Deviled Eggs with Dill and Sour Cream

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No matter how pretty, I still needed to figure out what to do with half a dozen Veggie-dyed Crackled Eggs.




While my normal approach to deviled eggs is to make Triple-Deviled Eggs with Black Pepper, Paprika, and Sriracha, I wanted to try something a little different. Just the simple additions of dill and sour cream provided tang and freshness to this classic appetizer.






Deviled Eggs with Dill and Sour Cream

For a dozen deviled eggs, you'll need:
6 hard-boiled eggs, sliced in half with yolks removed
2 tblsp sour cream
1 tblsp mayonnaise
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp Sriracha chili sauce
2 tsp chopped dill

Optional: Paprika to dust on top.

Of course, any hard-boiled eggs will do, but I'm using these lovely dyed crackled eggs. Slice in half and save the yolks into a separate bowl.




Add 2 tblsp sour cream, 1 tblsp mayonnaise, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, 1/2 tsp Sriracha chili sauce, and 2 tsp chopped dill.




Mash with a fork until the mixture is as smooth as you'd like. Spoon onto each egg half. Dust with paprika to make it pretty.




Enjoy!

Other egg recipes:
Banh Mi Hot Ga Op La (Vietnamese French Bread with Sunny Side Up Eggs)
Chao Hot Vit Bac/Bach Thao (Vietnamese Rice Porridge with Preserved/Century/Thousand-year Duck Egg)
Chinese Tomato Egg Shrimp Stir-Fry
French Quiche with Bacon, Fennel, Leeks, and Onions  
Hot Vit Lon (Vietnamese Fetal Duck Eggs)
Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish Potato Omelet)
Triple-Deviled Eggs with Black Pepper, Paprika, and Sriracha
Vegetable-dyed Crackled Eggs
Vietnamese Scrambled Egg Omelet

*****
1 year ago today, Reuben Sandwich.
2 years ago today, Canh Du Du (Vietnamese Papaya Soup).
3 years ago today, Blood Orange Shortbread Bars.
4 years ago today, Angkor Wat - Cambodia.
5 years ago today, Southern Fried Chicken, Sour Cream Mashed Potatoes, and Cream Gravy.

Baked Salmon with Lemon Pepper Seasoning

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My favorite quickie meal is baked salmon with lemon pepper seasoning, Scrambled Egg Omelet, rice, and Sauteed Bok Choy. There's just something about those combinations of flavors that just makes me happy.




I've mentioned the baked salmon with lemon pepper seasoning before when I also baked broccoli and made Kinpira (Japanese Burdock and Carrot Matchsticks). The latter recipe really needs to be redone, but as I make the baked salmon much more often, it's about time the recipe, such as it is, gets newer photos and a separate post.

Baked Salmon with Lemon Pepper Seasoning

For 1 serving, you'll need:
1 4 oz fillet of salmon or whatever size you wish
About 1/4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning per 4 oz

Optional: You can use fresh lemon juice and fresh ground black pepper, I just always have lemon pepper seasoning on hand in the pantry and like the concentrated citric taste.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle some olive oil if you wish. Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp lemon pepper seasoning on a 4 oz fillet of salmon. Add more if you wish. Wrap the salmon up in foil first through one side, and crinkle up the ends so it makes a tight seal like so.




Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, more if you have a larger piece of fish. The salmon is done when it is no longer translucent. Moist and flakey salmon every time.

Serve with a salad or rice, or eggs, or bok choy, or whatever you wish.

This recipe is my go-to when I'm tired or lazy. It works best with fresh salmon, but even with Albertson's cheap $1 frozen individual packets of salmon, like what you see in the picture below, it satisfies when I'm hungry and don't want to fuss much with cooking.




Enjoy!

What are your go-to quickie dinners?

Other salmon recipes:
Egg Rolls with Salmon and Avocado
Misoyaki Salmon
Salmon and Dill Mini Tarts
Seared Salmon with White Wine, Miso, and Soy Sauce Glaze

*****
1 year ago today, pinot gris and pinot noir wine tasting at Hawks View Cellars - Sherwood - Oregon.
2 years ago today, introducing baby M3 and baby A's first birthday.
3 years ago today, Chinese Noodle Soup with Ground Turkey and Pickled Mustard Greens.
4 years ago today, Ta Prohm - Cambodia.
5 years ago today, Kinpira (Japanese Sauteed Gobo (Burdock) and Carrot Matchsticks).

