French Onion Soup

Originally I'd intended this blog to be about faith, family, food and reflections on all related subjects.  I think I've certainly gotten to the family, and some of the faith part- but I completely forgot about the FOOD part!!!  Seriously- I do love food.  I love creating it and eating it!  It is so healing for me... for the most part! 

This, like lots of things, can be kind of hard when you are living within pretty limited financial constraints.  I have oodles of foodie mags laying around taunting me with all the wonderful things I could be making, but with a husband in law school, a busy toddler, and a part time job that well... I won't be getting rich from- you have to get creative.  Nevertheless, food is one of the many things in life I love.  It allows me to be creative, zone in on the task at hand, forget about life's stresses and it nurtures people.  

So with a VERY limited budget I play this, "what can I make with what we have" game.  It's actually kind of fun & challenging. I was looking around our kitchen sometime a few weeks ago and we didn't have much, but this gigantic onion.  This onion soon became this lovely soup, which I have adapted from the Mennonite "More With Less Cookbook.  The Mennonites are very good at living this example.  They are the true origianl "Green and Simple Living" folks, before "Green" was "In".  A large piece of their faith is expressed by their beliefs that we must try to be good stewards of the earth God created by living simply, using what we have, being conscious in our decision making and valuing people and relationships above material goods.  If I'm being honest, I admit that is a tall order sometimes!  Mennonites don't mess around- they're awesome.

Back to soup- some folks have asked for the recipe so here you have it:

1 large onion

2 T. butter

2T. flour  

salt to taste

4-5 C. beef broth (homemade is the best)

french bread

cheese (ideally swiss, but we had some mozzarella)

*Slice an ENTIRE onion, trying not to cry.  Ha!  In large stock pot, brown the slices in butter about 15mn. until a bit carmalized.  Add the flour and stir until coated and brown bits accumulate on the bottom of your pan.  Stir in broth, scraping brown bits up to boost flavor.  Simmer for 30 mn. (honestly, I can rarely be this patient).  But if you have the time its worth it.  Meanwhile, toast several slices of bread (any good crusty bread is great), place bread on top.

Top with cheese and place under broiler 3-5mn.  Serve up into bowls with a green salad and enjoy!!!  This is an awesome meal for cozy, cold Autumn evenings!!!

Speaking of food- Happy Turkey Day!  We all have so much to be grateful for.

Obble Bobble

Okay- So I know I promised a walking video, which will no doubt be up and running soon!  Peter & I are still figuring out our MacBook and how to use iMovie etc.  Here is a hilarious clip we came across.  One of Clara's MANY silly traits is this phase she's going through where she rubs her lips really quickly with her hands and sings, "obble, bobble bobble."  Maybe this is the type of thing only truly funny to parents of their child, but I thought I'd share!  Here's to you, Clara and your "Obble Bobble" days.

Enjoy!

Walking

So it's official. I have a toddler! Clara Jane is actually walking. A few days ago she took her first step. She stood up and took one step over to me. It was so exciting to witness this milestone in my little person's life! Now she will teeder over to us taking about 5 steps at a time before falling on her bootie looking VERY pleased with herself. Where did the baby go?! Video footage to come...I promise.

Halloween with Auntie Suz

We had a wonderful Halloween weekend with Suzanne, Peter's sister this past weekend.  Some highlight included dressing Clara in her Ladybug costume and parading her around Pearl St. in Boulder, cooking nice meals and a morning hike in Lyons, CO on Saturday morning.  Thanks to Suz for braving the rediculous crowd with us in downtown Boulder on Halloween and enduring the moments on the hike when Clara had other opinions on how to spend the morning!  One thing I am realizing as Clara gets a bit older and embarks on full-blown toddlerdom is that she is no longer a baby.

