Weekend in Philadelphia

We just got back from a great weekend in Philadelphia visiting our son, Dave. He just finished his first year of law school and now has time for company. Our daughter, Katie, took the bus down from Boston, so we got to see two of our three children.

The great thing about city living is all the walking you end up doing. I wore my trusty pedometer everyday, even though my family made fun of me. (One of the kids asked why I didn't march in place to get a few extra steps in, when we happened to be standing still for a few minutes.) We did, however, walked over 22,000 steps in one day alone. That's over eleven miles (and my husband complained every step of the way). Living in the city makes walking part of life instead of having to eke out time to walk. Also, Philadelphia has a great walking/biking trail along the Schuylkill River. I wanted to rent bikes and ride it, but we ran out of time. It's something to look forward to next time.

New Zucchini Recipe

I made up a new recipe today. I had some zucchini to use up and didn't want to repeat the recipe we had on Saturday. So try this and see what you think. (Sorry I didn't take a picture. My husband was hungry and couldn't wait.)

Italian Zucchini Saute

4 zucchini, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. olive oil

1 c. grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

2 T. chopped fresh basil

2 T. Parmesan cheese

Cook squash in hot oil on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes. Cook 3 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in mozzarella and basil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Yummy Rice

Whenever we have tilapia for our main entree, I try to have a side dish that is a little more substantial. Tonight we had a rice dish that I hadn't made in quite some time and I had forgotten how good it is. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it really is quite easy to make. I cut the recipe in half for just my husband and me.

Rice with Spinach and Feta Cheese

4 - 6 servings

1/4 c. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/4 c. long-grain rice

2 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. dry white wine

2 10-ounce packages fresh spinach

1 c. chopped tomatoes

1 c. crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is tender. Add rice and stir until rice is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add broth and wine and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Mix in spinach. Cover and cook until rice and spinach are tender and all liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes longer. Mix in tomatoes and cheese.

Birthdays

Twenty six years ago today, my husband and I welcomed our first and only son into the world. It was a relatively easy labor (only 40 minutes were difficult). I had taken Castor Oil to induce contractions (with the permission of my doctor--she was going out of town and I wanted her to deliver my baby). I took the Castor Oil at 10:00 p.m. and started having contractions 45 minutes later. They were fairly mild until my doctor broke my water at 7:00 a.m. Dave was born at 7:41. When our 14 month old daughter, Annie, saw Dave for the first time, she pushed on his nose and said "beep". Thankfully, he doesn't remember that. Even though it's Dave's birthday today, I always celebrate the day, too. As a mother, I always remember all the details of my children's birthdays. It's such a special memory. Happy 26th Birthday, Dave. I love you.