Tomato Asparagus Feta Phyllo Tart

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This tomato tart came about because I bought a box of 40 heirloom tomatoes from the Farmers' Market - Alhambra for only $5. Since I had yellow, orange, and red tomatoes, I had to show them off. I originally wanted to use puff pastry, but it was more expensive than the phyllo. Plus, the phyllo could also be used for the Mushroom Cream Cheese Phyllo Bundles. In the end, I think the phyllo was a nice crispy contrast to the softness of the tomatoes. The asparagus I also had on hand because I made Bacon-wrapped Asparagus for the baby shower. And lastly, a bit of feta cheese crumbled on top and a dash or two of dried thyme rounded everything out nicely.





Tomato Asparagus Feta Phyllo Tart

For one tart, you'll need:
Phyllo dough
3 tomatoes, sliced thinly
2 asparagus spears
1 tblsp feta cheese
1/4 tsp dried thyme

Gorgeous! All those tomatoes for only $5!





Stack about a dozen phyllo sheets on top of each other.





Thinly slice three tomatoes and layer them in a row.





Add a couple of asparagus spears in between the rows of tomatoes. Crumble about a tablespoon of feta cheese over the tomatoes. I find feta cheese plenty salty, but if you require more, add a pinch or so of salt. Then sprinkle dried thyme over the whole thing.

Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes until the phyllo is golden to your liking.





I used a pizza cutter to slice the tart into squares for serving.





Enjoy!

Other dishes served at this baby shower:
Bacon-wrapped Asparagus
Bruschetta al Pomodoro (Italian Tomato Bruschetta)
Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht
Mushroom Cream Cheese Phyllo Bundles

*****
1 year ago today, Green Tea Soba (Japanese Buckwheat Noodles) with Almond Butter.
2 years ago today, Yang Chow-style Fried Rice.
3 years ago today, I welcomed the Year of the Pig with a Feta and Cheddar Cheese Fondue dinner.

Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht

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The last recipe left to blog of the dishes served at this baby shower was a Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht. On account of me having so many tomatoes on hand, some of which were already quite soft, but also because I just love tomato-based soups. I've blogged Beet Borscht before, the gorgeously pink-hued Ukrainian version. But I've been familiar with the tomato-based version for much longer as it's a staple at Hong Kong cafes in the San Gabriel Valley.

It's pretty simple, a basic beef stock with tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onions with some tomato paste added in to deepen the tomato color. Let it simmer for a while until ready to eat.





Hong Kong-Style Tomato Borscht

For a 5-quart pot you'll need:

1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 or 2 lbs beef marrow soup bones or oxtail bones
1/2 head or about 2 cups cabbage, chopped
2 medium potatoes, diced
4 to 6 tomatoes, diced or 1 16-oz can diced tomatoes
1 or 2 tblsp tomato paste
2 tsp salt

It all started because of these gorgeous tomatoes.






Dice the onion, 2 carrots, and 2 stalks celery. In a large stock pot, add a few drizzles of olive oil and saute the mire poix (that's the fancy French word for the mixture of carrots, celery, and onions) until softened.

Wash and add the beef bones and about 2 quarts of water to the pot. Slice and dice half a head of cabbage, 2 potatoes, and about 4 to 6 tomatoes and add them to the pot. If there's any room left, add enough water to cover the bones by several inches. Add 2 tsp salt and 1 tblsp tomato paste.

Simmer on medium-low for about an hour. Before serving, fish out the beef bones, shred any meat still on the bones, and add the meat back into the pot.





Enjoy!

Other dishes served at this baby shower:
Bacon-wrapped Asparagus
Bruschetta al Pomodoro (Italian Tomato Bruschetta)
Mushroom Cream Cheese Phyllo Bundles
Tomato Asparagus Feta Phyllo Tart

*****
1 year ago today, Seared Salmon with White Wine, Miso, and Soy Sauce Glaze.
2 years ago today, how to make a Scrambled Egg Omelet in a Wok.
3 years ago today, Yum Cha Cafe - San Gabriel.