She has opinions, she knows stuff.  This portion of life is a lesson for me in relinquishing control.  I can't make her eat, I can't force her to sleep and I can't ensure that she won't mess her diaper the second after I change her! I can't even predict entirely how she will respond to a new situation. Of course there is always lots of preparation involved, but for the most part I realize that as she grows the sands of control slowly slip from my fingertips. It's funny how the people that come into your life shape who you are in ways you don't realize until after the moments have passed.
I hope that I don't miss the precious lessons this little person has in store for me along the way, however frustrating it may feel at times.  I will tell you, that when you are covered in banana two minutes before leaving for work and have to wash the blueberry syrup out of your toddler's hair- it's pretty darn easy to miss the forest for the trees!  I digress...

Most of all- I am thankful today for the wonderful family we have far and wide.  Thank you Suz for coming out and celebrating Halloween with us.  You are a wonderful Aunt and Clara is lucky to have someone like you in her life.  It makes me smile and laugh out loud when I think of each person Clara has as her Aunt and Uncle.  We are so blessed to know & love these individuals who shape our own lives, and even more so when I think of what they all mean to this little girl. After all, I know that Aunts & Uncles are ALWAYS "cooler" than "Mom & Dad!"

Happy Halloween!!!!  

Clara's first political rally

The day my friends left we found out that Obama was speaking on the oval in Ft. Collins. Clara and I had some time to kill as Peter was studying all day, and instead of feeling sad & lonely missing my friends I decided to head up to the Fort to try to see Barack! Well, Clara and I got in and actually saw him! I will never forget this experience for two reasons. First was how compelling Barack is live and in person. He spoke about the importance of education and investing in our future and our children. That message never rang truer to me as I held Clara in my arms listening to this great man speak.

The second reason that made this experience unforgettable was the fact that Clara is really into clapping when she sees others applaud these days. Every time the crowd went wild and started cheering, she looked around beaming and clapped herself- as if 45,000 people had gathered to cheer just for her! Ha. Priceless.

I get by with a little help from my friends

The weekend after our get away, I had the good fortune to be visited by my dear friends from Grad School.  There are not words to articulate what these women mean to me.  We kept each other afloat during some very challenging years.  I have never laughed harder in my life than I have with these ladies.  The stories are endless!  

Peggy flew in from CA on thursday and then we were joined by Mollie, Kimberly and her son Jameson (2yrs) who is one of Clara's buddies. 

We made meals, drank wine, made doughnuts, carved pumpkins, reminisced, and enjoyed some live Jazz at Jay's Bistro in Ft. Collins.

Thank you ladies.  Friends like you come once in a lifetime.  I am honored to know you each.

48 Hours Without Clara

For our anniversary Peter and I took our first trip away.  We spent two whole entire days without Clara Jane!  My mom generously volunteered to come to our house and spend the weekend with Clara so that we could get away!  I owe her a major shout out for this, as we had a wonderful time.

I did, however realize several things on our weekend away.  The first of which was that we both missed her as much as we enjoyed our time away.  That was a strange and unexpected feeling.  Don't get me wrong, I was prepared to miss her but I couldn't help feeling the entire time like I had forgotten something.  

I also realized that I still love cooking.  I miss the enjoyable parts of cooking so much!  These days, it feels so much more like a task- something we need to do merely for survival, and not as much for enjoyment.  We spent two days in a cabin in Poudre Canyon north of Ft. Collins and were totally free!  The first night we made seared chicken breasts stuffed with ham, swiss and garden greens.  They were dusted with flour and parmesan, seared and baked. This is one of Peter's favorites.  The next night we made chipoltle marinated steaks on the grill with green beans and goat cheese crustinis.  The artistic process of meal planning and preparation is something that feels like such a luxury these days.

 I was reminded as well, that Peter and I are still best friends.  We could hardly believe that we could move at our own pace and set our own schedule those two days.  

We cooked nice meals, didn't have to cut up small bites for Clara to throw on the floor, we were able to finish sentences, soak in the hot tub and look up at the stars, and go on a hike without worrying about diaper changes on the trail or feeding a fussy Clara cheerios.  It was wonderful.  

Here are some pictures as proof of our time away.  It was renewing in every way, and come Sunday morning we were literally RACING to pack and get home to our little girl!