Asian Style Brown Rice "Salad"

 We enjoyed this salad for dinner.  And by we, I mean, Geoff and I.  Isaac fed his portion to Tina.  Isaac doesn't like rice - problematic since we eat rice at least once a week.

3/4 C brown rice
2 C water

1 C edamame, cooked and shelled
1 C carrots, finely diced
2 green onions, finely chopped
1/2 C toasted slivered almonds
3 Tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/2 C Black beans, cooked (1 can)

Combine rice and water in a saucepan.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Turn off heat, let stand covered for 10 minutes.

Add dressing, edamame, carrots, green onions, almonds, cilantro, and black beans to the rice.  Serve at room temperature.

Dressing - Whisk together the following:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp sesame oil, toasted
pinch of red chili flakes

This weekend we took little boy and little dog down to the creek with some friends of ours.  Isaac LOVED it!  The world was literally his sandbox.  We got there and he promptly started filling things with sand - the wagon, the bag of coals, the box of muffins. . . Then he discovered the creek.  He sat there in little boy heaven throwing sand into the creek, onto Dada's pants, and occasionally at Tina.  After running out of new places to put sand, he decided it was time to go into the creek.  He occasionally got his feet in, but it was a bit chilly and so we tried to keep him dry.

Terribly Belated Pi Day Post

I am a blogging slacker.  I had good intentions of blogging right after pi day.  Just as I had good intentions of blogging right after Easter.  Better late than never?

Isaac painting with his slice of blueberry pie.  I'm not sure he's ever been this quiet and content.  I'm going to start giving him slices of pie when I need a break from chasing him around.

Pi day was delicious as usual.  Every year I panic, thinking we won't have enough pies so at the last minute I throw together a third pie, only to have ridiculous amounts of pie left over.   Next year I need to remember to only make two pies.  It would be more than adequate, as so many people bring pies of there own to share. Fortunately, I've learned my lesson from last year and I stubbornly refuse to allow anyone to leave leftover pie that they brought so we didn't have more leftovers than the three of us can eat alone.

This year I made a walnut-brownie pie (um, brownie in a pie?  Yes please!), Creamy White Chocolate Strawberry pie, and in response to my unfounded panic that we wouldn't have enough pie, I threw together the Key Lime pie we have at every occasion that could possibly warrant a pie (the husband's favorite).

Brownie Walnut Pie
1 pie crust, rolled out and in a pie pan, unbaked
1/2 C butter
3 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut up
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C flour
1 tsp vanilla
1 C chopped walnuts
Garnish with hot fudge and or strawberries


Melt butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring frequently.  Cool 20 minutes (this would be a great time to make your pie crust).

Combine eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla.  Stir in the chocolate mixture and the nuts.  Pour into pie crust.  Cover edges with foil to prevent over-browning (I forgot this step - oops).  Bake for 50-55 minutes at 350, or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

We also celebrated pie day with a delicious quiche.  And, in retrospect, I determined that quiche doesn't photograph well (or, I should say, doesn't photograph well for a photographer, we use that term loosely, who just points a camera at something and presses the button).  But, believe me that the quiche was delicious, regardless how the picture looks.

Quiche:
1 pie crust
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 C half-and-half or milk
1/4 C green onion
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
dash ground nutmeg
3/4 C chopped ham
1 1/2 C cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, Swiss, etc)
1 Tbsp flour

Line pie plate with pastry crust.  Do not prick.  Cover with foil and bake fr 8 minutes at 450.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 4-5 minutes.

Stir together eggs, half-and-half, green onions, and spices.  Stir in ham.  In a separate bowl, toss together the cheese and flour.  Add to the egg mixture. Pour egg mixture into hot pastry shell.  Cover edge of crust with foil to prevent over-browning.  Bake at 325 for 40-45 minutes or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.


And as a special bonus for actually checking my blog even though I never post anymore, here is a video of the little boy.  Did I mention that he is adorable?

The diaper box in the background is filled with sand. At the rate he throws sand, we'll need it soon enough.