Clyde Common - Portland - Oregon

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After leaving Hawks View Cellars - Sherwood, Gourmet Pigs and I made our way to downtown Portland to cross off #3 on her list of things to do in town -- cocktails. Actually, we ended up hitting up three cocktail bars this evening. And yes, if you were keeping track, that's after two wine tastings.

I should preface this post, and the subsequent drinking ones, by telling you that since I was driving, I merely took a sip to taste and handed off the rest of my drinks to others.





Gourmet Pigs wanted to check out Clyde Common because the bartender/bar manager, Jeffrey Morgenthaler, has gained quite a bit of renown for his old-fashioned cocktails. Unfortunately, he wasn't in the day we visited.

Nonetheless, even without the famed bartender, one of the best parts of going to Portland bars during happy hours and late nights is the cheap eats. Seriously. I'm talking $2 to $5 for appetizers and desserts. So I was really more excited to try the food than the drinks anyway.

I requested a seat by the window. Better for pictures! But it was reserved. After assuring the waiter that we'd be long gone by the time the party was expected to arrive more than an hour later, we ended up sitting at the end of the long communal table.





Gourmet Pigs and I ordered a few drinks from the $5 Happy Hour menu while we waited for Wandering Chopsticks reader Dylan to meet up with us. I was amused by the sound of "Heavy Petting," which I thought would be a little quirky for the blog, but the waiter didn't seem to think it was funny. In hindsight, I guess a drink named "Heavy Petting" wasn't that funny anyway, but still...not even a hint of a smile. I was intrigued by the use of quinine syrup in the drink since as far as I knew, it was only used to treat malaria.

We ended up going with Nasturtium, Dolin blanc vermouth, Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur, Bonal Gentian-Quina, and lemon peel, $5. Whoa! Too strong!





And B.M.O.C. (big man on campus, I presume?), bourbon, raw ginger syrup, Angostura, and soda water, $5. This was more my style, and the drink Dylan ordered when he arrived, so definitely the more popular of the two.






We ordered the daily charcuterie board, $5, which came with bread, hard-boiled egg, pickled onions and gherkins, and salami. Love the freshness of the colors.





Flatbread with white bean puree, ricotta salata, raisins, pine nuts, and greens, $6. The raisins sounded a little odd, but worked really well in contrast to the smooth bean puree.





My favorite appetizer though were these awesome fried chickpeas, $3.





I think they were every so lightly battered and fried (unless that's the texture chickpeas take on when fried?) and then seasoned. Must try this at home. Crunchy outside, creamy inside, and sooo addictive.





Dylan also added an order of grilled baguette, Nutella, jam, and hazelnuts, $4. So simple and so good. Who doesn't love warm baguettes and Nutella?





As we tried to figure out where to go next and then for dinner, Dylan suggested Teardrop Cocktail Lounge, because they make their own bitters. Definitely appealing to Gourmet Pigs who wanted to try as many cocktail bars as possible. So off we went.

All Oregon posts can be found with the tag Series: Oregon, but I suggest reading this particular trip in this order:
I'm Coming Home
Bunk Sandwiches - Portland - Oregon
Horsetail Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Multnomah Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Wahkeena Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Bridal Veil Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Shepperd's Dell Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Latourell Falls (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Crown Point Vista House (Winter) - Columbia River Gorge - Oregon
Stinging Nettle Soup
Stinging Nettle Tea
Nai Xao Xa Cuon Banh Trang (Vietnamese Sauteed Lemongrass Venison Rice Paper Rolls)
Thirsty Lion Pub and Grill - Tigard - Oregon
Reuben Sandwich
Argyle Winery - Dundee - Oregon
Hawks View Cellars - Sherwood - Oregon
Clyde Common - Portland - Oregon


Clyde Common
1014 SW Stark St.
Portland, OR 97205
503-228-3333
Lunch Monday to Friday 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Happy Hours Monday to Friday 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Dinner Monday to Friday 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Late Night Menu Monday to Thursday 11 p.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

*****
1 year ago today, Com Suon Cha Trung (Vietnamese Rice with Pork Chop and Steamed Egg Omelet).
2 years ago today, Spaghetti alla Bolognese.
3 years ago today, Southern fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and cream gravy redux.
4 years ago today, Chicken Fingers

Pigs need their vitamins too!

