Homebody Creatures

It's amazing that we moved clear across the country in the last 18 months, yet have barely ventured from our doorstep since (I'm not counting visits back home to see friends and family). It's true - we have only gone on 1 real out-of-town adventure, and that was almost a year ago. Of course, in that year and a half we've had a baby, bought a house, and begun tackling the ever-growing list of things to do (ie. I finally finished making curtains for the nursery, and I'm super excited about how they turned out!).

I'd say that our lack of adventure is partly due to being busy with other things, and partly because Huntsville really has so much to offer that we don't need to go anywhere. But we're here in the South, and it's about time to start checking out our surroundings. So last weekend our trip to the Birmingham Zoo was a pretty big deal. Not to mention the fact that Addison seems to have an affinity to Zoo related books at the moment.

As part of our "Parents of Young Children" group at our church, we drove down to Birmingham with another family to check out the Zoo last Saturday. And since we've been having Summer in March this year, it was in the high 80s and very sunny. About as hot as I could stand while walking around on paved trails amidst the animals. And the weather brought out tons of people, of course. They were still streaming in when we were done for the day.

We had a great time - even Addison. It was a lot of fun to see her laugh and cry out each time she spotted an animal. And I learned a lot about perspective; zoo viewing areas seem to be designed for taller children and adults - down at her level (stroller level, that is), you mostly see fence posts. But thankfully the giraffes came pretty close, and some of the inside viewing windows were low enough for her to spot things. We managed to spend about 4 hours at the Zoo, which definitely exceeded my expectations. And we even left a few things for our next visit.

Now what kind of recipe could possibly relate to a post about the Zoo? How about a slightly exotic twist on a classic favorite that's easy to pack up for a picnic lunch?

Ginger Coconut Fried Chicken
3 Chicken breasts, sliced into 4 pieces each (you can also use thigh meat or anything else boneless)
1 Egg
1/2 Cup cream (or substitute another egg for no cream)
Breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated (or use powdered version)
1/2 Cup shredded coconut
Oil for frying

1. Slice your chicken into pieces so they can be eaten with fingers.

2. Mix egg and cream together in pie dish or other somewhat flat container

3. Combine ginger, coconut, and approx 1 cup breadcrumbs. Put in another pie dish or flat container.

4. Dredge chicken pieces in breadcrumbs, then in egg, then again in breadcrumbs until fully coated. Set on plate to fry.

5. When oil is hot (you know it's ready when you stick the end of a wooden spoon in the oil and it sizzles and bubbles), lay chicken pieces in oil. Make sure pieces are not touching.

6. Fry until golden brown and then turn (only once). Once done, put on roasting pan and store in warm oven (200 degrees) until all are done. Enjoy!

American Pi

An engineer already!

Happy Pi Day! Yes, it's uber geeky, but today's date is 3.14, which is also the value of the variable known as Pi. So in honor of our littlest Spadaro Engineer, happy Pi day! And in appreciation of such a random day, I'm going to share a recipe for homemade pizza (pie) dough. It's actually much easier than I thought it was going to be.

In other news, Alabama just had its primary elections yesterday. It isn't a secret that there are a lot of republicans around, but did you know that when we registered to vote they didn't even ask us what party we wanted to be registered as? I guess they just assume that everyone is republican. Ha!


 Because of this, it means that yesterday was an open primary. And I was excited that although not being a republican, I could still vote and be part of the process. So as soon as Derek got home from work, we jumped in the car and headed to the polls - I don't think that Alabama has absentee ballots, and certainly isn't like Oregon where they've completely done away with polls entirely. And the experience of physically voting at the ballot box really made me reminiscent of my childhood. I remember going into a curtained off stall (in my memory it's like an all-black shower stall complete with curtain) with my mother and watching her vote. Oh how things have changed.

When we got to the polls, I was a bit saddened to find that they asked me if I wanted to vote republican or democrat. I had a momentary identity crisis (do I say republican so I can vote in the republican primary or do I give the honest answer that I'm a democrat?). I ended up deciding that I couldn't say republican without feeling guilty, so I took the democratic ballot and headed to my cubbyhole.

