SOUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi all sorry I have posted in a long time. I have been very busy starting my own business!!! It is called Greene Baby and it is Organic Baby food!!!!! More information to come!!
What I want to share are a few soup recipes. Both Vegetarian and both sooo tasty!!

Helen and Marta's Minestrone soup

Layla's favorite!!!

1 T. Olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 med green pepper, chopped

2 cans (14.5 oz) italian styled stewed tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano Undrained

2 14 oz cans veggie broth

1 14-15 oz can of dark kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 C. uncooked small pasta shells

1 med zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and crosswise into slices

1/4 c. basil pesto

Shredded Parmesan cheese

In a 3 quart saucepan, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion and green pepper: cook 3-5 minutes Stirring occasionally, until tender crisp.

Stir in tomatoes, beans and broth. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat to med-low; simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

Stir in Pasta and zucchini. Heat to boiling again. Boil 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender.

Top each bowl with pesto and Parmesan.

Cream of Tomato Soup

4 C. stewed or canned tomatoes

2 T chopped onion

1 T sugar

1 1/2 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper

2 whole cloves

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

2 cups whole milk

COOK the tomatoes, onion, sugar, salt, pepper and cloves together for 10 minutes Remove cloves and discard.

MELT butter in saucepan; blend in flour and when smooth and bubbly , slowly stir in milk. Pour hot tomato mixture into hot milk and serve. Serves 4

kitchen Therapy

Since Layla as been born Nick and I's relationship has sort of taken a back seat. We have made time for date nights once a month but we were still feeling disconnected. I work nights and he works during the day in order to avoid childcare, so we sometimes feel like business partners. This was really starting to get to us, we have always been a strong couple. Nick came up with a great idea... cooking together as a way to get connected once again.

Once a week we go through Layla's routine together, prep dinner while Layla plays and then start cooking after Layla is on her way to dreaming about bottles and teddy bears we start cooking a big tasty meal together. It is a late dinner but we eat together and we actually have a second to talk to each other about how our weeks are going and what are plans are for the weekend. SO far it has really been great for us!!! We have had one time that Layla just was not ready for bed but thank goodness for pack n' plays.

Staying connected with Nick is so important to me. He has always been my best friend, I have even lost a friend (its a long story). So here is to a strong marriage to an amazing guy!!!
Take care all
Nyki

The best thing I have made so far in my whole entire cooking life!!!!

                                                Butternut Squash Risotto

(adapted from simplerecipes.com picture also from simplerecipe because my camera is at my mother in laws)

6-8 cups chicken broth
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided into 4 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cups butternut squash, peeled, and finely diced
2 cups arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)
1 cup freshly grated hard cheddar (the recipe called for parmesan but I used what I had)
2 tsp. Parsely (the original recipe called for fresh chives)
Salt (I use a salt mix from Morton called Natures Seasons)


1 Heat broth in medium sized saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Melt 4 Tbsp of butter in a large saucepan; add onion and butternut squash. Cook over medium heat until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

2 Add rice to onion and squash. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine. Cook, stirring constantly until wine has been absorbed by the rice or evaporated. Add a few ladles of broth, just enough to barely cover rice. Cook over medium heat until broth has been absorbed. Continue cooking and stirring rice, adding a little bit of broth at a time, cooking and stirring until it is absorbed, until the rice is tender, but still firm to the bite, about 15 to 25 minutes.

3 During the last minutes of cooking, add remaining tablespoon of butter, 1/3 cup Parmesan, and chives. At this point the rice should have a creamy consistency. Add salt to taste. Serve with remaining grated

This was sooo tasty!! We had grilled shrimp and asparagus with it. This will be something I make very often.

Hope you enjoy
Nyki

Still loving the CSA

I love sharing recipes!! My family and I bring our favorite new recipes to our family get togethers and swap them. I started this blog to to do just that, share the recipes I have discovered and also to document my experiences with being a new mom... well the new mom thing has sort of kept me away from writing. Sooo here is my pledge to you to start writing at least once a week!!!!

So here is my post for this week...
Our CSA is coming to an end :(   We have really enjoyed going to Broadturn Farm every week and picking up our hearty portion of their of veggies, herbs and sometimes fruit. Last week we got some really tasty things and Nick made a fantastic soup... here is the recipe. (All Veggies are from our farmshare at Broadturn Farm)

Nicks Fennel/Kale/Sausage soup
6 Cups Chix Stock    
1 LG fennel
2 Cups carrots
1 Lg onion
1 Bundle of Kale
3/4 lb. Hot sausage
Salt and Pepper
Basil and Parsely

Cook sausage in one pan, Saute all veggies in another pan with a dash of olive oil until mostly cooked. Add sausage to veggies, add Stock and seasonings. Simmer for 1 hour and enjoy!!!

My theory on soup is use what you have.. if you do not have carrots but you do have potato use that who cares!! The fennel in this recipe was wonderful so I do not recomend subbing anything in for that.