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This morning I was walking out to “Little Lady” our Berkshire pig with a nice bowl of morning goodies…cracked eggs, leftover cabbage, green beans and the harvest scraps from yesterday for her and she was spinning her 360s in excitement but she had to wait! She has been happily tilling her pen (and eating some dirt for her vitamins and minerals of course) and had built all the dirt up right outside the gate and I could not open it!! So there I was digging her out. She had basically tried to dig to China like all the pigs do. The last batch were harvested just in time….all four walls had been undermined and were ready to go down and we were doing temporary fixes until they were harvested. This weekend Michael will take the whole pen down, tractor away all the tilled dirt and fill it back in and rebuild the pen for the next guys to hopefully not succeed in making it to China!! The good news is Michael will tractor all that beautifully tilled dirt and all the manure from Filet’s corral (she has done some tilling herself with her “bull” action) and build the next tiered bed out front. I could get used to this tractor idea!! Too bad it does not fit in the greenhouses! We are adding a "roasting pig" choice for your large summer gatherings, but I definitely need notice on this so please let me know if you are thinking about it all. We are going to review our tree order for this next year this weekend too since it is not going into next year (but is due this week) and we want to maximize it. The cherries will take up to five years to produce on the rootstock we are choosing for soil and the apples almost as long. Sweet cherries and Gravenstein, Empire, Spitzenburg and Winesap apples are definitely on the list!! I am dreaming of a U pick addition in five years!!

Have a wonderful day and thank you again for all your support!!

Say Hello Everybody!

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These guys arrived today and not without a little excitement. The trailer was backed up beautifully to the corral so I only had to stand in a very small space that they could go through, but then they came running all at once, and Filet did not know what to make of it so she took off and tried to jump the other end of the corral...luckily she did not make it, but the corral does not look the same anymore to say the least. She is about four weeks from harvest so she is about 800-1000 lbs. These little guys just left the Cherry Valley hills where their Momma's are and were weaned onto alfalfa before coming here. Tony kept them in a corral for about a month before coming here so they are somewhat used to it, and trust me they are much calmer than Filet was, but they are also younger. Filet got to work right away bossing them around and eating almost all the food I put out for them....she will be making weight sooner than I thought!! You could see who the leader was out of the little guys right away, one very curious steer walked all the way up to me and Filet when I was feeding her her grain (by hand in a bucket so they could not get to it) ...need a good name for that guy!! The routine we establish will be that these guys will take a year or so to come to weight...grass fed a little longer so the earliest we will restock will be late Spring 2013. We have two sides still available. Just email me if you are interested.

Eggs and Giant Radishes!!

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The girls took a nice long rest and boy did they come back strong!! They are laying at 98%!! We are making angel food cake, scrambles, omelettes, frittatas, cookies, Texas sheet cake and lots more!! Meyers lemons have been a terrific price from Glen Cairn so we made lemon curd, drizzled it on the angel food cake and added a dollop of whipped cream!! See why I have to work so hard in the fields...I like to eat good food!! We will have our first Moonstruck beef soon and I cannot wait!! Believe it or not it is the hamburger I am looking forward to the most. I could not believe how good hamburger could taste after I tried the Bashaws!! Tonight we are enjoying a Italian Sausage Soup with just harvested spinach...yes we have lots and lots of spinach!! The radishes are huge too!! Finally all the hard work is starting to show. We have been taking the time to monitor the greenhouse temperatures and humidity and soil testing every row and all the observations are starting to pay off! I was opening the greenhouses too early and losing precious humidity. The West field is planted with sugar snap, snow peas, fava beans and shelling peas....we lost one row to a rabbit break in, but I think I have locked them out again!! Plain Jane salad mix (speckled bibb, romaine, buttercrunch and spinach) has been a big hit right along with Moonstruck salad mix. The tomatoes are about 18 inches and I can't wait to see how early we can have this year, but I know now from my monitoring that I can push it one month earlier next year. Moonstruck signing out...see ya all soon!!

Filet's last day.

