The new blog is finally here! Come visit!

I've decided to make some changes! I have a new blog with a new name and a new site, but with the same content. I hope you enjoy the updated look and features!

Please visit me at Stir Crazy and let me know what you think:

Coffee, please!

Little H has been so generous as to wake us up at 5:30am in the recent weeks, or maybe it's been months at this point. It's hard to keep track of time these days. No matter what time he goes to bed (usually it varies by no more than an hour), his internal alarm goes off at the same time in the morning telling him, and then us, it's time to start the day. He is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I, on the other hand, am quite the opposite. With a baby on my hip and a coffee in my hand, we make our way to the living room. He plays while I wait for the coffee to do its magic.

I can't really complain though. The early morning wake-ups have been happening since he started sleeping straight through the night... so it's a trade off. It was a long 9 months of waking up every night in the middle of the night, so that fact that he sleeps until 5:30 now (sometimes 6:00, if we're lucky) is a HUGE success. I never thought the day would come.

However, this means that my previous schedule of working out at home before he wakes up is out the window. I've had to shift my workout schedule a bit. I've been doing a lot more strength training at the gym, which has worked in my favor since there's a lot more I can do there than at home. That means I've been doing less cardio at the gym, but have been running outside with Little H instead (and really enjoying it). Since I also like to incorporate yoga and pilates into my workouts, I try to fit that in a couple of mornings a week while he takes his first nap. Switching between cardio, strength training and yoga/pilates keeps me from getting bored.

I've quickly learned that you can't get too comfortable in any type of schedule when you have a baby. Just when I think I have something figured out, the little guy has to go and change it up on me. So we adapt and adjust. I'm sure my "new" schedule will soon be my "old" schedule, depending on how Little H decides to surprise me next.

And he's full of lots of surprises!

Pesto, pasta, and peas

Normally, a recipe titled Pasta, Pesto, and Peas would not grab my attention. But I had some leftover homemade pesto I wanted to use up, so I searched online for a pasta and pesto dish. Don't let the unexciting name fool you... this dish was really good.

I originally made the pesto for this Mozzarella Grilled Cheese Sandwich that I saw on an episode of Tyler's Ultimate. It's made with fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, fresh sourdough bread and pesto....kind of an adult spin on the traditional grilled cheese. A great sandwich when you're looking for feel-good comfort food. And who doesn't love a good grilled cheese?

I made the pasta dish at the beginning of last week, and we had plenty of leftovers for the rest of the week. It's meant to be eaten at room temperature, but I made it as a cold pasta "salad". That worked out really well though because it was HOT here last week, and when you live on a 3rd floor walk-up with no a/c, 1) you do not want to be slaving over a hot oven or stove, and 2) you want to eat something cool and refreshing. And, of course, leftovers are perfect when you have limited time, aka kids. So, kids + great food + no cooking = a perfect combination. I served it with a side salad of local organic mixed greens and cucumbers, and tomatoes. Even I was surprised at how good this was!

If you want to make it even easier, you can use jarred pesto. But I thought the homemade pesto was worth the extra effort. For the pasta recipe, I made a couple minor changes. 1) I omitted the pine nuts (mainly because I didn't have any leftover after making the pesto, and they don't come cheap), 2) I used light mayo, and 3) I added diced chicken. I seasoned two chicken breasts with salt and pepper and baked them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Then I diced them into about 1-inch pieces and mixed them into the pasta salad to make sure the chicken was coated with the pesto and spinach mixture (you probably won't need all the chicken for this dish, so you can use any leftover cooked chicken for something else). You could also buy a cooked rotisserie chicken to save some time.

Also, I cut the recipe in half since the original recipe yields 12 servings. I will definitely make this again. Another great dish for spring and summer.

You can find the original recipe here ~ Pasta, Pesto and Peas, from the fabulous Ina Garten.

Enjoy!

"Absolutely Amazing Abs"

I don't have them, and I'm not sure I ever will. But we can all dream. The only real way to try and achieve amazing abs is by exercising them. I don't know if anyone really enjoys working out his or her abs, but for me it's all about variety. I get bored doing the same exercises for too long, and luckily that's apparently a good thing. I've read that after you do the same exercises for about 4 - 6 weeks, your muscles get used to them and they're not as effective. Time to change it up.

I got an email this morning from Athleta Chi, an inspiring blog written by various women athletes (and connected with Athleta, a great fitness clothing line). The link in the email brought me to a post with pictures and descriptions of a handful of exercises for Absolutely Amazing Abs. I tried a couple of them today and the balancing ones on the Bosu were killer... hopefully that meant they were working.

I think if I had her view on the beach I might actually enjoy the exercises more. Instead, I get to look at myself in the gym mirror... trying to look like I know what I'm doing!

Gym babysitting helps keep me sane (somewhat)

I didn't make it to the gym today because I needed to go to BRU, Target and Bed Bath & Beyond. Not exactly my ideal day, but a mom's duty calls. Little H and I were back, however, by noon. The day started off much earlier than I would have liked due to the little guy's new, unimproved napping schedule, or lack thereof. He was fussy when we got back, wouldn't nap... so I needed to figure out what to do with him since it was a balmy 85 degrees in our condo (and not much reprieve outdoors). Since the gym babysitter leaves at 2pm, I didn't have time to get in a workout. It's on days like today when I realize just how much 1 hour at the gym keeps me sane, even if only a little bit.

