Entering a Fun Phase

Arlo is nearly 5 months old, and he's getting more and more fun and interactive. One of his favorite things is playing with his wooden rattle. Well, we shake the rattle, but he laughs and puts his hands in his mouth with delight.

He's also turning into quite the swimmer! Today, Arlo went under water for the first time with help from his dad. In fact, Arlo went under water three times before the lesson was over, and he didn't freak out at all. Good thing we captured it on film!

Things are a changing in the Nonerick house. Before we know it, Arlo will be eating real food, crawling, and speaking his first words. We are enjoying every minute of it! Well, almost every minute. We can do without the major diaper blow outs.

Food and Fun

January has been full of eating and playing (and for me, working). Our friends, Amy and Byron, had a little boy, Wyatt, on January 6th, so we cooked them a meal of vegetarian tortilla soup, salad, and Mexican chocolate cupcakes. Mexican chocolate is one of my favorite things on Earth. The chocolate has a little spice from cinnamon and sometimes chilies. As a new mom, I didn't have time to make cupcakes and frosting from scratch. So I added cinnamon to a box of chocolate cake mix and chocolate frosting. I also bought some vanilla frosting and mixed in cinnamon and nutmeg to give it a little spice. Since Amy was a brand new mom, I held off on the chilies. They were amazing!

In lieu of sprinkles, I tossed some toasted almonds and hazelnuts on the top of the cupcakes.

With all the good food around, Arlo started showing an interest in grown-up food. Ryan and I hold him in our laps during dinner, and Arlo started opening his mouth and leaning toward our plates. Our pediatrician told us he is old enough to try some mashed food if he's showing enough interest. At this point, giving him any food is really to see how he reacts more than feed him. We decided Arlo was ready to try his first bite of real food!

Mmmm... avocado!

I don't think Arlo knew what to make of it. He's not ready to actually eat food, but he seemed to like the avocado. A few days later, we mashed up some butternut squash and dabbed some on his gums. He will be a big boy before we know it!

Arlo also got a new toy this month. Over the holidays, Arlo got to play in his first exersaucer, and he loved it. Ryan and I were a little freaked about about the amount of stuff on the exersaucer. Personally, I'm not sure a baby needs that much to stimulate them. I got a headache just looking at the thing.

Our neighbors had a very cool exersaucer/jumper toy that had four "stations" with different activities, which seemed a little more, well, healthy. I'm not crazy about most of the baby stuff in the world, but this was a good purchase. Arlo loves it!

Arlo focusing on a spinning cat and dog station on the new exersaucer.

And now for Arlo and his exersaucer in action!

Finally, Arlo is starting to find his toes, which is one of the cutest things I've ever seen. Funny how my perspective on such simple things has changed!

Cold Weather Comforts

The cold January weather makes me seek any and all comforts. It could be a warm cup of tea, a moment in the elusive Seattle sunshine, or a toasty sweatshirt. But nothing beats a comforting meal. Some people prefer the rich and creamy soothing from a pan of macaroni and cheese. Others seek happiness in a sweet and decadent dessert.

Don't get me wrong, those things are fabulous, but lately I've been finding comfort in soup. During the last month, I've made all sorts of soups: blended butternut squash, smooth cauliflower, creamy tomato, hearty vegetable with kale and white beans. Last night, I made one of my all time favorites courtesy of my dear friend, and new mom, Amy. Amy has a fabulous recipe for vegetarian chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. Yep, that's right, vegetarian chicken noodle soup. Amy and her husband were raised in a religious faith that followed a vegetarian diet, which means she's familiar with lots of meat substitutes. As friends, we've reaped many of the benefits of her knowledge.

For this recipe -- available on Amy's blog -- I used the miracle that is McCay's Chicken Style Instant Broth and Quorn naked "chicken" cutlets. I'm convinced that even the most dedicated carnivore will enjoy these two meat substitutes.

Now, I know what you may be thinking about the homemade noodles. You may believe that because they are made from scratch, they must be hard or time consuming. The truth is that making these noodles is easy. I just put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until the ingredients come together. Then, I put the dough in plastic wrap and chill while I prepare the soup. Finally, I roll out the dough and take my trusty pizza cutter to make the noodles. The entire process takes about 5 minutes to mix, 30 minutes to chill, and 10 minutes to cook. The results are SO worth it.

I like to use red potatoes and keep the skins on for extra color. The skins may separate from the potato during the cooking process, but I don't notice a difference in the heavenly goodness of the final product.

I also modified Amy's recipe by adding carrots to the soup for a little extra veggie boost.

My other cold weather comfort obsession is roasted winter vegetables. I think roasted veggies are a year round staple, but here is my easy winter version:

2 parsnips
3-4 carrots
2 beets (roasted separately)
2 cups of quarted crimini mushrooms
olive oil
salt pepper

Optional:
2 cloves of garlic
onion (red or sweet onions work fine)
winter herbs like thyme and rosemary

Roast in a single layer on a baking sheet at 375 degrees until the parsnips start to brown. If you aren't sure if the veggies are done, give them another five minutes and check them again. I'm always surprised at how early I want to remove them, but if you keep the veggies in the oven a little longer, they get even better.

You can also roast sweet potatoes (yum!), purple potatoes (my new favorite thing), and good ol' regular potatoes.

Parsnips, carrots, and mushrooms, oh my!

Add a glass of wine or a winter lager, and you will find yourself in a better mood in no time!

2010 Slideshow

Our third annual end-of-the-year slideshow! Enjoy!