Last week, we had a REAL snow day…Jack and I home from school and work watching the snow flakes gently fall from the sky for hours upon hours piling up as they hit the ground and the plants and the deck to make everything a true winter white.

We made the most of our day…rising, a bit begrudgingly on mama’s part, before six and setting out with no plans except to keep warm and enjoy ourselves. Our freedom led us to Jack’s “play room” to read books and to play with blocks and cars. Next, we climbed up the stairs to our office/music/art/workout room that I will now begin referring to as our “studio” in the interest of saving time and we did some major redecorating. I’ve been wanting to rearrange the space for some time now, never really feeling like it invited us in and beckoned us to be creative in it’s original layout, and, so, on our snow day, we jumped right in pulling furniture from one wall to another and finding the perfect design. I’m quite happy with what we’ve done with the space, which reminds me that I need to start sharing our home with you. Way back when, I promised photos of the rooms in our new home. I guess I’ve been stalling because all the rooms only felt partially complete. I’m excited to report that with a few finishing touches, the studio will be complete soon and I’m already working on a post to show you Jack’s “play room”.

After our redecorating project, we bundled up in our coats, mittens, gloves, hats, sweaters, and rain boots and took a mid-morning snowy walk. It always amazes me how quiet and peaceful the world becomes when the snow is falling. Jack found it fun to lay on the snowy sidewalks waving his arms all around him until snow found it’s way into his coat, making him cold and wet and ready to return to the indoors to drink hot chocolate.

Settling back indoors, we ventured into the room that always calls to us in the most familiar of ways, the kitchen (another room I’m ready to share on here…I will start putting these posts together). I longed to bake, to warm our house with the heat from the oven and to fill it with the smell of winter spices. Standing in a kitchen void of butter, the staple to most baking adventures, I remembered reading about a butter-less cake on the lovely and always inspiring Roost blog. I scoured my pantry finding items that might work well together and before I knew it, Jack and I were cracking eggs, measuring oat flour, and stirring the wet ingredients into the dry. We adapted ideas from several recipes and used the items we had on hand to create good-for-you mini cakes that taste of winter.

Alone, they are not too sweet, which is exactly why the tops make a perfect addition to your breakfast, lunch, or snack. With a touch of vanilla bean creme fraiche, the mini cakes are a divine end to a snowy day’s dinner.

MINI CINNAMON HONEY CAKES

3 cups oat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
11/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 cup apple cider

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a different bowl, pour into dry, mixing to incorporate. Set aside.

SPECKLED VANILLA HONEY

1/2 cup honey
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod discarded

Mix the vanilla seeds with the honey until incorporated.

VANILLA BEAN CREME FRAICHE

1 cup creme fraiche
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped and pod discarded

Mix the vanilla seeds into the creme fraiche until incorporated.

To Assemble:

Pour 1 teaspoon of vanilla honey into 9 wells of a greased muffin pan. I used a 12-well pan but only filled 9.

Spoon batter over the speckled honey, filling each well to the top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow mini cakes to cool slightly in muffin pan.

In order to show off the gooey honey saturated cake bottoms, I took a knife and trimmed off the cake tops so to create a flatter surface for the cake to rest on. Like I mentioned earlier, the cake alone is not too sweet, so the trimmed tops make a perfect addition to your lunch or snack, so definitely save them!

To plate, flip cakes over to the honey side. Place a spot of vanilla bean creme fraiche next to the mini cake on a plate. Drizzle both with some leftover vanilla honey.

Cheers to snow days! But, admittedly, I’m happy they are gone for now…Pretty, but quite inconvenient as the whole of Seattle seems to shut down!

I tried so hard to bring you a new dish today…a dish that I had dreamed up that involved rich, meaty flavors. Full flavors of winter. I wanted to use the chestnuts that we bought at Pike Place Market. It was going to be my first time cooking with them.

