PAPAYA'S BDAY TOMORROW ... and One-Pot Pasta Recipe!
Tomorrow is our sweet Papaya's 15th BIRTHDAY!
We are so excited to celebrate!
And I know I say this a lot (and it sounded so cheesy when I heard adults say it when I was a kid), but "TIME IS FLYING."
I truly remember every single detail of her adoption as if it were yesterday.
Every detail:
--The weather the day we got the phone call from our dear friends at church, telling us they had a family member who was considering adoption for her beautiful bambina.
--The movie and scene that were playing on tv when I answered the phone to find out that their family member wanted to meet us ... tomorrow! (PS: It was "You've Got Mail" and the Meg Ryan character was getting a drink of some kind at Starbucks in the fall. She'd yet to begin emailing the Tom Hanks character.)
--I remember how nervous I was and that I didn't sleep at all for the whole night. I remember how Dave was able to sleep like a baby the whole night. (Which have become pretty consistent strategies for coping with new things in our lives. I muscle my way through, Dave recharges. HILARIOUS.)
Anyway, my point!
Papaya and her birth family are just incredible blessings in our lives.
Papaya herself is a miracle. Literally. The way we came to be her parents, the love we immediately felt for her, her birthfamily, and the insane LOVE they shared with Elder Meehan (who was 4 yo) and Bam (who was 2 yo) from the moment they met them.
(Sidenote: Let me tell you, that meeting was all over the place--our kids were climing rocks, running, laughing ... it wasn't quite the Kodak moment I was picturing. But Melissa (birthmom) and her mom (grandma) Loraine thought it was perfect. (Phew!)
Anyway, we are so happy to celebrate year 15 with Papaya. She is a good soul and her life is a blessing to our whole family.
Can't wait for tomorrow. (PS: This is the year she can get her Drivers Permit, so she's pretty excited.)
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| Papaya, Zu, and Bam (who's wearing a sweater my parents just mailed me--HAY!). |
And in other news ...
We joined a food co-op two weeks ago and are loving it. It's perking up our winter grey vibe with colorful fruits and veggies. (Amen.)
Plus, we're learning to cook some things we'd never made before (because the co-op offers suggestions for what to make with your basket = awesome).
This week we got the following for $15.00 (minus the bowl of apples--those were from last week).
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| Can you believe that? $15.00 for all of this! |
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| Jr. is the Sous Chef for this project. Able to halve and core Roma tomatoes in no-time flat! |
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| Pre-roasting: tomatoes, olive oil, thyme and garlic. |
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| Yes, I think it's funny that I take photos of my food. BUT, in my defense, it does help answer some questions about me and my interests ... at least for our kids. Yesterday as I was baking, Bam said, "Have you always liked to cook?" And I realized, "No. I actually never really asked to cook. Never had anything I knew really how to make on my own (as a kid or college student). I liked to eat, yes, but cook? Meh, not really." In fact, I don't think I started to like cooking until I was a mom. Go figure. (Glad you asked, Bam.) |
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| Post-roast. (This is a Rachel Ray recipe. She uses the roasted tomatoes all different ways. Ours are being peeled and put into a tomato sauce. To be continued ....) |
Oh, and we tried a Martha Stewart type recipe for 1 Pot Pasta which has pretty much changed my life! (We used some of the grape tomatoes from our co-op basket this week for this recipe.)
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ONE POT PASTA (adapted from Martha Stewart)
4.5 cups water
12 ounces whole wheat linguine/pasta (*I think you could use regular, but we use whole wheat)
12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced half
6 cloves of garlic, minced or sliced thinly (depending on how your fam feels about garlic)
1 onion, sliced thinly
1/8-3/4 tsp of red pepper flakes (at own risk)
2 sprigs fresh basil
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
* Kosher salt, basil, and fresh parm for garnish
1. Combine all (minus garnish) in pot.
2. Bring to a boil on high heat.
3. Boil. Turn pasta frequently with tongs until water has nearly evaporated.
4. Season to taste.
5. Garnish and serve.