Needless to say, I was one of a very small number of people who voted democrat in this primary (I signed in on line 18 one hour before the polls closed). But, I did get to cast my vote for Obama. Hahaha. Not only was I not able to vote for one of the republican candidates, but all of the local primaries were also republicans and therefore my ballot was about as short as it could be.

Oh well. It was a fun experience nonetheless. Now time to enjoy some pizza pi!

This is a spin-off of a recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Feel free to modify it with your own favorite spices and seasonings.

Homemade Pizza Dough
4 Cups flour
1 Tbsp garlic (fresh or powder)
1 Packet yeast
1 1/3 Cups warm water (approx 85 degrees)
2 Tbsp olive oil (I used Extra Virgin)
1 tsp salt

1. Make sure your water is warm to the touch, but not hot. If it is too hot, the yeast will die. Pour the yeast into the water and allow to dissolve (takes approx 5 minutes). If you don't see foam beginning to form after 5 minutes, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar or less. That should do the trick.

2. Mix olive oil with yeast. Combine flour, salt, and garlic powder.

Addison loves Italian food. It's in her blood!

3. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix. You may want to use your hands and thoroughly knead the mix together. Knead dough for 10 minutes until thoroughly mixed and a bit elastic feeling.

4. Put dough in a bowl and cover with saran wrap or a damp cloth for 3 hours. Dough should appear 2x in size.

5. Punch down dough, divide into 2 parts. Stretch dough into desired shape (feel free to try throwing, but make sure to stay away from the ceiling fan when you do).

6. Put down a sprinkle of corn meal on pizza pan or pizza stone. Lay dough on cooking surface. Brush top with olive oil, then dress with whatever sauce and toppings you want. Bake for approx 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Moments of rest

One year olds are exhausting!

I realize that I am one of the fortunate few out there who have a husband who likes to cook. Not only does he enjoy cooking, he's rather good at it, and he has agreed to do it on a semi-consistent basis. Yay! So, two days a week he rushes home from work to cook dinner for the family. This is wonderful and amazing.... However, it creates a problem of its own. If he is cooking dinner, who is watching the baby?

On the nights that Derek cooks, the responsibility of entertaining Addison before dinnertime falls on my shoulders. Now this may not seem like a very challenging task - I have no problem taking care of her all day, so what's different about the 45 minutes before dinner? There is a difference, let me tell you.

It may be difficult to understand, but my mental clock for the day revolves around Derek's schedule. At about 4:30pm, I find myself calculating how many minutes until he gets home. And although this is certainly in part due to my excitement to see him, it is also about getting a reprieve from my motherly duties. I love spending my days with Addison, but unlike an office job, I don't have business hours. The clock never stops. So, the times when someone else is watching out for her so I can focus more than 50% of my attention of something else are precious. Even if that something else is dinner.

Addie and I relaxing together

So, Derek and I are still trying to find that balance between him helping with the household duties (cooking, cleaning, bathtime, etc) and me finding a chance to take a breath and de-mommy before bedtime. I'm not sure we've figured it out yet, but I have the confidence that we'll get there. And talking to other friends of mine who are mothers, it seems that this is not a unique struggle; just one that everyone has to go through themselves since each solution is unique.

So in honor of those precious moments of relaxation - whether they come first thing in the morning, or just before bed, I want to share my recipe for banana bread. It's pretty easy to do, and the results are very yummy. Something to enjoy when you have a quiet moment to sit and take a breath...

Mommy's helper in the kitchen

Banana Bread
1/2 cup butter, soft but not melted
1 cup sugar
3 ripe bananas, broken or sliced into pieces
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

1. Cream the butter and the sugar until they are well blended together

2. Add in bananas and mix

3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing in between.

4. In a separate bowl, add baking soda and salt to the flour and blend well

5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients

6. Pour into a greased bread loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour (until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean).