9.30.2012

You + Me + Baby = 3

It was August 21st, 2012 - I was sitting at work unable to focus, wondering why my cramps had not proceeded into the dreaded visit from Aunt Flow. I started counting the days since the last visit and remembered how sometimes it's not always spot on (no pun intended) but I was already at day 30... day 31... day 32... thats unusual. Aunt Flow doesn't miss a beat by THAT many days. Then it hit me. Aunt Flow may have decided to retire for 9 months... Shoooooot.

I texted my husband asap with one of those flippant "I think I might be pregnant" texts, you know the ones that aren't meant to freak anyone out or anything. His response: "Really?". I'm pretty sure both our heart rates spiked at that moment and we weren't able to speak until we got home that night. Neither of us entertained the idea right away but I knew I had to get a test. But just in case Aunt Flow came that night, I waited another day.

Lo and behold, nothing.

On August 22nd, 2012 I went to the Dollar Tree and bought two tests. Yes, they were $1 and according to my doctor, they are as accurate as any other test. I did my best to stay calm. The look in the male cashier's eyes made me uneasy - a look of, "you have a secret and you've been busted!". I rode my bike home and tried to decide what my reaction would be if it was + or -, would I be excited? Upset? Nervous? I couldn't keep the smile off my face, so I pedaled home as quick as I could.

When I got home, Andrew was unusually calm. Well he was calm until I pulled out the test then he practically ripped open the box and read the instructions about three times to make sure it was done perfectly. He "left me to do my business" and attempted to strictly enforce the 3-5 minute wait time. However, I could already see the stick beginning to change the second my urine hit it. He ultimately forced me into the bedroom, forced me to sit down and told me to wait - like a 2 year old in timeout. He studied his watch and counted the seconds. I was so anxious at 2 minutes that I stood up and demanded we look at the test. We both raced to the bathroom, practically shoving each other out of the way as we strained our eyes to get a look at the result. The stick had two boxes, one with a control line that looks like: [ | ] The other box contained the fate of the rest of your life. If the test is positive, the second box will contain another [ | ] and if it's negative then it will be blank.

Our result?







Yep. I bawled.

Andrew enveloped me in his arms and asked why I was crying, out of sheer concern that I was genuinely upset and devastated. I honestly didn't know how I felt at the time. The only way I can explain it is that all my emotions, concerns and thoughts poured out into those tears. They were tears of joy, excitement, anxiety, fear, nervousness and relief. Tears of "how did this happen so fast" and tears of "there is a baby inside me??". I've always imagined being pregnant but have never put it into perspective.

Worry #1 - The Hood to Coast marathon was in two days. Can I run when I'm pregnant? What if I miscarry? Long story short, I ran anyway and everything was fine or else this post wouldn't exist. However, my last leg turned into a nightmare after following a big group up the wrong route. I ended up running 13.8 miles instead of the designated 5.2 miles. Andrew FREAKED OUT. Basically he put a bounty on each staff members head for allowing his wife (and child) to get lost and possibly endure a medical emergency. I was definitely panicking but made it out ok, just exhausted. The next step was to relax for the next couple weeks and let everything settle in.

Worry #2 - Where is the instruction manual?? I know nothing about bearing, birthing and raising a child.

However, today is September 26th, 2012 and we just heard our baby's heartbeat for the first time -- I cried, again. It was beating so fast and so steady, working hard to sustain it's tiny body within my own body. It's unreal but so real. A microscopic fertilized egg has innately multiplied to become numerous cells which have multipled exponentially to create an arm, a hand, an eyelid, a brain, a heart. A beating heart. Life is a miracle and this child is already loved more that he/she can imagine.
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9.18.2012

Roasted Green Tomato Salsa

Who's got green tomatoes??! We do... And we have LOTS. Last year our tomatoes stayed green all summer although we diligently watched for a hint of orange or red. We were let down when the first frost hit and they all died. It was a waste of time and money in my opinion. However this year, I decided to work with the green tomatoes and one of the best ideas I could come up with was salsa. I had been reading the ingredients on my salsa bottle at home and was disappointed by all the ingredients I couldn't even pronounce. I thought, what is this crap? So I decided to make my own homemade salsa - the kind where I know exactly what is in it and exactly where it came from.