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After a day of watching the fog roll in and then a drizzly morning I found out that even when you have a hate/love relationship with a beef cow they are just on the farm too long not to build some bond with.  Eddie from Barstow Custom Butchering came by and dropped off pork so I was busy organizing it in the freezer and could not be down in "livestock central" as Eddie began his job.  When I finally arrived there was nothing but a hanging piece of meat and that was fine.  I took the liver up to cut, the ox tail and the heart and tongue.  He showed me the marbling that I had attained that would be determined choice due to fat content...perfect.  Our goal is grass fed with just a touch of marbling that we add with the six weeks of grain.  Of course those of you who chose grass fed only will just be fed a little longer to attain some marbling with age versus grain.  He also invited us to come out when the cutting was done after the two weeks of aging so that we can understand all the cut choices better and relay this information to our customers in aiding them in making their choices.  A bittersweet day, but at the same time I thank the Lord for providing us with the beef with the awesome protein and amino acids that feeds my muscles that I so need to complete my daily chores.  Amen!!

Thanksgiving turkey deadline soon!

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As I sit in the kitchen hiding from the heat believe it or not I am thinking about Thanksgiving.  I know I have to have my final order in by June 18th.  Please let me know if you do need a Thanksgiving turkey I am only ordering 20% over the total preorder this year.  This is a necessity with us taking on so much this year.  We also have decided to use an old travel trailer or toy box (so if you know of one let me know), gut it except for the nice existing plumbing and electricity and add larger sinks and presto you have a poultry processing unit with heat!!  I don't know what I will do not freezing my touche off at Thanksgiving!! Everything is still pretty "messy" around here in terms of needing a lot of weeding and hardscape still, but we are growing by no doubt.  The new beds out front have added a tremendous amount of space and with the new misting system going in soon the greenhouses can stay planted throughout the year.  Winter and summer squash and corn are going in this week....200 feet done yesterday.  720 leeks in the ground and 350 red torpedos going in the last constructed bed out front.  Lettuce is being tucked in every shadowed corner I can find along with cilantro.   Piglets are escaping and keeping Molly busy herding them back in, and she makes sure she has a word with the cows from time to time to make sure they don't get any crazy ideas like Filet did, but this bunch is a WHOLE lot calmer and they are filling out nice since they are not bunco bronching across the corral all day!! We have gained a lot of new customers from Apple Valley so we are adding a Wednesday delivery from 4:30-5:00 at the Target center near the garden center.  The fruit tree order is finalized including apples of all kinds including cider and cooking Heirloom varieties, peaches throughout the season, figs, cherries and a few pluots for my daughters along with plums for pollinating and some Texas umbrella trees for the cows and pigs.  Time to eat dinner and head out to work in the cool evening air.  Remember we are closed this week, but we will see you next week and in Apple Valley too!

sweet (clean-eating) treat: jam thumbprint cookies (gluten, dairy, refined sugar free)

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I ran into a mom friend at the supermarket today who mentioned that she'd recently gone gluten-free. She was about to head home to try baking a treat with her son, and I promised to share a recipe from my recent "clean eating" week that I knew she would enjoy. As I mentioned a few days ago, I successfully did a 7-day "clean eating detox" (to be clear, this was nutritious food, not just juice), and took my family along for the delicious, healthy ride. My goal was to lighten up, figuratively and literally, but I didn't want to cook two different meals. It took some creativity, but I created 7 days worth of delicious "clean" family-friendly meals. This was the only sweet treat I made all week, and it won rave reviews. In fact, since then, I have made another batch because they are so yummy-- in addition to be relatively "good for you" as far as treats go.