I roasted them as I had read to do by making an “x” shaped cut on one side with a knife and placed them on a cookie sheet in the oven at 400 degrees for twenty minutes. I let them cool, then I settled in to peel off their hards skins only to discover that the stubborn inside skin wouldn’t budge from the meat. No amount of banging, prying, or yelling helped…instead I was left with cut-up hands, a pan full of half-shelled chestnuts, and a great bit of disappointment.

My plan was to combine the meaty roasted chestnuts with Brussels sprouts in a skillet to be slowly braised with beef broth and red wine. I wanted a dish that’s scent lingered in the air, beckoning you to taste. A comforting, yet new, dish for a chilly, dark winter night.

I guess we will all be left wondering how those braised chestnuts and Brussels sprouts would taste…I hope to try it again, after the cuts on my fingers heal. Perhaps, my chestnuts were too old…

But for now, to satisfy your Brussels sprout fix (Oh, come on…if you aren’t a Brussels sprouts fan, give them another try! They are a favorite around here. And, they have a lot of fiber, and more vitamin C and K than you need in one day in one serving, which is only about 6 sprouts.).

Here’s my go-to recipe, which I’ve probably shared before, but a reminder never hurts.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

several large handfuls of Brussels sprouts
Olive oil
Kosher salt

Trim the stems of the Brussels sprouts and chop them in half. Toss them in a large glug of olive oil and sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Place in a roasting pan and roast at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until outer skins are charred and crispy.

I love the travel tales of a family of three on this blog. Makes me want to hop on a plane.

Swooning over this 1890 farmhouse right in the middle of LA! I love the modern feel and clean spaces and their use of the outdoors, like the useable zinc tub under the citrus tree pictured above…oh my, be still my heart!

Excited to have a two week stretch of time (perhaps this summer?!) when we can plan for three meals a day together. As soon as that time comes, we’re looking forward to following Bon Appetit’s Food Lover’s Cleanse…the food looks amazing and the menu is put together so well!

These colorful, eco-friendly, non-stick sauté pans.

Moozle makes the most lovely kid’s teepee tents…I especially love this one with the cute red toadstools.

I am trying to find the perfect place for this chalkboard wall decal. Would be the perfect spot for writing down the week’s dinner menu…sure beats my current method of scribbling it down on a tiny sheet of white paper that floats aimlessly on our kitchen counter.

Absolutely love this Tree of Life poster…wouldn’t it be cute in a child’s bedroom or bathroom?

And, I have a craving for this delicious looking food from Skillet Street Food, both a diner and a street food vendor. They have Waffle and Fried Chicken Sundays!!! and Bacon Jam Bloody Mary’s…yes, please!

I am not alone in my love of citrus…many bloggers have commented on their pining for the fruit, saying that grapefruit was the only thing they could stomach during their first weeks of pregnancy or creating recipes that incorporate the fruits, highlighting their juicy, sweet, tangy, and sour flavors.

I simply can’t keep it in the house…I buy bags of it each week at the market and it gets happily eaten. This citrus salad that I created doesn’t help in keeping our hanging fruit basket stocked! We’ve been eating this as our side dish several nights per week, each of us loving the freshness of winter on our plates. The salad is tangy…it makes your mouth pucker…yet the dates embark the perfect amount of sweetness to tame the sour. It’s truly divine.

Winter Citrus Salad
Makes 3 medium servings

2 large grapefruits, segmented

1 lemon, segmented

1 minneola, segmented

a handful of dates, quartered lengthwise

Combine the citrus segments. Add the dates just before serving.

a note: you can use any citrus you have on hand…oranges would add a nice sweetness to the dish, but I wouldn’t bother with something as small and delicate as a clementine…too much work for such a small amount of citrus meat.

