Awesome Rice Recipe

I found this recipe in a magazine while waiting in the dentist's office. I made it tonight and it is sooooo good.

Zucchini Rice Gratin
Serves4 to 6 (side dish)
Active time:25 min
Start to finish:1 1/4 hr

With golden cheese that yields to an abundance of roasted vegetables, this gratin is an ideal side dish, but it really doesn’t need anything more than a green salad to make it a satisfying dinner.

1/3 cup long-grain white rice
1 1/2 lb zucchini (about 3 medium), sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
6 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 lb plum tomatoes, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon chopped thyme
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, divided

Preheat oven to 450°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.

Cook rice according to package instructions.

While rice cooks, toss zucchini with 1 tablespoon oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a shallow baking pan. Toss tomatoes with 1/2 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt in another baking pan.

Roast zucchini in upper third of oven and tomatoes in lower third, turning vegetables once halfway through roasting, until tender and light golden, about 10 minutes for tomatoes; 20 minutes for zucchini. Leave oven on.

Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt in 2 tablespoons oil in a large heavy skillet, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir together onion mixture, cooked rice, eggs, thyme, 1/4 cup cheese, 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread half of rice mixture in a shallow 2-quart baking dish, then top with half of zucchini.

Spread remaining rice mixture over zucchini, then top with remaining zucchini. Top with tomatoes and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, then sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

Bake in upper third of oven until set and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Double Digits and Happy Anniversary to us!

May 29, 2008. Our very precious little boy is Double Digits. He turns 10 in just a few hours. He is one whole decade old, or should I say "young"? I really am having a time with this birthday, this milestone of sorts. I always embrace the celebrations, the moving on into another phase of life (except when Lenny turned 50). But this 10-years-old thing is gripping me in a way that I can not explain.

I look at him and I marvel at God's workmanship, at his amazing attention to detail in every part of this child's being. His personality, his eye color, the way his eyebrows are exact duplicates of his father's. I hear his heart and watch his growth, I see his talents and I hear his voice. I revel in his laughter and twitch at his complaining. My heart aches when he cries and my soul sings when he wants to snuggle. He feels so good to hold. He is so fun to be with, he makes me laugh harder than I ever thought a little person could.

He is a gift from my heavenly father. One that I do not deserve nor have any idea on how to raise. He is one of the best things ever to happen to me.

He is so excited about this birthday. Mostly because we have been making a big deal about double digits. We explained to him that for only 9 years can you be single digits. When you turn 10, you are double digits for the rest of your life - unless you live to be 100 and he is most certain that he will. Several times today he has let out his glee at another birthday, at being 10. Then he quickly comes over to apologize for growing up too quickly. But then he admits that he is really happy to have a birthday. He is so stinkin' adorable.

So as we sing Happy Birthday to Jacob, Lenny and I will celebrate 10 years of parenting. 10 years of raising a child in the ways of the Lord, nurturing his spirit, feeding his body and soul, bathing, playing and enjoying this amazing role as parents.

I am sitting here pondering this day, this event, this huge life marker all alone. Lenny is working a 48 right now. I know that he would much rather be here than at work. So, I thought I would post some pics from the last 10 years of Jacob just for the best dad in the whole wide world.

Lenny, I love you and I think you are one of the most amazing fathers I have seen. You are a shining example of how Jacob's Heavenly Father loves him. You are committed, dedicated and the most faithful man that I know. There is no other person on this planet that I would want to share parenting or life with than you. Thank you for being the dad that you are to my kids. I feel like I am the luckiest person alive.

And Jacob, Happy Birthday to you. You are an angel sent from Heaven. You may not always act like one but I know, your dad knows, that you are a gift from God. You coming into a room is the same as when the clouds move out of the sun's way. You light it up and your warmth and smile make everyone happy. We love you so much Jacob. Thank you for being such an awesome kid, for loving God the way you do, for being kind to others and always doing the right thing. You make us proud.

We were looking at some old pictures of him growing up. I scanned a few from our pre-digital camera days to share.

