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As many of you know, I'm currently enrolled in Palm's Real Reviewers Program. As part of that program, I've been hooked up with a Palm Pre and service through Sprint. In return, they ask that I comment from time to time on how I'm using the device. Well, one of my review posts has been picked up by Pre|Central and posted on the front page!

Another Day, Another Dinner

Clipped this winner from Country Living (which is surprisingly quite fresh and modern) several years back and finally tried it out last night. The hubby and I both give it 2 thumbs up. Make sure you treat yourself to some good quality swiss. Makes all the difference!

Baby Steps

Yes folks, these are Manu's very first steps, caught on tape. Now that's a great ending to a great weekend.

Joy

Dinner Tonight

Mmmm! Tamale Pie! Tonight's dinner comes to you courtesy of Williams Sonoma Kitchen. I usually cut the recipe in half (it serves 16) and serve left-overs the following night.
It's Tuesday night and I'm wishing I could gather around the table with our old Tuesday Night Dinner crowd. I'm pretty sure they'd love it.

Ingredients:

3 Tbs. canola oil

3 yellow onions, thinly sliced with a mandoline

3 large green bell peppers, seeded and chopped

3 to 5 serrano chilies, seeded and minced

4 1/2 lb. ground lean beef

4 cups corn kernels, fresh or thawed frozen

1/4 cup ground cumin

4 1/2 Tbs. chili powder

1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes, drained

1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste

3 1/2 Tbs. coarse salt, plus more, to taste

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 box Buckeye corn bread mix

1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

Sour cream for serving

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 400°F.

In an All-Clad lasagna pan or a large, deep sauté pan over medium heat, warm the oil until almost smoking. Add the onions, bell peppers and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

In the same pan over medium heat, cook the ground beef, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break up the meat, until browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the onion mixture, the corn, cumin, chili powder, tomatoes, tomato paste and the 3 1⁄2 Tbs. salt and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt. Remove from the heat and let stand for 15 minutes. If the meat mixture was cooked in a sauté pan, transfer it to a lasagna pan. Sprinkle with the cilantro.

Put the corn bread mix in a large bowl and stir in the cheese. Prepare the corn bread batter according to the package instructions and spread the batter evenly over the meat mixture. Bake until the corn bread is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the tamale pie rest for 20 minutes before serving. Accompany with sour cream. Serves 16.

Life in a Nutshell

"Uh-oh!" (New favorite word btw)

"I should really pick these up"

"Yum! This should go quickly!"

"Wait... Only 7 chips per serving..."


"I'm just gonna push the rest of them under here for later."

Baby Owen

A BIG CONGRATS to our dear friends, Dennis and Teresa. On Friday, June 26th they welcomed sweet baby Owen to the world.

Isn't he the cutest lil thing?

D&T, you guys are going to be fantastic parents. I'm sure in the few days you've had with him, you've already shown that you are. We can't wait to get up to Buffalo and meet him! XOXO.

kiss me, kate!

Today is the final day of the kate spade sample sale! Definitely worth checking out! She's offering an additional 30% off sale prices and a flat $5 shipping rate. Some really cute stuff still left at amazing prices!

LOL

I couldn't help but laugh out loud when flipping through the July issue of Gourmet Mag today I came across an article entitled:

"Summer Savvy: Make pie dough and homemade crackers part of your routine."

Ha! A routine that includes homemade crackers?! Seriously? If I time it just right, maybe I can fit that in between vacuuming lunch crumbs off the floor and running down to the basement to move the laundry to the dryer for the second time today. And if I'm really savvy, I may even get to use the bathroom.

Homemade crackers...who are these people?

Dinner Tonight

Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Pasta has become the perfect summer go-to at our house and comes to you courtesy of Ms. Martha.

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

• 2 1/2 pounds zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds plum tomatoes, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 pound long fusilli, or linguine
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. On rimmed baking sheet, toss zucchini, tomatoes, and garlic with 5 tablespoons oil; season with salt and pepper. Spread into single layer; roast until zucchini is lightly browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
2. In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water. Return pasta to pot. Toss with remaining tablespoon oil; cover.
3. Pour reserved pasta water onto baking sheet of cooked vegetables; scrape with a wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Stir vegetables and juices into pasta. Add parsley and Parmesan; toss to combine. Serve with more Parmesan.

Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium

After hearing many rave reviews, we decided to check out the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium during Riz's week off from work. Although we had already snagged memberships to the Botantical Gardens, Children's Museum and Aviary, we knew we would have to add the Zoo and Aquarium to our ever-growing list before even stepping foot inside.