Jam-Filled Thumbprint Cookiesmakes about 2 dozen cookies(gluten, dairy, egg + refined sugar free)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup maple syrup*
2 cups raw nuts of choice (I used 1 C walnuts + 1 C almonds)
1 1/2 cups arrowroot powder
3 Tablespoons cinnamon (optional)
dash of sea salt
about 1/2 cup 100% fruit jam (I used Dalfour brand)


Preheat oven to 350. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt the coconut oil to room temp. Cream the coconut oil and maple syrup (or other sweetener) together using a mixer. In a Cuisinart, process the nuts until they are a fine meal. Add the arrowroot powder, cinnamon and salt, then pulse to combine all dry ingredients. Blend the dry ingredients into the oil/syrup mixture. Batter will still be kind of crumbly, but it will come together in your hands as you shape 24 (or so) balls of dough and place them on the cookie sheets. Using your thumb (get it, thumbprint cookies!) make a divot in each ball of dough, then fill with a dollop of jam. Bake for 12 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

*I used maple syrup as the sweetener, but you could substitute agave or raw honey, if you are looking for a sweetener with a lower glycemic index.  Here is the recipe in action, for those who like to follow along visually:


Oh, one more thing before we launch into pics! I have some exciting news-- I have been nominated for Top 25 Foodie Mom 2012 by the Circle of Moms. Although I usually shy away from popularity contests, it is flattering to know that so many readers enjoy my blog. Will you please take a second to vote for the full plate blog / meals in a snap? My site is currently one of the top blogs!! You can vote once every 24 hours; voting ends May 29th. Thank you, in advance. I truly appreciate the honor! Alrighty, back to these amazing cookies...


After melting the coconut oil a bit from its' solid state, I creamed the coconut oil and maple syrup (or other sweetener) together using a  hand mixer. 

In a Cuisinart, I processed the nuts until they were a fine meal. 

Then, I added the arrowroot powder, cinnamon and salt, and pulsed it a few times to combine all of the dry ingredients.



Then the dry ingredients were blended into the oil/syrup mixture using my hand mixer. The batter was still kind of crumbly, but it came together in my hands as I shaped 24 (or so) balls of dough and placed them on the parchment lined cookie sheets.



Using my thumb (get it, thumbprint cookies!) I made a divot in each ball of dough, then filled with a dollop of jam. (I made half of them strawberry and half of them apricot.) Then I baked them for 12 minutes, or until the edges were lightly browned.



They will store well in an airtight container for up to 5 days... if they last that long! Hope your family enjoys these cookies as much as my family did!

happy mother's day

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Cheers to all you moms out there. May your day be filled with love, laughter... and a delicious meal cooked by someone else. And, if you find yourself with a few minutes of quiet time, I encourage you to make yourself a cup of coffee or tea and read this absolutely spot on article from mom, Kara Baskin. (Above photo credit: Shiva Sarram - friend, mom extraordinaire, professional photographer, and Founder of The Blossom Hill Foundation.)

a perfect day... followed by another one

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I am not going to lie... when I realized my little one's sniffle was probably enough to stay home from school for a day of rest, I heard screeching brakes inside my head. Mother's Day had been so perfectly relaxing, but today I really needed to hit the ground running again.


But as my little one sniffled in his footie PJs at breakfast, I knew the day would not go as planned. I am trying really hard to live in the moment, to enjoy these days with my kids. That is easier said than done for me. I wake up each morning with a million ideas swirling around my head... everything from my nutrition coursework and launching swellmom to writing this blog, volunteer work and the (never-ending) details of raising two young children. It is hard not to feel a bit thrown off when you're counting on 3 or 4 hours of preschool.

And then I remembered the perfect day we enjoyed together yesterday.

The heartfelt cards...




The day spent hiking. I'd watched my kids revel in nature, laugh, explore, create, run, alternating holding hands with me and their Meme, telling stories, asking questions, climbing boulders. They are two of the most incredibly kind, empathetic, curious, sweet boys in the whole world. Granted, I am bit biased. You'll just have to trust me on that one.




So, with memories of a perfect mother's day fresh in my mind, I read a post from Amy at Inspiring Moms. She wrote, "Your attitude is a game changer. It makes a difference and sends a powerful message to those around you-- your kids, friends... You have the ability to mold each moment into something wonderful, something meaningful, and something memorable. Make today a great day!" And, with a little expectation adjustment on my part, and the knowledge that everything will get done... just not today, it was a great day.

P.S. If you enjoy reading my blog, please take a quick second to vote for me. I am currently in the Top 5 (!) of Circle of Mom's "Top Foodie Mom" blogger contest. It is super easy-- just click the thumbs up next to the Meals in a Snap logo to vote once every 24 hours. No need to register, or anything like that. I would truly appreciate the vote. Thank you! Thank you!