Another food update

This week, I used my silicon baking cups twice. I got these baking cups for Christmas in December (thanks Karen!), but I hadn't really had a good chance to explore them before now. They are really cool because you can use them without a muffin tin (just place them on a cookie sheet) and the muffins do not stick in them at all. I made cornbread muffins on Thursday to go with some chili (which was pretty awesomely good, but that is another story). Then on Saturday, I made banana bread muffins. Overall, I think the silicon baking cups are really great.


We also had some homemade pizza this week, covered in pineapple, broccoli, red peppers, onions, and ham (on half). Yum!

Happy Birthday Oma!

This post is in honor of my oma. Her birthday is tomorrow, but it is already tomorrow in the Netherlands, so... Here she is with two of her daughters. My mom was not with me on this trip, so she is missing from the picture. Still, it is a nice one.



Here are a couple scenic shots I took on the same trip. I love the cloudy skies and the mix of gray water and green foliage.


Here is one last shot showing my oma, opa, and me. This is at my birthday party in 2005. Happy Birthday Oma!

Rex and a ball

Here is a short video of Rex playing (quite calmly) with a ball toy. It is pretty low energy for a ferret video, but very cute.

Brian and Joey play piano

Here is a video from Christmas break. Since I just figured out how to upload videos (with Rachel's help), there will probably be a few older videos uploaded in the next few weeks.

Ferret video

Here is my first attempt at posting a video:

Weekend Tasks

I completed a couple of notable tasks this weekend:

1) I planted part of our garden. I know this may be difficult for those up north to believe, but it is pretty warm here and many seeds can be planted in February and March here. I planted a couple rows of beets, plus several herbs (oregano, cilantro, mint, sage, basil). Also, we had some lily plants in a bag that needed to be put in the soil in a sunny spot--I took care of those too.

2) I finished our taxes and filed our return. Well, I will send in the return this week--but it is all prepared. It will be exciting to get our return $$.

Couscous

Once again we have a weekend post about food. This post is about couscous. Couscous is a lovely food because making it is as easy as boiling water. The couscous below is made with vegetable broth with some spices added, so the couscous itself has lots of flavor. Then a tomato, cucumber, and some feta cheese are added. The last step is a little olive oil and lemon juice to keep it moist. That's it!