As you know, I’m always on the hunt for easy and quick recipes for weeknight meals. The recipe has to be really good to land a spot in our rotation since I love trying new dishes. This pasta dish is definitely a staple in my kitchen. What I love about it is its versatility. There are so many options for ingredients in this dish that we always have enough on hand to make a pleasing pasta dinner. It usually goes something like this:

1. Pour a glass of wine- usually red, but sometimes white

2. Prepare the following:

3/4 lb of whatever pasta you have on hand
Some protein- we often use chick peas, white beans, prosciutto, or salami
A large bag or bunch of greens- I wish I could say I get mine from the farmer’s market, but what I typically have is the bag of mixed Southern Greens from Trader Joe’s
A 1/2 cup of cheese- ricotta seems to be the go-to around here since I love having it around to spread on warm toast, but we also use mozzarella quite often
1 lemon
Lots of olive oil
3 or 4 garlic cloves
Salt & ground pepper
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Stir the cooked pasta, and pasta water, if you remember, into the greens mixture. Toss with cheese and perhaps another squeeze of lemon. Salt to taste…Savor.

JACK

Jack’s new favorite word is “poop” and his new favorite two word combo is “eat poop.” Makes me a proud mama! I often go in to wake him up on school mornings and am greeted in the peaceful and cozy darkness by his sweet two year old voice saying “mama, eat poop” before he even rolls over! It all started very innocently with him learning the word “pulp” while eating a grapefruit…he rightfully made the connection that the word “pulp” sounded like the word “poop” so I laughed, in hindsight MUCH too hard, and he hasn’t stopped talking about poop since…! I do find it the tiniest bit appropriate that the toddler of a doctor and a dietitian would be fascinated by poop talk, but enough is enough…I am secretly hoping, however, that his poop talk phase will lead him to at least TRY the potty soon…

Jack had his first surgery last week…he got ear tubes in both of his ears. He passed the time waiting for his surgery by “playing doctor”- trying on the gloves and hat, laying on the hospital bed, etc. and did fantastically well post-surgery with no nausea or pain or grogginess, perhaps because we opted out of the pre-anesthesia sedative and just went straight for the smell-good gas to put him to sleep. We figured the less medications in his system, the better the outcome and it proved right this time. He was such a brave little guy…I was so relieved when it was over and so proud of him. He did admit to being a little scared when they carried him off kicking and screaming….I would say “a little scared” was a quite the understatement. He didn’t really need a whole day to recover, but we stuck to our surgery day plan and spent much of the day on the couch eating snacks and watching Curious George and his first episode of Thomas the Train on Netflix…he thought the day was pretty great!

WEATHER

Oh, January…you have been so good to us. While the temperatures have been down right frigid…the skies have been so clear…and, there is sun- glorious, magnificent sun! Your sunrises and sunsets make me stop in my tracks…your sky colors are some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen…and, it doesn’t hurt to have the amazing colors against a backdrop of the wondrous Cascade Mountain Range and perfectly visible Mt Rainier. Oh, sometimes it’s just too much. When I’m driving to work, I often have to force myself to look away so I can keep my eyes on the road.

And then, Mr. January, you brought us SNOW! What a fun treat for the long MLK holiday weekend. We walked through our yard with our rain boots to hear the snow crunch, we threw snowballs, and we made a snowman.

WINTER COLDS

Not a big fan of you…you steal away good sleep from my sweet boy making both boy and mama tired. Please go away now.

MEDICINE

So thankful that I’ve gotten through two weeks without the dreadful side effects I’ve read and heard so much about. There are some side effects, but nothing like what I was trying to brace for. I will continue to be religious about my anti-flu routine, however, since perhaps this is why I’m tolerating it so well and continue to hope for the best as my dose continues to increase. What I’m especially hopeful for is that it’s working…stopping new lesions from growing and preventing any new symptoms from sneaking in and disrupting our lives.

SURGERY INTERN YEAR

I don’t like you much, either. Please stop stealing David away from us…we want real weekends and real night times. Thank goodness we are halfway finished with you!

FISH

Thank you for finally finding your way into our weekly dinner menu. It’s so easy to cook you and I have so many delicious new recipes starring you that I’m ready to try. You are making us happy, healthy, and lean.