Ready to put in some work?? I hope so! This recipe is not ideal for a weeknight when you have to wake up at 6am the next morning... however, it can be done and the only reason I know this is because I did it. The outcome of this recipe is so worth it though and I actually had some fun creating it. I ran into a few snags along the way, which didn't hurt my product in the long run but made it difficult throughout.

First - I didn't have a big enough pot for the entire batch so I had to use two separate pots for cooking.
Second - Have all your ingredients cut, chopped and ready. Otherwise you will be running back and forth while your food burns on the grill.
Third - The water in the canning pot takes FOREVER to boil. Start it early. It was so huge it took up two of my stove burners.

Here goes, enjoy!

What You Need:
3-4 lbs mostly green, orange and red tomatoes
(I used my garden tomatoes)
2 bell peppers, sliced into strips
(I used my garden peppers)
2 white onions, cut in quarters
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapenos, chopped
(More or less depending on your spice level)
1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
1/2 C lime juice, about 5 limes
1 C lemon juice, about 4 lemons
Salt to taste
Cumin to taste

Pint (recommended) or quart jars
New lids
Rims
Canning funnel
Ladle
Canning rack and canning pot

Prep time: 20-30 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Processing time: 15 minutes from boiling point

What to do:
1. Fire up the grill! I used a chimney starter to get my charcoal going and it heated up within 10 minutes. 

 

2. Lay out the tomatoes, bell peppers and onions to roast on the grill. You want them to be slightly charred before flipping, but not too mushy. If they are too mushy, they will already be cooked and you don't want that since you will be cooking them later. Make sure they are slightly charred to get that nice roasted taste. 


3. Take the veggies off the grill and put them in a large (or two large) pots. Turn heat to high and bring to boil, then reduce to a medium simmer. Stir often. 

4. Add minced garlic and chopped jalapenos. Cook for 45 minutes. 

5. Start your canning water. In a large pot add enough water that will cover jars by at least 2 inches. You can add more hot water if needed after the jars are submerged. Keep canning rack on it's "elbows".



6. Add cilantro, lime and lemon juice, salt and cumin to your tomato mix. Cook for another 15 minutes or until salsa is cooked down and tomato chunks are greatly reduced. You can "chop" up the tomatoes in the pot of add salsa to a blender and puree for about 5 seconds or until it is the consistency you want.  Here is what the reduction process looks like:




7. I only had four pint jars so I used those and two quart jars. I read online that it would be ok to combine the two sizes for processing as long as you processed for the time of the larger jar. Wash all jars, lids and rims in hot soapy water. Rinse and leave jars in hot water to keep warm so they don't crack when you add hot salsa.


8. Prepare a shallow dish with hot water to soak the lids while filling jars. Keep rims dry.

9. When canning water is about to boil, ladle salsa into each jar using the funnel to avoid spillage. Wipe the jars tops clean, place a hot lid on top, screw on a rim with a tight twist (tight enough that you know you can get it off again) and place jar into canning rack. Repeat with each jar until rack is full then lower the rack slowly into the boiling water. If water has not begun to boil, start processing timer when boiling starts. For pint jars, boil for 15 minutes and for quart jars boil for 30 minutes. 

10. Once processing is finished, carefully pull up the rack onto it's "elbows" and remove each jar from the boiling water using tongs or hot mitts. Try not to touch the lid or rim since this could cause an issue with sealing. Place each jar on a towel or drying rack. Listen for the popping sounds!! This is a good sign that your jars are sealing. Let sit for 12 to 24 hours and resist all temptation to press the poppy button in the middle of the lid.

Enjoy your homemade roasted green tomato salsa!





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9.07.2012

ต้มข่าไก่ - aka Tom Kha Soup

Tom Kha soup is a creamy and flavorful Thai dish that is so tasty, I can't even begin to describe it. If you've never tried it, go to your favorite Thai restaurant and give it a shot! Then come home and try my recipe - slightly adjusted to meet my needy taste buds.

The one trick to making Tom Kha a success is to find the right ingredients. Uwajimaya is an amazing store in Beaverton, OR that carries a wide variety of products from all over Asia and they have everything you need to make Tom Kha. It's well worth the trip and don't forget to check out the candy aisle - where you can't read the labels and picking a package is sorta like playing Russian Roulette.
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