Happy First Birthday

18 months. He loved the fire station

Almost two

3rd birthday 4th birthday

I love this pic of Jacob on the front porch. It captures his love of life and his energy. He goes after it all and this photo seems to be a great image of his personality.

It took everything I had to let him try out the flute. His little fingers would always find their way into the keyholes, he would spit in the mouthpiece and then drop the thing.

May 29th, 2004 6th Birthday

3rd Grade

9th Birthday

He asked me to bring him In and Out for lunch, along with "10 extra orders of fries so I can share with my friends." I am going to feel retarded ordering all of those fries and then an XL Diet Coke. Then we are having cupcakes in his class. Should be a great day!

10 Years Ago TODAY

Oh boy am I feeling sentimental today. May 28, 2008

10 years ago today, May 28, 1998, I graduated from CSULB. What makes this day so memorable, besides the obvious, is that I was also one week overdue in delivering my first child. I didn't think I would make it to the ceremony. I thought that I would be home with a newborn. I prayed to God to please make a way to get me to commencement.

It took me 11 years to get a 4 year degree. It was not easy and I wanted that cap and gown. I wanted my baby but I also wanted to participate with my friends in graduation.

God is soooo good. He really is. He knew that I needed it. I needed to be there. I needed to prove to myself something.

I was there. All 41 weeks of my pregnancy in amazingly hot morning weather, black gown that was sticking to my sweaty back. It didn't matter. I was graduating.

Notice the top of my feet pouring out of my shoe straps. They hurt like crazy and we hadn't even left our house yet.

It was awesome!

That's my mother with us. She died less than two years later.

23 hours later Jacob was born. God knew. He has impeccable timing.

Strawberry Fields Forever

If you have never been to Tanaka Farms in Irvine, CA, you gotta try it. We had never been there, but, much to our good luck, we were invited to join a group of moms and their kids for a day in the fields. We rode a tractor around the fields and saw all kinds of fresh produce, learned how it grows and even got to sample some right then and there. What was so fun about it was that when we were done with something, we got to throw it out of the tractor.

First we tried onions. You have to break the green part and roll it in between your fingers, sniff it and then try the white bulb. Much to my surprise, Sarah loved the onion. Not a great picture but I had to post it as I just still can not believe that she ate it.

The Carrots ROCKED.

We tried the red leaf lettuce. Didn't like it...too bitter.

Getting ready to pick our...strawberries.

Jenny Shannon helping her boy get a good one. These guys were smart. They wore red shirts to hide the stains!

He likes strawberries!

We are Girls

Got this idea from Jen. Sarah and I went all frou frou and had a pedicure last weekend. I took this pic to show our girlie toes off.
I also got my eyebrows and mustache waxed. I have had it done only once before and I screamed. I vowed that I would never do it again...until that day. I had noticed some hairs on my lip and also the unibrow that was forming above my eyes.

I went into the room, plopped down on the table and proceeded to scream my head off. It hurt, I hated it and I made everyone in the pedicure room laugh. Nope, never again. Not gonna do it. I will have a bird's nest sprout on my face before I get another hot wax.

Can you even tell? I can't. Not worth it, I say!


On another note, we came home to find this huge grasshopper on the window outside. I have never seen one this big or up close. Creepy, I tell ya.

Then, later, I walk into the kitchen and see this. "Why are all of the drawers opened?" I ask

Jacob replies, "Oh, don't worry Mom, I'll find it?"

"Find what?" I ask.

"The lizard that crawled out of the Tupperware on the kitchen counter. He's around here somewhere. Probably in one of the cabinets." He tells me.

Eewhhhh, I love having a boy.

One last thing. This is awesome. Jacob came home from school with an assignment theat proved to be one of the most educational and mind expanding projects ever.

He had to come up with a variation to a Chocolate Chip recipe. Not only did he come up with one, he actually made one that we had never heard of before. It is called a Chocodilla. It is scrumptious and absolutely delightful. Try it. You will love it. I don't even like chocolate and this one, well, I was happy.

