening with my cousin Kim. Then how we went to the Santa Monica Farmer's Market the next morning, then out to dinner with my mom and brother in Old Town that night (amazing sushi at Blue Fish!).

You won't see any of it! And then the day after that we had a bunch of friends over for a BBQ in our backyard, in the glorious afternoon with amazing carne asada.

I have nothing to show you.

What I will show you is this:

... look what we made! Huge planters are expensive, but old used tires are FREE! I have good intentions to paint them to make them as little easier on the eyes, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Our tomatoes are very happy in their new home.

Another good use for tires: Compost Tower

It's so easy and free!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bar - Danger!

2010-04-28T13:00:00.000-07:00

Another irresistibly good recipe.

But maybe it's just me with no self-control. I am not to be trusted around a pan of these... let's just say that Justin and I nearly polished off the whole thing in a few days - I had to give away the last few pieces in fear that we might O.D.

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Bars
from here (she's a genius!)

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup natural, smooth peanut butter
1 cup pure maple syrup
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (I used coconut oil)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12-ounce bag of bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Grease an 8-inch square cake pan. Line the pan with a strip of parchment paper, allowing the edges to hang over the sides of the pan. Grease the parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350F degrees.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate larger bowl whisk together the peanut butter, maple syrup, olive oil, and vanilla. Pour the flour mixture over the peanut butter mixture and stir until barely combined – still a bit dusty looking. Let sit for five minutes, give one more quick stir, just a stroke or two.

Press the dough into the prepared pan, using your fingertips or the bottom of a measuring cup to flatten the surface and create an even layer of dough. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the bars begin to brown at the edges and are set. (Err on the side of under-baking here for a chewier almost fudge-y texture; otherwise, the bars can dry out and become a bit crumbly.)

As soon as you remove the bars from the oven, set the bars (in their pan) on a cooling rack. Scatter the chips on top of the bars and let stand for several minutes, until the chocolate chips have begun to melt. Using a small offset spatula or a butter knife, spread the melted chips into a smooth, even topping.

Let the bars cool completely in their pan until the chocolate has become firm. Using the overhanging parchment paper like a set of “handles,” lift the bars out of the pan and, using a very sharp knife, slice into bars. Store the bars in an airtight container. I like to keep them in the fridge, but if you do so, allow them to warm a bit at room temperature before serving (so the chocolate layer is not too hard).

24 weeks

2010-04-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

What we did this last weekend.

{not shown: long walk to the library, lots of cooking, a trip to Chinatown and Olvera St with good friends, and an impromptu drink and dessert get together with friends in our backyard}

It's scary how much we love this dog, down-right-weird! ... what's even weirder is how she does NOT like her picture being taken. She runs and hides and cowers whenever she sees a camera. Justin's holding her here because she was hiding behind his legs, and then right after this she buried her face in his neck ... strange dog.

And Justin snapped a belly shot:

24 weeks

Next weekend is birthday celebration galore: a weekend full of things that I want to do...
I'm ready to tire Justin out, there's so much on my list!

Sunshine and Rain

2010-04-21T17:30:00.001-07:00

Sunshine and rain... today it's raining, but there was sunshine last week! I'm trying to enjoy this el nino weather, soon it will be a hot hot dry summer. Southern California needs this rain, so bring it!

In garden news, our radishes are ready! Lots and lots of radishes...

Everything else is coming along, I'm especially excited about the tomatillos. I have plans to make lots and lots of this.

One of my favorite things to do with the stuff we grow and veggies we get from our CSA is to come up with random meals using what we got on hand, makes for a hodgepodge, colorful meal.

Notice the avocado in both dishes... I can't help it. Almost every meal I have to have an avocado. MMM. Doesn't seem right without one.

Cheers to spring and many sunshine days ahead!

Granola Bar

2010-04-08T18:49:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll!

Maybe it's the energy, maybe it's the hunger, but I'm on a roll with fixing up treats! Here is another one that's good for ya. I gave these away for Easter (knowing I wouldn't score points with the kiddos because they aren't Cadbury Eggs!), but they are good, nay, GREAT!

