CSA Week 1: Sugar Snap Peas

Yum... I love cooking from the CSA. It forces you to be so much more creative in the kitchen.

This recipe was adapted from Serving Up The Harvest. Quite possibly the greatest seasonal produce cookbook ever.

Bow Tie Pasta & Farm Fresh Peas

2 cups peas (about 2 pounds in pods)
12 oz. (one box) of bow tie pasta
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 garlic gloves, minced
1 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add peas to the salted water and boil just until tender (about 3-5 minutes). Scoop out with a slotted spoon. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente.

In the meantime, heat olive oil over medium in a large Dutch oven. Add onion and garlic and saute until softened and fragrant (about 2-3 minutes). Reduce heat to very low and stir in peas.

Drain pasta and add to pea mixture. Stir in parmesan cheese. Season generously with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Bump Watch

A bit of a bump watch delay this week (my apologies). Here we are at 30 weeks...

I didn't gain anything since our last appointment. No extra weight, no added inches around the belly. Our doc said that's OK since I'm so tall. But I'd still like to see baby (and me) getting bigger.

Even though we still have 10 weeks to go, Ben feels very strongly that we need to pack our hospital bag RIGHT NOW. That's first time dad nerves for you. Besides, there's so much to do in the next few weeks... baby showers, nursery prep, home remodeling. I think we have enough to think about. The hospital bag will have to wait.

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

Today is CSA day! The next 20 weeks are my favorite of the entire year... fresh, locally-grown, organic produce from June to October. What's better than that?

Ben and I joined Olden Produce in 2009 and LOVED it. We initially did a full-share and split it with my in-laws. It was too much food for them though, so this year we're doing a half-share on our own.

I ran in to Tracy (the farmer and CSA manager) on Saturday. She said Olden has grown to 115 members (last year they only had 40)! That's so awesome, and a real testiment to how fantastic their produce is.

Our first box contains pea shoots, mixed greens, sugar snap peas, garlic, herb plants and strawberries. Delish!

Nursery inspiration

Finally. I've come to some conclusion on what to do with the nursery. I've been trying to find some fun wall art and accessories, without being too theme-y.

The color scheme will be primary colors with white accents. The room was painted yellow a few months ago. Today, I ordered some white vinyl wall decals (sheep, stars, moon, clouds) from Etsy. Ben and I fell in love with a darling plane mobile from Liapela. And of course the fantastic primary color quilt currently in production by Nana (Francie). Love, love, love!

It's getting crowded in there... and other pregnancy updates

Baby takes up way more room in my belly now. No longer can I consume two bowls of cereal in one sitting (bummer). There just isn't room to eat as much as I'd like.

Baby enjoys resting on my bladder these days, so I feel like I have to pee all the time. Like literally, all the time. My current record: three times in 20 minutes. I might as well set-up shop in the bathroom.

I'm also getting some kicks in the ribs, so between the bladder-pressure and rib-karate, I hope that means baby is head down already. We'll find out at our appointment on Wednesday. We're only 30 weeks though, so if not yet, he's still got some time.

Long gone are the high-energy days of the second trimester... I'm so tired now! I feel like I did in early pregnancy. I have to nap for an hour or so almost every afternoon. I'm still sleeping really well at night... no complaints there. I'm just not able to get through an entire day without some rest. Growing a baby is exausting.

My apologies, this post is pretty whiny. But the discomfort factor has really ramped up in past week. Nature must do this so you have reason to want the kid out when the time comes.

So two incomes might have been helpful...

Love me some NPR, but this story gave me pause.

It will cost $222,360 to raise a child to age 17. Whoa.

That figure includes housing costs (which we're paying anyway) and daycare (which we won't be needing), but still. That's a ton of money.

Restaurants? Who needs restaurants?

I'm a devoted foodie. I love going out to eat. I love fresh ingredients. I love trying new recipes. I just love food.

But our one-income status will soon put a serious damper on my foodie fun. No more super fancy artisan cheeses. No more restaurant meals. It will be a big change for me and my stomach.

So I'm super committed to giving myself the foodie experience at home and on a budget. In preparation, I made an incredible meal for Ben and I yesterday evening... lemon and caper grilled salmon, ricotta gnocchi with brown butter sauce, and roasted broccoli with lemon and basil. Delish!

The salmon ($9/pound at our local supermarket) made it a little pricey. But all in all, I made the entire thing for $10.80/person. Not too shabby.

Babies, babies everywhere!

Oh my gosh! So many new babies!

M had her darling little boy on June 3... Milo North (isn't that just the cutest?!?). And K had her sweet baby girl (5 weeks early!) on June 5... Claire Genevieve.

I'm so thrilled to have so many friends with new babies. Another new friend from my Bradley class is due in a few weeks. She's a cloth diapering, nautral childbirth, chemical-conscious, organic freak like me, so I think we'll have fun swapping baby tips. Right on.