Our next CSA recipe is
Fried Green Tomatoes  from simplyrecipes.com
3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or cornmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.
2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper

I cannot wait to see what we get this week!!!!

Thanks for reading
Nyki

Greene Family Update

Wow it has been a long time since I have visited my Nest!!
We recently moved back into Portland. I am very happy to be here and I also love that we down sized. We went from a very large house to a small one bedroom apartment. I miss Falmouth and the house and I sooo miss our roommies Cat and Zach. I hope our next stop is one that we make for a long long time!!! I am so sick of moving.
Life overall has been great. Father's Day was awesome!! We had breakfast and walked around the neighborhood.

My favorite thing right now is our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Thanks to my mother in law who split it with us. We go to Broadturn Farm (http://broadturnfarm.blogspot.com/) and pick up our share of what they have harvested that week. The strawberries have been amazing!!! Having the Farm Share has really inspired me to start thinking outside the box. This weeks we recieved:

 Peas 

Strawberries
Lettuce
Mustard Greens
Kale
Herb Bouquet (chives, oregano, sage)
Salad Turnips

So far I have made sauteed Mustard greens with bacon and onions, a salad with peas carrots, beets from last weeks share and some Chevre that I purchased from Rosemont Bakery. The Strawberries we snacked on and I am drying out the herbs. Later this week we are having a Sausage and Kale dish (recipe to come) and I am stumped with the turnips maybe I will give them to Layla.
Well it is amazingly awesome outside so I must get out there!!!!

Nyki

Finding myself

I realized yesterday that I am really starting to find myself... I am finding what makes me happy and what makes me unhappy. I have been throwing myself into yoga lately. It is helping become a better person and it absolutly is helping me become a good mom.

I have also started taking steps to create a green environment for my family. This as some of you know can get difficult. There were somethings that we were already doing like not using papertowels.. using cloth diapers... being a one car family (I am not sure if that really counts) and also using recycled jars for containers instead of plastic. The next few steps I am taking is starting a compost, we had one last summer but we got lazy. I also have a bunch of containers outside to catch the rain in. I will use this water to water my plants inside, the last thing that I started this past week is hanging up our clothes to dry. My house mate actually has a clothes line hanging in their living room!! It is really awesome.

Being a stay at home mom has really been awesome for me. I feel so accomplished at the end of the day.
That is all I wanted to rant about..now here are some Layla pictures..the real reason for my new found self!!!

Day 2

                                                                                                         Week 10

Breakfast in Bed: Carrot Cake Pancakes

Happy Saturday friends!!!! I just made the most amazing pancakes for my hubby. He is a carrot cake lover so I made pancakes that tasted just like the actual cake. Here is the recipe if anyone wants to try them!!! I highly recommend it!!!

Sorry about the bad picture!!!

You need:
2 cups pancake mix

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup finely shredded carrots



CINNAMON SYRUP:

1 cup maple syrup

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 carton (4 ounces) whipped cream cheese

1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the pancake mix, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. In a small bowl, beat eggs and milk; stir into the dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in carrots.

Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a greased hot griddle. Turn pancakes when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown.

For syrup, in a small saucepan, combine the maple syrup, butter and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 2 minutes. Serve pancakes with cream cheese and syrup; sprinkle with nuts. Yield: 1 dozen (1 cup syrup).

Too much Vino

I am trying to get Layla on a night time routine.. it is rough. We have just been going to bed together but I want to be able to put her to bed at 8ish and then have some time to myself. Tonight is day one of the "mommy needs sometime at night to relax" project. This is how it went....

I took her into the bedroom with a bottle (I decided to indulge in some red tonight) I rocked her and sang to her, she fell asleep and I put her in the moses basket and now I am sitting here listening to the monitor. There is a little bit of noise like she might not be totally sleeping but she is not fussing at all. I know Layla needs routine so I need to stick with this....right??

She has started to cling to me. I will be starting to work a few night a week in April and I fear for how Layla is going to take it. Anyone have any advice on going back to work??

Life is a Garden

There is certainly not too much I can complain about these days. I am new stay at home mom and I LOVE IT!! Well sort of.. I am looking to start working a little, I need a bit of human interaction that is not talk about poo poo or snoogies. Layla Ellen is my 7 week old and she is fabulous!!! I also am married to a great guy. We got married last MayIf you are doing the math.. yes I was pregnant at my wedding and NO that is not why we got married!! We had been engaged for a year when we found out that we were expecting.

Here we are!! Nick is clearly excited to be pregnant

Most everyday I think to myself how did I get here. Before I met Nick marriage and children were so far from my thought process. ME a mom...a WIFE!!! Here I am the happiest I have ever been in my entire life. I will work hard to be the best wife and mother that I can be, I will struggle with this due to my unstable mind at times (thank goodness for prayer and yoga)

I am hoping that this blog will help me learn more about myself by putting it in words... here goes