Topic-Changing Thursdays: Ice Cream Cake in a Hurry

The Fudgelet‘s due date was two days away from K’s birthday, which meant that they could have had the same birthday. That could be cute, but it was also going to make celebrating K’s birthday tricky this year. I had already prepared by buying all of his presents early. I even had them wrapped over a week early. This was fortunate, since the Fudgelet arrived over a week early himself. My dad and M arrived on K’s birthday to help out, so I knew we would be busy that day. K had to pick them up from the airport, and then the rest of the day would be filled with feedings, planning dinner, etc. So, I had him open his gifts the night before. It was nice because he was able to put some of the gifts to use right away. For instance, I bought him a bunch of new T-shirts, which meant he had more to change into after baby spit-up events. 🙂

Chicken Piccata

Some of my first experiences having this dish were of the frozen food variety. I think it might have been Lean Cuisine? My mom and I would stock up on the meals when they would go on sale in the summer and eat them together at home, or when we worked together at the library. Her favorite meal was one with shrimp. We both liked the potatoes with cheese and broccoli. I wonder what traditions I will have in the summers with my kid? For now, I am assuming he prefers what I’m providing. He doesn’t get much of a pick at this age.

Topic-Changing Thursdays: A Visit from the Goats

In my neighborhood, there are tons of hills. Seattle is a pretty hilly place in general (First Hill, Capitol Hill, and so on), so it should not surprise anyone that the nearby areas are also full of slopes. Our neighborhood itself is fairly high up, although not on a mountain. It is on a plateau, which is not a geographic term I knew before moving here. Basically, you can think of it as a flat-ish place where they can build houses. Some plateaus are higher than others. As a result of all of these hills, yards can be tricky. Essentially, homes in my neighborhood either have a view (of Seattle, mountains, etc.), or they have a slightly larger yard. If you have a view, you’re usually on the edge of a cliff or some steep slope. This gives you a narrow patch of land, often located under a deck. Many of those homes also have basements because they are on a hill. My home is on a flatter part of land, so we have a decent-sized yard, but no fancy view.

 

The picture above is our view from the front of our house (upstairs). On a clear day, we can see the mountains a bit, and a bit of another local city to the left.

Tomato, Cucumber, and Feta Salad

Today’s recipe is super simple, but super appropriate for a hot time of the year. You don’t have to spend much time putting it together, and it is refreshing. This salad pairs with the Chicken Souvlaki from last week. If you don’t want to make the chicken, you could easily make less of the marinade (dressing) from that recipe, then just use it in this.

Topic-Changing Thursdays: Good People

One of the things you don’t think about until times are a little rough is how many kind people there are around you. Having a baby is one of those rough times, especially when the baby arrives unexpectedly early!

Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce

Let’s be honest here. I never feel comfortable pronouncing “tzatziki”. Or comfortable spelling it. I feel like I’m missing something with the word, but I do like it as a food. This dish  paired well with a salad I will share next week. In fact, the recipe for today includes a step where you save part of the marinade for dressing. I feel a bit bad making you wait for the salad, but I am trying to make sure that you have something to read from me each week. Particularly food recipes!

Topic-Changing Thursdays: Enter the Fudgelet

After much ado, and many build-up posts, the Fudgelet has arrived. That’s right. My husband is K, my dad is … Dad, my stepmother is M, and my son is going to be nicknamed Fudgelet on here, courtesy of Joanna. He actually arrived over two weeks ago, but it’s been a bit busy in the Fudging Ahead household. His due date was July 28, but he didn’t arrive then. Nope, he arrived just like his mom… early! I know some people like to hear the birth stories, and some don’t. Feel free to tune out and I’ll see you in a future post. 🙂