I'm doing my best to pose for a darling mother-son photo, but Manu decides to keep it real and kick me in the face.

Manu spots a kitty. This is my "I'm smiling but I'm not sure I want you to be calling that kitty over here " face. Note the tension in my neck.

These two extra large kitties sure were amazing to watch but I was kinda nervous about their proximity to us .


Especially given that I could easily rest my arms on the fence that was supposed to keep us separated.


I'm usually not a fraidy cat (ha!) and I'm all about trying to recreate an open, natural habit, but it was lunch time. I also overheard someone say that they each eat about 10 pounds of food a day. Hmm. One twenty pound baby divided by two lions.... moving on.


This pretty kitty was behind a wall.


Too into his salmon lunch to even notice us.


Along with our furry friends there was of course the scaly, bumpy, creepy friends. This guy held so incredibly still I don't think Manu even noticed he was there.

Unfortunately, our camera's battery konked out on us by the time we made our way to the aquarium where we watched in awe as a pair of polar bears swim around and over us; twirling and turning sommersaults like they were light as can be. Super cool. Definitely have to make another trip back to capture that one.

Back at home, Manu was able to get up close and personal with a bear more his size (Thanks, Osman!).

Mmmmmango

If you know Manu, you know that he's very possessive when it comes to food. If it's in sight, it belongs to him. He's impatient too. There needs to be a constant stream of intake during mealtime. They only time he breaks is to guzzle his drink to cleanse his palette.
Last weekend, Grandpa Ejaz generously ( and I do mean generously because Grandpa Ejaz is also notorious for hoarding food) shared some juicy, ripe mangoes with Manu.

Of course he dove in without hesitation.

And then he spotted an onlooker (threat). "Hey you, over there! Yeah, I'm talking to you."

"I see you eyeing my mango!"

"Back off!"

"Don't mess."

Late Bloomers

I thought the irises I planted last fall would be a no-show this year. It seemed like they had already bloomed everywhere else. Turns out they were just taking their sweet time.

Tuesday

It's pouring here and it doesn't look like it's going to let up until the end of the week. Blah! I 'd much rather be watching the sunrise on top of Mt. Haleakala this morning.

We're thinking of going back to Hawaii this October sans baby. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry is holding their annual meeting in Honolulu. That means the Riz's program will cover the majority of his expenses and I want in. I really want to go. I wonder if I wouldn't just be miserable without the little guy for an entire week. It's kinda a long time and just thinking about it makes me sad. Can I cure my blues with sunshine and powdery white sand?

I considered taking him along for about 30 seconds until I remembered what an undertaking it was getting to Maui for our honeymoon 6 years ago. Fly to Atlanta. Transfer. Fly to L.A. Transfer. Not so bad, so far but the little inset on the world map is deceiving. It appears that Hawaii would be a short flight from the coast of Cali; not so. That took another 7 hours. Assuming we all made it there in one piece there's also the 6 hour time difference to contend with. No, no and no.

I have a couple of months to mull it over and I'll be doing just that. I dunno. It could be nice...

XOXO

On Mothers' Day Morning Manu showered me with his hugs and slobbery open-mouth kisses.

It started off sweet enough


but then it turned into a game;


the "Bite Mommy's Face Off" game. My favorite.


That was enough for me, but he wasn't done yet. He decided that the couch needed some of his lovin too.

Goof ball.

Get Thee to a GAP

Gap is currently offering an EXTRA 40% off sale prices in-store which makes it the perfect time to stock up on spring and summer basics. We scored two bags full of great finds for next to nothing! Not sure how long this promotion will last, so RUN!

Sweet Zizas

Have you seen??? My crazy-talented Sis just started a blog of her own! Check out Sweet Zizas here. I must warn you, the chocolate content on this blog is not suitable for those who easily succumb to chewy ooey gooeyness.

Flying Solo

We're scheduled for our 12 month check-up this morning and this time I'm taking the Peanut by myself. Stinky shots. Wish us (me) luck.

If I Were a New Yorker

If I lived in the city, I'd being hitting up the Domino tag sale tomorrow. Although I'm still bummed about the closing of my favorite shelter mag, I'd feel a lot better if I could snatch up a a little piece of history. Items for sale are props from the magazine's photo shoots and range from $10-$400. I want.
Faheem, if you need a break from Step 1 studying, the address is 13 W 9th St. , Garden Apt. It's from 10-5pm but I'd get there super-early. Oh, and it's cash only. I'm just saying.

On This Day

It's fun to look back and see what we were doing at this time last year. Thanks to Picasa, our photos organized by date and time which makes doing that a cinch! On this day in 2008: