Bean and Cheese Burritos with Cilantro Lime Rice and Avocado Cream

I don't think I'll ever get sick of a two year old's way of finding even the most mundane thing super exciting.  They are experiencing so many things for the first time and what is old-hat for us is like an amusement park for them.  Like driving under an overpass.  Super exciting for at least my little two year old.  And every bus, ambulance, fire truck, tractor, dump truck, etc. must be exclaimed over

I love having a two year old.  While I don't love the crying, tantrums, and growing need for discipline, I love two year olds. 

Maybe it's the fact that their excitement makes me see the world through younger, less jaded eyes.  I find myself getting excited when I hear the hiss of the bus's air brakes as it stops just outside my house every afternoon.  Both me and the kid run to the window yelling "bus, bus, bus!"

Turkey, Avocado and Hummus Wrap

I'm back!

Yeah, so it seems I took a temporary hiatus from food blogging for a while.  I vow to be better.  

First of all, the winter is a difficult time to food blog when you mostly blog about dinners.  Food photographs best when fresh and with natural light.  When it gets dark shortly before five...well, you see the problem.  Of course there are ways around that for someone who is really excited about food.  But...unfortunately (or fortunately...yeah...) I am not all that excited about food right now.

You see, I'm 14 weeks pregnant with baby #2.  For me, this means food is about the last thing I want to think about.  I tried.  For you, I tried.  I got a couple of recipes up after the morning sickness started (at 3 weeks!!!  I didn't even know you COULD get sick that early) but I just couldn't do it anymore.  If it makes you feel any better, our dinner table has been less exciting than this blog has.  Although, if that made you feel better than I'll give you the side eye for a while....

Sushi Roll Salad

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a sushi snob.  You know the type of person I'm talking about.  The type who moves to a new area and the first thing he wants to know is where the location of a good sushi restaurant is.  They type of person who randomly injects his knowledge of sushi into every day conversations.  The type of person who sees sushi as a status symbol of sorts.  That's not me.  Actually I tend to roll my eyes at those type of people (yes, I'm that type of person).

Let me now say that I really do like sushi.  It doesn't even need to be good sushi. I just love the pairing of the sweet and tangy rice, with the fishy taste of nori (and whatever fish it happens to have) and the spiciness of wasabi and ginger.  It's just...amazing.  

We have some good friends who periodically invite us over for sushi parties.  It's always a lot of fun and good conversations as we roll our own sushi rolls.  But the best part is chowing down on sushi. We always leave with very happy and full tummies.  

Avocado Chickpea Sandwiches

Teething bites!

The kid is getting both his top and bottom canines in at the moment.  What that means is, in addition to being awake for 3 hour blocks of time in the middle of the night, he is even pickier than normal.  

He eats fruit, gathered spinach scramble, and...nope...that's about it.  Luckily it's summer and that means lots of fresh seasonal fruit.  

Luckily for me the husband will eat almost anything I put in front of him.  He sometimes grumbles a bit and says, "I bet this is healthy, isn't it?"  Gee, is this the thanks I get for trying to extend his healthy years?  

But seriously, he's actually a good sport. 

Black Beans and Rice with Cantalopy Guacamole

I'm not a vegetarian.  I did dabble in flexitarianism in college, before I got married.  Much to the husband's chagrin, however, we eat meatless 2-4 days a week in our home.  His most commonly used phrase when I ask him how he likes a certain dish is, "It would be better with meat."  Poor man.  But, it is how it is and he bears it well.

There are a number of reasons I tend to stay away from meat: personal taste, budgetary restraints, environmental concerns, health, and food safety to name a few.  But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that part of the reason I eat less meat than the average American is that I think it is cool.  There, I said it, I think vegetarians are cool.

Superfood Salad

I like to think I don't follow trends.  In 4th grade I thought those flared pants coming back in style were just horrid and that they'd never last.  The first time I tried Greek yogurt I didn't really "get it."  And when blogging first became the "in" thing, I thought it was dumb.  

Truth be told, and I'm a little ashamed to admit it, I do follow trends, albeit on a bit of a delayed schedule, but there it is.  I only buy flared jeans ("skinny jeans are horrid and will never last").  Greek yogurt is THE BOMB.  And here I am, starting a food blog. 

But quinoa...I tell you, I liked quinoa from the first time I tried it.  I remember when I initially heard about the strange sounding grain/seed from a good college friend.  She said it was amazing and that she and her husband really enjoyed it.  That it was a superfood and the only grain considered a complete protein.  I was intrigued, although a tad skeptical.