New York New York

So were here! We have moved to New York City. we arrived on THE coldest day in history?? (sure, thats what i was told so i'm going with it). It was a whopping 3 degrees. jude and i flew by our lonesomes and when i walked out of the airport door {at 5 something am} i thought someone knocked me in the stomach. it took my breath away it was so dang bitter cold and i wanted to run straight back to sunny southern california. well, anyway, the weather is much much improved as noted by the photographs below. so life is looking up:) someday soon i will hopefully update the logo. once i realize i am not going back. ha! J/k. but sometimes i dream about the beach and my dear friends.

ok so since we have been here, among other things that I have had to go without while been here in the city {car, aka my personal storage area, last min grocery shopping, my flip-flops} another important thing is pre made baby pouches! I feel like i could find them a lot more affordable in california. or maybe now i just don't want to carry home that extra bag holding the squeezies ha! therefore, jude gets hungry so i have had to become more creative with my baby making food. So here are our latest favorites.  Judes favorite and mine. mixtures like this can go great as a side dish with any meat or over spaghetti squash!

                                                      

                                                             Rainbow baby food

                              
 ORANGE 

                            1 Butternut squash {sliced in half} 

                            1 jar of TJ's Organic unsweetened applesauce 

                            3 sweet potatoes {ends cut off} 


                          *Place sweet potatoes and squash on parchment paper. {Place butternut 

                           squash cut side down} Roast @ 450 degrees for approx 45 min or until soft. 

                          Remove from skins and place in blender. Add jar of applesauce. Squeeze into 

                          desired jars/ice cube trays/containers. 


                              LIGHT ORANGE

                          *I saved half of my squash/sweet potato/applesauce mixture and added 1/2 

                          container of full fat organic cottage cheese. Adds a little extra protein. 


                              GREEN

                           1 bag Organic spinach 

                           1/2 bag Organic kale 

                           1 bag organic pears, {washed, unpeeled  and roughly chopped}


                        *Add pears to saucepan, cover and let simmer stirring occasionally. Once soft 

                        and mushy, add spinach and kale. Saute until bright green.  blentec it. voila!

                 
                                    

kids who eat hard, play hard, and then fall asleep on their own ha.




                                                                          "the little things. 

                                                                           there's nothing bigger...

                                                                           is there?"

                                                                              -david aemes         


          

 i am excited to be back in the blogger world and to share a bit of our lives with you! And to share the amazing food that we eat. {pictures of my food and my baby are constantly fighting for first}. Since I can't really update since the last time i posted...here are some of my favs from our year. as you can plainly tell, a star player is the small child pictured in every shot.

for our family and friends who we do not see often---we hope you enjoy!

peachy clean

two things i came to ADORE this summer...peaches and clean babes.

 

              

 brady and i crowd around the kitchen sink every night and stare at the little tiny human as he loves his bath. wow. and then who can resist a baby in a towel! ha! nothing is quite as fun as bathing a babe. well....maybe a cute clean baby bum is a close second. we take lots and lots of pictures of naked bathing babes around here. 

    

this peach delight of a pizza is a "go-to" whenever i am short on time and need a delicious, healthy dinner. the crust is flatbreadish and goes great for my attempt to decrease my carbs:)

                        

                     

                                                                                                                                                       Balsamic Peach Pizza

                                                     CRUST:

                                                          ¼ all-purpose flour

                                                          ¼ wheat germ

                                                          1 cup whole wheat flour

                                                         1 tsp course salt

                                                         3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

                                                         1/3 water plus 1 tablespoon

                                                        2 tablespoons sesame seeds

                                                         1 tablespoon brown sugar

                                        

                                         1.  Preheat oven to 425.

                                    2.  mix dry ingredients

                                    3.  add wet and roll dough into desired shape

                                   4.  bake on pizza stone for approx 8 min. (until brown)

                                                   TOPPING:

                                                         2 ripe peaches, thinly sliced

                                                         Italian blend cheese

                                                         Pinch of rosemary and thyme

                                                        ¼ onion, carmelized {saute chopped onion on med heat with a sprinkle of 

                                                                                                      olive oil and brown sugar....yum}

                                                         fresh spinach

                                                         1 can of chicken  {i'm sorry if this grosses you out, it is so quick and i like 

                                                                                            canned chicken:)}

                                                1 .   toss spinach on top of crust

                                                    2.   lay out peach slices

                                                    3.   place chicken on top

                                                    4.  top with sauted onions

                                                    5.    sprinkle with cheese

                                                    6.   scatter herbs

                                                    7.   bake until cheese is melted

                                                    8.  drizzle thickened balsamic sauce 

                                                    9.  ENJOY!

                                                          BALSAMIC DRIZZLE

                                                                1 cup balsamic vinegar

                                                                2 Tbsp brown sugar

                                                   1. bring balsamic vineagar and brown sugar to boil in small saute pan, reduce heat

                                                        and  simmer until  thick.  

                                                   2. drizzle over pizza right before serving.

*         **WHEAT GERM= the most vitamin- and mineral-rich part of the wheat kernel. If you don't have wheat germ thats ok! just substitute white flour or whole wheat flour. 

let us eat and relax

babies are such a nice way to start people...

yes. i am one of those truly overjyed, love-him-so-much-i-could-cry, talk about him all day, dont want to put him down, do/have sat on the couch staring, filled up the pictures on my phone, completely consumed moms. who knew that being a mother could cause so much love.

   

     

     

what a blessed thing. LIFE.

thank you for indulging with me.

             

new additions.

hello blogging world! i'm back to try again. this time with a new purpose and desire to share our life in california, my new motherly journeyings and our love for {feel good} food.

 ...and i have a new addition to our blog. i'd like to present the newest, tiny clifford asparagus. i add asparagus because he is long and skinny. like an asparagus.
jude maeser clifford. born april 26, 2013 weighing in at 7 lbs and 20 inches long.

 yep welcome to the world. and let me tell you that was one down-right dirty welcome. I would be screaming too...oh wait, I was:)

    

although there was a little of this...

     

there was mostly this...

                                                     

this new world is shady, always keep one eye open. 

                                     

                                      

                                 if we look a little haggard and spent...we were. Happy happy, tired, emotional, and tired. 

                        ...now here come the pictures....the new LOVE of my life. A love that no one can explain.

{this little asparagus is now 3 1/2 months old and becoming more of a hotdog! ha! and thankfully i am able to be home for a couple of months to watch him grow- and cook! so heres to more photos of my babe(s) and my food.} Hope you enjoy as much as i do!!

best best trip

ok so this has been on the top of my drafts since i started it...uh many months ago. So for what its worth here is it! the remaining of our thailand. Now i can continue on with my life.

CHANG MAI. upper thailand. cute kids.


elephants. hiking trails. rain. thai cooking class.

We stayed at a quaint little bed and breakfast called The Secret Garden. Owned by a nice German man, his Thai wife and their daughter isabel. It was cute. Buggy, but cute.

oh so fun. Chang Mai river/elephant/hiking in the jungle

look closely and you can see these cute little girls with gold rings around their necks...

brady needed a lesson in balance. His slippery feet kept getting he best of him. Good thing i was there behind him...as you can see, i caught him almost every time.

             

  
according to our guide..."this oldest women in village. oldest women in village. look at her". ha!
crazy thailand tour guide





do you wonder if they are real?? yeah me too. i didn't dare creep any closer.

this...our cheapest....best...most delicious meal. total 6 US dollars.