The Zoo

My best friend from high school, Jennifer, came to visit me a few weeks ago. She was an amazing help and took on the challenge of going to the Cleveland Zoo with me and the boys. Here are a few shots of our day.
We all loved the monkeys, especially Gabe. This baboon was quite the poser. I think those moon-eyes were for Jennifer.











We stopped at this little playground for lunch. Elijah threw a huge tantrum right before this. Somehow, Jennifer is still smiling. :)










Here is Gabe looking very serious about riding this elephant. This picture was taken after his very nutritious lunch of eating other people's leftovers and our dropped food off of the ground in the picnic area while refusing to eat his own cleaner food at the table. He and the birds were quite literally fighting over pieces of bread and soggy cheetos.












Jennifer and I loved watching the butterflies and moths in the butterfly house. Elijah and Gabe, however, spent most of their time trying to dig rocks out of the cobbled pathways. I guess butterflies are more of a girl thing.













I thought this koala was just amazing. My boys, however, were not impressed. They did exclaim "whoa!" about the waterfall in the koala's exhibit, however.











Here is the highlight of our trip. This little wallaby decided to hop right out of his exhibit and come say "hi". He nuzzled, sniffed and even let us pet him. The other zoo guests were pretty jealous. I guess he could tell we were nice people.

Zesty Pasta with Olives

One more fabulous pasta recipe for today and it's meatless for Nancy!

Fresh ingredients:
2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Frozen ingredients:
2 cups broccoli florets, thawed

Non-perishables:
8 oz rotini pasta
2 Tbs olive oil
3 Tbs red wine vinegar
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 Tbs sliced pimento-stuffed olives
2 Tbs sliced black olives

1. Cook and drain pasta as directed.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat oil, vinegar, oregano, salt, red pepper and garlic in 10-inch skillet. Cook olives, broccoli, and zucchini in oil mixture until vegetables are desired texture. Toss with pasta and serve.
Makes 4 servings- 300 calories each

In the photo, I served this as a side dish for mozzarella stuffed chicken breast.

Beef and Artichoke Fettuccine

As part of our move we have been trying an experimental eating system in which we eat almost entirely out of food storage. We knew we would have a large gap of time between moving and Marc's first paycheck so we bought a bunch of non-perishables in Baltimore and hauled them to Cleveland. As part of this process I went through my cookbooks and found the recipes with the fewest fresh ingredients. Although I do buy a little produce each week so we don't get scurvy, I thought others might appreciate recipes that can help them rotate those canned goods while still being tasty. Some of the recipes have been flops, but here's one we tried and loved.

Fresh ingredients:
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup half-and-half

Frozen ingredients:
2 cups cut-up cooked roast beef (a great way to use leftover pot roast!)

Non-perishables:
8 oz fettuccine
1 jar (6 oz) marinated artichoke hearts, cut in half and marinade reserved
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (the non-refrigerated kind)
ground black pepper

Instructions:
1. Cook and drain pasta as directed.
2. While pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of reserved marinade (I use a little more) to boiling in 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in marinade about 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.
3. Stir in half-and-half and heat until warmed through. Stir in cheese, artichoke hearts, beef and pepper to taste; heat until hot. Toss with the fettuccine and serve.
Makes 6 servings- 300 calories per serving.

MSB Babies

Before we left Baltimore, I made several trips to visit my friends and students at the Maryland School for the Blind. Some of you may remember that when I was pregnant with the twins, two of my co-workers in my classroom were also pregnant. We were due in December, January and February but ended up delivering in November, December and January. Anyway, we had a last minute playdate with all four MSB babies and tried des perately to get a good picture. I don't envy professional photographers working with groups of toddlers. Here's what we came up with: Not your ideal photo shoot, but they sure are cute!

Penske in Peril

On Monday evening after we moved in it was at last time to return our pretty Penske truck. Marc called and confirmed the nearest Penske drop off site which turned out to be on the West side of Cleveland. For those who visited us in Baltimore, the West side of Cleveland would look very familiar. It is a collection of abandoned buildings, sketchy neighborhoods and the occasional sleazy looking business establishment. However, there is an industrial strip of actual functioning businesses so we figured the Penske drop off place would be there.
Marc drove the truck and I followed behind in the car with the boys. We had difficulty locating the address and had to turn around once on our way there. When Marc pulled into the correct address, I kept driving assuming he was just turning around again because there was no way this abandoned looking warehouse was the right place. Here it is- courtesy of Google Maps.Note the windows filled with cinder blocks, the peeling business sign with a logo straight out of the 1950s and, most suspiciously, the lack of any other moving trucks parked on the premises.
After driving around the building, Marc was able to locate a shiny new Penske key drop off box and with a tremendous amount of faith Marc actually put keys in it. Needless to say we were extremely relieved to receive a call from Penske on Tuesday that they had indeed gotten the truck. It is also nice to know that if we are ever feeling nostalgic for Baltimore, the 'hood is just on the other side of Cleveland.