One Loved Bear

Beneso (pronounced Ben E So) has had a rich life for a stuffed bear.  He has been my precious bear for 32 years.  After years of being my favorite (I think that I even took him off to college with me), I passed him on to my son when he was a toddler.  Lucas, almost 6, sleeps with him by his side or even lays on him every night.  And he generously shares Beneso with his little sister, Clara, who calls the bear "Nutho" and lovingly drags him around with her during the day.

When I was young, I was convinced that my Beneso was real.  Well now I know that he is...just like the skin horse described when asked by the Velveteen Rabbit the question "What is real?"  His reply was: "Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Maybe Beneso wasn't alive back then, but he surely is real now.  This shabby bear sure has been loved and has years of love left in him, if he can only stay in one piece.

Clara's Vices

It is so easy not to blog anymore. There are a million other things that are pulling at me...but let me give it another try. Seeing that the last post was a summer recipe, it has clearly been awhile.

Today, I got to experience what being the mother of a blanket baby sounds like. Clara's been into her blankie (a cute duckie one that a friend, Anna, made for Emily when she was an infant)for a month or so now. It's really sweet to see how she cradles it, drags it around with her, cuddles with it while sucking her thumb. She calls to it when it is not around "DUCK!" Sounds more like "Guck," I think.

Well this morning, I decided that it was time to wash her bedding, including her blankie. I did not tread gently, waiting for her to put it down. I just marched right up and took it, telling her that I needed to wash it.

Poor Clara cried at the washing machine for a while. Pointing and yelling for her "Guck." She didn't seem to care when I showed her that it was all wet and soapy.

I ran up to her room and attempted to find her a substitute blankie while hers was out of commission. None of them appealed to her. Soon the tears dried and she moved off to do something else. But a couple hours later when she had her "Guck" back all fresh and warm out of the dryer, you should have seen her face. She danced with it. I played a game of taking it away from her and she squealed and giggled. And the kid could hardly concentrate on eating her lunch because she wanted to get her blankie back.

Yes, my kid has an addiction. A couple in fact...she's a cute thumb sucker. But I love that about her. I love the way she is. Her little things are what make Clara, my little punk.

A Sensational Summer Sandwich

Tonight I made an awesome new recipe that I had to share.

Fruited Tuna Salad Pitas

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. honey
1 can (12 oz) white, water packed tuna, drained
1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained
1 medium apple, chopped
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1 celery rib, thinly sliced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/8 tsp. salt
4 whole wheat pita breads
2-3/4 cups alfalfa sprouts

In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise and honey. Stir in the tuna, oranges, apples, pecans, celery, cranberries and salt. Serve on pita breads with sprouts.

I toasted my pita bread and served the salad in them, instead of on top of them.

They were super, light and you couldn't really tell that it was tuna because it was so sweet. I'll bet that it would also be good with chicken and served on croissants.

I am trying two more recipes this week: Ratatouille with Polenta and Bacon Chicken Sandwiches so stay tuned...

Next time I will try to remember to take a photo before I inhale it:).

Two Posts in a Day--NO WAY!

So, after several requests for the recipe for our tasty dinner the other night...I decided to post it here. I got it from my favorite cooking magazine, Taste of Home's "Simple & Delicious." I had it for lunch again today and it was perhaps even better. Quiche makes an excellent leftover! Too bad the picky kids didn't like it. Oh well. I ate most of their leftovers...who can let awesome deliciousness go to waste?? Unfortunately, I overdid it a little. Must exercise tonight to make up for gorging!

Spinach & Bacon Hash Brown Quiche

3 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed
1/4 cup of butter, melted
6 bacon strips, diced
1 small onion, chopped
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
2/3 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup shredded Swiss cheese

Press hash browns between paper towels to remove excess moisture; toss with butter. Press onto the bottom and up the sides of a 9-in. pie plate. Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the edges are browned.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook bacon and onion over medium heat until bacon is crisp (maybe 10-15 minutes...it was hard for me to tell), Remove to paper towels to drain. In a large bowel, combine the eggs, cream, salt and pepper. Stir in the spinach, cheeses and bacon mixture; pour into crust.

Bake at 350 degrees (remember to turn your oven on now...this is a very important step;-)for 25-30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

Enjoy!

I think that I will start regularly posting good recipes that I have tried. Also I would like to host a monthly cooking club where we try out new recipes, each bring ingredients and share in our treats. Any locals interested in joining me on a culinary adventure? Julia and Julia inspired me and I even bought Julia Child's cookbook, so we could try our hand at some fancier things, too.

Sisterly Love

It's been so long since I've blogged that I almost forgot how to log in. I am so accustomed to using Facebook now for quick updates that it hurts my head a little to think of blogging again, but...it's been 5 months so it's time for a little something.

In the early days of having a new little sister, Emily wasn't quite sure what to make of her. I think that she was having some jealousy issues. I asked her once if we should take Clara back...just to see what she said. And to my surprise, she said "YES!" I explained that Clara was our little baby and we had her for good. She is a precious member of our family.

Since then, Emily has warmed to Clara and often wants to hug and kiss and touch her. Emily must have touch as her primary love language. She also regularly loudly exclaims "You are BEAUTIFUL!!" which makes her little sister giggle and smile. Perhaps Emily likes words of affirmation, too:).

Recently, though, she revisited her early desire to get rid of her sister. "Mama, can we take Clara back and get a pet like a doggy or kitty instead?" I think that this came up because the kids have been asking me for a pet and I have said that we will have to wait until Clara is older so that mama can handle it. And her logic is, if we just ditch the sister, I can get me a puppy!

Gotta love kids. They keep me on my toes.