Ingredients:

2 flour tortillas

1-2 tsp butter, softened

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

cinnamon/sugar mixture

Cool Whip

Here goes:

Butter both tortillas on one side. Place one tortilla, buttered side down in a hot frying pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips on tortilla and cover with second tortilla, buttered side up. Let chips melt a bit and tortilla brown before flipping over to cook other side. Cook until browned to liking. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture and top with Cool Whip.

We also happened to have fresh strawberries at home that night. We sliced some up and used those for topping too. It was awesome.

Basketball Ballet

Auntie Jacqueline came over for a visit. She thought she would show off her basketball finesse. While she did make a several baskets, her ballet-like form cracked Jacob up.

My favorite!

Whatever you do, do it with all of your heart.

Lovin' My Boy

(After reading this post for myself, and receiving a comment from Debbie, it might lead one to believe that I have a pregnancy announcement or something like that. No way. Just bragging on Jacob. That's all)

One of the greatest blessings in my life is the gift of having both a boy and a girl. I feel as though we get to experience a dimension that many of our same-gender-children friends do not get to walk through. I love having a boy and I love having a girl.

BUT... there is a revelation that I had a few years ago that changed me profoundly. I realized boys really need brothers. They really need that other male interaction, power struggles, wrestling and the macho (in a boy way) one-ups. One of the best "manuals" that I have after the Bible is a book called Wild At Heart. It is about what boys and men need to be men. If you have a husband or a son, GET THIS BOOK and understand them in a whole new way.

Girls... not so much. I can see Sarah being an only girl in a house full of boys but Jacob, he needs brothers. He would not like being an only boy with several sisters. He needs dudes, friends to get into innocent trouble with, Lenny to consistently lead him into adventure.

Having a boy in my life, mothering a man in training has been an experience that has taken a lot of patience, much understanding and careful words. While I believe that all children take our words to heart, I know that for Jacob, it can be detrimental or affirming to his ego.

He is all boy. He is dirty, he jumps off of roofs, he sticks his pocketknife in outlets, he shoots everyone with his just-fabricated gun, he never stops moving, he has more energy that Edison, he sweats, he stinks, he picks his nose, he cries, he laughs, he shouts, he whispers, he shuns me in public, he snuggles me in private. He is completely jump-in-with-both-feet crazy. He is a mini Lenny.

Everything he does, he does it with zest, exhuberance and life! He just got braces put on and has been testing the magnetism. He just took my magnet clasped bracelet and found that it sticks to his teeth!

He is the sweetest boy I know. He is going to be 10 in just two weeks. I can not believe that God would trust me, a pitiful mother with so many shortcomings, with this amazing boy. I love him so much that my chest aches with a love so deep.

Life's A Beach

Just perused my camera and found that I did not download any of my current pics. They were from my rehabilitation beach cottage. Let me explain....

One of the best things that we did was quite by accident. We made reservations for some beach campin' two months ago. Then this stinkin' gizzard fiasco came up and we decided that the beach would not be happening. I had just come home from the hospital two days earlier and the thought of packing up, cooking outdoors (cooking at all, by the way) and not being at home was not appealing to me whatsoever.

B u u u u t, we decided to go anyway. I could not do anything at home. I would be sitting around being bored anyway. I might as well be in the sunshine looking at the ocean. So we went. And it was fabulous.

I did not do a darn stinkin' thing. Lenny cooked almost everything, we ate soup, we did nothing, we played chess, we did nothing, I slept, the rest of them went boogie boarding, I did nothing, I slept, oh yes, it was heaven in the sand.

I thought about it. If I were at home, I would have been mopping the floors, doing laundry, making beds, and all of the other things a neurotic housewife would normally be amusing herself with. At the beach, there was nothing that I could do.

Ok here I did stir the stir fry but that was it. I promise.

Heaven heaven heaven! It was awesome. I swear we had the entire beach to ourself it seemed like. The kids ran up and down the beach with nary a bathing body to trip over.

Here is what Jack and I did most of the time.

Watched gorgeous sunsets each night. Wow, God is good.

And here is what Lenny did each day.

Oh I love my life!