We usually go late mornings after his nap, and it's like a physical and mental recharge to get me through the day. Not only do I get some "me time", but Little H can crawl around to his heart's content (without me constantly wondering what he's getting into, which is everything these days).

Needless to say, we'll be heading to the gym tomorrow morning. I need my recharge. That, and because I just inhaled a burger, fries and ice cream. I'm going to roll myself to bed now.

Blueberry ricotta pancakes

One word... heaven. And I think I have the new ricotta to thank for it. These pancakes were so moist and delicious. The batter is mixed so that it purposely remains a little lumpy, which means that when you take a bite of the pancakes you get a burst of the ricotta. And if you've ever had anything with ricotta mixed with blueberries, the flavor is wonderful. Instead of traditional maple syrup to top it off, the recipe includes directions for a honey syrup that is lighter but still sweet. I would have made one change by adding lemon zest to the batter, but I didn't have any lemons. I think the added citrus flavor would have made the pancakes even better. I substituted with 100% whole wheat pancake & waffle mix, and I don't think I'd want them any other way.

I'm a pretty modest person, but I have to say that these pancakes were much better than similar lemon ricotta ones I had recently at a local restaurant. The restaurant's pancakes weren't as moist, and I could hardly taste the ricotta and lemon. I practically had to drown them in maple syrup.

I'll be making the blueberry ricotta pancakes again... (and again...) When I made them yesterday, I cut the recipe in half. Whether you make a full or half batch, you can always refrigerate or freeze any leftovers and reheat for a quick, easy and tasty breakfast. And they don't take long to make in the first place.... I made and enjoyed them during Little H's morning nap. I could think of worse ways to spend my time :)
Blueberry Ricotta Pancakes (adapted from Food Network's Giada de Laurentiis)
~Serves 4 (16 pancakes)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups water
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
• 2 cups 100% whole wheat pancake & waffle mix
• 1 cup whole milk ricotta
  
• 2/3 cup frozen blueberries
• melted butter
  
• zest of 1 lemon (optional)

Directions for honey syrup:

• Stir 1/3 cup of water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.
  
• Stir in the honey. Set aside and keep warm.

Directions for pancakes:

• Using a rubber spatula, stir the remaining 1 2/3 cups of water and vanilla in a large bowl.
• Add the pancake mix and stir just until moistened but still lumpy.
• Gently stir in the lemon zest and then the ricotta, incorporating the ricotta while maintaining a lumpy batter.
  
• Gently fold in the blueberries.
  
• Heat a griddle or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush with the melted butter.
• Working in batches, spoon 1/4 cup of batter onto the pan for each pancake. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
• Serve with fresh blueberries and honey syrup.

Enjoy!

The farmers' market and a new love

Yesterday was opening day of the local farmers' market in Copley Square, so Little H and I made our way over there in the afternoon. I'd been looking forward to it for some time, and to be honest, I was a little underwhelmed. I expected more vendors, and a greater variety of fruit and veggies. What I seemed to forget is that it's only mid-May in New England, which means that there still isn't much growing happening around here. Even though the selection was a bit lacking, I did manage to pick up a few things that are pretty wonderful.

A couple of vendors sold locally-grown arugula, lettuce and other greens, English cucumbers, a variety of herbs, and delicious looking bright red strawberries.
There were also some locally-grown plants and flowers (unfortunately none of which I would have been able to carry home while also pushing Little H in the stroller).
However, the 4 items I walked away with were ones I was not expecting to purchase: goat cheese, ricotta, fresh bread and homemade raspberry jam. As soon as I saw the goat cheese, made at Crystal Brook Farm in Sterling, I knew I wanted to use it to make scrambled eggs for dinner that night (one of my favorite egg dishes). I warmed up some fresh 7-grain rolls in the oven to have on the side. These come from Iggy's Bread, who is based in Cambridge and supplies bread to many Boston-area bakeries, cafes and restaurants. They make quite a few different varieties, but this is the first time I had the 7-grain rolls. Wow, they are amazing! They have a nutty, grainy flavor with a touch of sweetness, and are extremely soft. I warmed another one up this afternoon and topped it with the homemade raspberry jam I got from Hamilton Orchards. Thanks to the market being open 2 days a week, we will now be enjoying Iggy's bread very often!
But one of the best purchases was the Renaissance Ricotta from Narragansett Creamery in RI. I walked up to their table and was handed a little paper cup filled with the ricotta and topped with a blueberry. I was in love. The ricotta I normally buy is the part-skim grocery store brand. Now that I've tasted the really good stuff, I'm not sure I was even eating ricotta before. The Renaissance Ricotta won first place in the WI World Cheese Championship (I know nothing about this competition, but I thought it sounded pretty important in the cheese world). It's made with whole milk and a little sea salt.... that's it. Because it's so pure, they suggest you eat it within 4 days after opening since it spoils faster. I bought it without batting an eye, and then realized I had no idea what I was going to do with a pound of ricotta in such a short amount of time. Enter the fabulous world of the internet. I found quite a few recipes, one of which I'll be sharing with you tomorrow.

I think I'm in ricotta heaven.