Foot-Loose and Toddler-Free

It's been a quiet weekend at Casa de Stopster. No crying, no yelling, no chasing the cats, only occasional whining. It was almost like the pre-kid days, before diapers and sippy-cups, before potty training and scheduled naps, before tantrums and time-outs. Why? Because, this weekend, there was no kid.

Friday morning, we packed Maddie off to Larry and Nancy (a.k.a., Nana and Pa), and from then, until about 6 p.m. this evening, we were officially off-duty. (Well, as off-duty as you ever get when you're a parent--meaning there was lots of texting and at least two Skype conversations.) This isn't the first time we've done this, but it's the first time where we've had hours upon hours of leisure time at our disposal.

So, Friday evening we took a trip to Whole Foods for some really good ingredients, and then Jon made dinner while I acted as prep chef (read, I chopped brussel sprouts and measured ingredients into dishes, all ready to go when he needed them). Chef Stoppel created individual smoked-blue cheese souffles paired with fresh, pan-seared brussel sprouts in a honey reduction. (The brussel sprouts were from a recipe that Eric Ripert tweeted last week.)

While the souffles were baking, we enjoyed an assortment of olives and peppers from the Whole Foods olive bar. Then we repaired to our rarely used dining room for the main course. These were the first souffles Jon has ever attempted, and I must say, the man is a force to be reckoned with the in the kitchen. They were amazing. The brussel sprouts were also really good, and we're hoping to try them with Maddie sometime soon. We finished up with cannolis and a chocolate parfait (also from Whole Foods), and then took our wine into the living room to start watching Season 4 of 30 Rock. I will admit that that part may not fit in with the rest of the evening, but whatever. Doing what we want!, the theme for the weekend.



Look! The souffles rose and everything.


Jon did make me remove my shoes and creep in and out of the kitchen on tip-toe while they were baking.

Saturday morning, Jon had to work, but I, being more fortunate, slept in. Yes, I know! I actually managed to sleep in! Sorry, if you don't know, since having a kid, I am unable to sleep in. It doesn't matter if she's there or not, or even if Jon offers to go get her. I can't sleep in. It took some effort, but in the end, the 45 minutes I took talking myself back to sleep were well worth it. Saturday, we lounged around the house, took a nap, and then headed over to Stone Pillar Winery to meet our friends the Meyers for some wine on the patio. After that, we hit up Johnny's for some burgers and musical trivia bingo.

Sunday, Jon slept in while I read in bed. This was followed by coffee and more lounging. In fact, truth be told, I didn't change out of my robe and shower until about 4:40 this afternoon. Yes, feel free to be jealous...or grossed out, whichever appeals to you more.

All in all, it was nice to be able to just "be" together for a while, without worrying about scheduling and entertaining the Madster. It reminded us of why we got together in the first place. However, both of us were 100% ready for Miss Thing to come home this evening. We missed her bunches, and judging by the fact that she threw herself on the sidewalk in excitement at our arrival, I'm assuming she missed us, too.

So, thanks, Larry and Nancy for giving us a weekend off! I hope you're resting up from all the trips to the park and the ice cream shop.

The 19-Month-Old Palate

...in which I generally brag on my daughter. Fair warning.

You hear all of these stories about kids and what poor eaters they are. 'Timmy will only eat fish sticks', or 'Jessica won't touch anything that looks even remotely green.' It's not that I don't believe those parents, and it's not that I don't think they're trying hard enough to coax their child into eating healthy, interesting food. It's just that here, at Casa de Stopster, we don't have to worry about that. As you all know, Maddie's always had a fairly healthy appetite, but what you may not know is that her taste buds are accustomed to a pretty wide range of ingredients.

Miss Thing still loooooves broccoli, but she's also expanded her vegetable repertoire to include corn (or kowns, as she calls them), peas, carrots (sometimes), asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes (yes, yes, I know they're technically a fruit), onions, peppers of all varieties, and tonight--beansprouts. She'll eat just about any kind of meat you put in front her, adores almost all fruit, and as far as I know, has never met a carb she didn't want to devour. Oh, and she worships fish. Oh, yes. Fish. Whenever I cook anything that swims, she gets her own fillet, which she will stuff into her mouth by the handful. And when she's done, she will demand more. It doesn't even matter how it's prepared--baked, seared, pan-fried. All are fine in Maddie's book.

It probably sounds like I'm bragging, and I am. (To be fair, I warned you at the beginning of the post.) Also, I'm aware of the evil force that is toddler karma, and I know this will probably come back to bite me in the posterior, but I'm pretty proud of the fact that she'll eat good-tasting, good-for-you food. Not that Jon and I really take any credit for it. We do have a fairly strict meal-time policy that if you don't eat what you're given you don't eat, and we do continually offer her a variety of choices, but beyond that, she just seems to like to eat. In fact, one of her new favorite activities is "helping" me cook, and I think it's mostly because she gets to sample small tidbits of whatever I'm making, as we're going along. (By the way, this is a great way to introduce new vegetables to her because when I'm cooking, she'll eat an-y-thing I put in front of her--including plain yogurt, half a lemon, chopped parsley, and raw mushrooms.) Anyway, to sum it all up, I thought I'd share some of her more interesting meal choices over the last few weeks:

Baked fish with tomatoes, corn, and onions over couscous
Polenta with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and garlic
Pepper steak (stir-fry style)
Tuna casserole (I found a great new, and unusual, recipe, if anyone wants it)
Steak pasta
Creamy salmon pasta
Mu-shu pork with cabbage, carrots, and beansprouts (which it turns out is all just a vehicle for Hoison sauce, but yes, my kid eats Hoisin sauce!)


Since we're on the topic of food, I thought I'd share a couple of photos from our first ever family ice cream outing. It was so unbelievably nice here today that we decided to head out for a little Sylas and Maddy's after dinner. Um, yeah, so not everything we feed her is healthy...but it is good. (Photos by Alaina)