Homemade Granola Bars
adapted from here

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 c. flax seed, milled

1/4 c. quinoa

3/4 c. shelled sunflower seeds

1 c. chopped nuts (any kind or combination)

1 c. shredded coconut

1/2 to 1 tsp. cinnamon (desired amount)

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. brown sugar or organic agave nectar

1/2 c. honey

2 tsp. molasses

4 T. butter (I used coconut oil)

2 tsp. vanilla

4 T. peanut butter
(optional, 1/2 cup chocolate chips, add in step 3. That's why mine are darker than the original)

mix first 8 ingredients together and place on a rimmed baking sheet. toast in a 400 degree oven for 12 minutes. stir and let cool at least 15 minutes.
bring next 4 ingredients to a simmer, stirring continuously. stir in the vanilla and peanut butter and cool for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
put the toasted ingredients in a large bowl and pour the liquid ingredients over it. mix very well.
place parchment or wax paper in the rimmed baking sheet and butter the top side, then place the granola bar mixture in the pan. put another butter sheet of paper, buttered side down, on top of the mixture and press down. roll with a rolling pin to make it very tight, smooth, and even.
let set for 2-3 hours and cut into desired bar size. makes about 20-24 bars. package in snack size bags or an airtight container. if not using within next few days, store in freezer or fridge. they keep very well, and thaw quickly. (really yummy frozen, too!)

Nutty Chocolate Coconut Cookies

2010-04-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

... my new obsession.

These are good. I mean real good-really rich and nutty. Sure, they're full of (good) fat, but they are good for ya, I say.

Nutty Chocolate Coconut Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine in a bowl:
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup Sucanat or natural brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped raw walnuts (or pecans!)
dash of sea salt
1/2 cup mashed dark chocolate chips

Mix all of that together, then mix in 1/2 cup coconut flour (I used almond meal, turned out great, just falls apart easy!).

Form the dough into one inch balls. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

*Sorry, I can't remember where I got this recipe! I wrote it down, but didn't save a link...

Anza Borrego

2010-03-29T12:35:00.000-07:00

We spent this last weekend in Anza Borrego, the blooming desert, with some friends, Lucky our campin' dog, food and music.

I read about the amazing wildflowers that were in bloom RIGHT NOW and suggested we get out there ASAP!

I really had never heard much about Anza Borrego till now, don't know how it escaped our radar. There it is, right there between the Salton Sea and San Diego... an under appreciated desert.

Now that we know about Anza Borrego, we will be back... though, only in the cool months. I could see how quickly this place heats up!

And of course, my obligatory belly shot. I am 20 weeks!

9 grain pancake

2010-03-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

Like I mentioned last post, Justin and I went to the Big Sur Bakery on our little camping trip and it was so unbelievably good. Justin ordered this 9 grain pancake, and I wasn't expecting much, but it was amazing. It was crispy on the outside, soft and gooey on the inside; it tasted like nothing I've had before.

Lo and behold, that recipe is in their cookbook, which I happen to own.

I took on the feat of trying to recreate it this last weekend. I followed the recipe to a T, hoping to get it perfect so I could taste it once again.

But, there was something missing. The cookbook doesn't account for the fact that they cook it in a high heat wood-burning oven in their restaurant, and it cooks in just minutes. In the recipe it says to cook it at 350F for 15-20 minutes and the result is a much denser, cakier pancake than I had hoped for.

It was still good, don't me wrong. I then tried to modify it and make the batter thinner, then I added more butter to the pan, cooked it on the stove at a high heat, then finished it in the broiler for a few minutes, and it came out better than the first try.

If there are any adventurous pancake lovers out there, you may want to give this a shot.

I must add, as you can see, this pancake is HUGE. I'm talking, BIG - I can't finish one, ME: pregnant-hungry-all-the-time-I-could-eat-a-horse, but not this pancake.

Big Sur Bakery 9 Grain Pancake
Ingredients:
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 cup plus 2 tbs nine-grain mix
2 tbs flax seeds
2 tbs sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbs plus 1 ts baking powder
1 tbs plus 1 ts baking soda
1 ts kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 3 tbs old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup molasses
4 cups buttermilk
4 eggs yolks
6 egg whites
4 tbs unsalted butter

Directions:
Combine nine-grain mix, flax seeds, sesame seeds, and sunflower seeds in a bowl. Bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil, and pour it over the grains and seeds. Let them soak for 30 minutes or until they're soft.

Place the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and oats in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine, and make a well in the center. In a separate bowl, whisk together the molasses, buttermilk, egg yolks, the grain and seed mixture, and 1/2 cup cooked brown rice. Pour the liquid mixture into the well, and combine with a wooden spoon.

In an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites at high speed until soft speaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the whites into the flour mixture.

Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 350F.

Preheat two 9-inch cast-iron skillets in the oven for 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of butter to each pan and swirl it around to coat the pan. Pour one fourth of the batter into each pan, transfer them to the oven, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check the pancakes the same way you would a regular cake: the pancakes are ready when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Flip each pancake onto a plate, and serve.