6 months of Elizabeth

Cooking...

Inspired by this recipe we cooked a
Swiss chard and potato gratin.

Our variation on the recipe:
10 new potatoes sliced thin in the food processor leave skin on
1 cup aged cheddar
1/2 lb swiss chard chopped in small pieces
1 tablespoon butter
dash of salt and pepper
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350.
Par boil the potatoes so they are almost the texture you'd like them in the gratin (this saved us so much time!).  Spay a deep cooking bowl with non-stick spray.  Layer 1/3 of the potatoes, 1/3 of the chard, and 1/3 of the cheese, 1/3 the butter cut in little pieces, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Do again twice making sure the top is cheese not swiss chard or else it will burn.  Pour the milk down the edge.  Bake in for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and the chard has cooked to the right tenderness.  

Cooking...

Cabbage and Apple Slaw

A very tasty and a good way to use our CSA pointed head cabbage
I used a combination of recipes and this is what I ended up with:
1 pointed head cabbage (~4 cups) shredded in the food processor
2 granny smith apples diced in small chunks
1/2 cup low-fat sour cream
1/2 cup plan fat-free yogurt
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper

Mix the dressing in a separate bowl.  Combine with the cabbage and apples.  Enjoy.

A new face

We snapped a few shots after her bath, and she started doing this new face. 

Cooking...

Yellow squash and zucchini rice casserole. What a great way to use all the squash we are getting from our CSA.

The Grueling Triathlon of Doom

Putting the "Do" in Doom since 2008.  GToD.

This morning I participated in my first triathlon.  Before I injured my knee I have played with the idea of doing a triathlon. I had even looked into signing up for several, but never got the courage. Recently I've been working out pretty consistently and again started to think about doing a race again.  Coincidentally, my friend Erin told me about this race, and even though I was past the registration date she was able to get me in.  We met up this morning and were able to do it together.

The North Carolina summer did not disappoint - at 8am it was in the low 90's with sweltering humidity and the air was completely devoid of a breeze. Amazingly enough the weather wasn't too much of a factor. I might have been a little faster on my run if not for the sun beating down on me, but then again I had just finished swimming and biking so there is no way I would have been going very fast no matter what the weather. While the name sounds intimidating don't let it fool you; this triathlon is for the beginner triathalete. It is an actual super sprint distance.  We started off at the downtown Y with a staggered start of 10 lengths of the pool, then transitioned in the parking lot and hopping on our bikes for a 6 mile ride down the American Tobacco trail, then back again to the Y parking lot to transition into the 1.5 mile run (more like slow slow jog for me).

The whole event was super fun, and I really hope to do another one soon!

The two of us swimming

Me finishing

Erin finishing

More pictures here.

Elizabeth's first hike

This afternoon we tried to find a heron rookery by Ellerbe Creek here in Durham, but were unsuccessful. I think they were hiding because it was too hot!

Elizabeth did great. She didn't mind the heat and even managed to briefly fall asleep in the Bjorn.

Elizabeth's new swing

Elizabeth's new swing from Nathan Marvelle on Vimeo.