WEEKEND

I’m looking forward to one of those real weekends this weekend, you know the kind when both adults are home?! I’m excited for our pizza and champagne night, for, hopefully, sleeping in a bit later, for eating doughnuts and going to the Seattle Aquarium, and for taking a long walk around Green Lake.

Not that the deliciously fragrant smell of a warm rotisserie chicken isn’t enticing enough by itself. The scent reaching you as push your buggy through the cheese counter, past the prepared food stations, and onto the bakery. The promise of a warm dinner on your table in minutes is alluring and then you get a second whiff of garlic and herbs. It overpowers you and suddenly your original dinner plan is cast aside for a perfectly pleasing winter supper of rotisserie chicken.

No, no. You don’t need ANOTHER reason to grab a rotisserie chicken for dinner, but IF you had another reason, then maybe you would start to act like us and indulge more and more often.

Our other reason? It’s called Avgolemono, a Greek soup of lemon and eggs and, well, chicken. So, after a delicious and hearty winter meal of rotisserie chicken, we wrap up the leftover chicken (we typically leave half of the chicken uneaten) and store it for two nights later when we make this soup. And, the greatest part is, it’s SO easy. I mean REALLY EASY. The-second-dinner-served-in-one-week-in-less-than-20-minutes-easy!

Avgolemono

4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup uncooked orzo
salt and pepper
3 eggs
3 tablespoons lemon juice (about 1 1/2 small lemons)
shredded rotisserie chicken

In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil. I’ve even used homemade turkey stock in this and it’s quite good, so use whatever broth or stock you have on hand, and, of it’s homemade then even better!
Add the orzo and cook until tender but still al dente, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and reduce heat to low; let simmer.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and lemon juice until smooth. Ladle about 1 cup of the hot broth into the egg-and-lemon mixture, whisking quickly to combine and to prevent the egg from scrambling.
Add the mixture back to the simmering saucepan. Stir just until the soup becomes opaque and thickens as the eggs cook, about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper (to taste) and the shredded chicken and serve right away.

PS Thank you, thank you, thank you for all of your kind words in response to Wednesday’s post. Your comments, emails, and phone calls mean the world to me! You truly lit up my week!

It took getting back into the work and daycare/school mode to fully realize how relaxing our holidays really were. Despite feeling like our Christmas was perhaps a bit too quiet, the peacefulness created by the season allowed our minds to rest…we were able to stay up at night a bit longer knowing that we could wake up later and the pace of the day was set by our fun scheduled activities and Jack’s nap rather than work.
It wasn’t until life’s demands set in again that we realized how much of a break we really had. I wish I could hold onto that holiday/vacation feeling in the day-to-day. Yet, no matter how hard I try, the normal life stressors of finances and scheduling sneak back in. I don’t need to feel like I’m always spending a week at the beach, but I am determined to deal with stressors in an efficient and mindful way this year so that I can let them go just as quickly as they enter my head. I’m happier without them. And that’s what this year is about…being happy.

I use you, this blog, as a way to discover, feel, and relive life’s happiness. I love the platform that this blog provides to let me share with you in an open and honest way. And, I’m thankful to all of you for being here to read about it. I’ve made little hints at a new part of my life story here and here, yet I did not feel ready to share the whole story, until now.

I have Multiple Sclerosis (MS). There. I said it. And, trust me, that took a while to get out. Here’s my story:

In October, 2010, I began to feel a sharp pain in the right side of my neck which led to feelings of numbness, tingling, and weakness in my right arm. I dismissed it, thinking I had pulled a muscle after driving to Florida with Jack by myself to celebrate his first birthday and turning around often to hand him toys or snacks.

Once home in Atlanta, I tried desperately to forget about the tingling feeling, but instead it spread to my right leg and I found myself carrying Jack on the left side, afraid that I might not have the strength on my right to keep him from falling.

In December, still relating the numbness and tingling feeling to a slow to heal pulled or pinched nerve, I fell on my icy driveway in the early, dark hours of the morning. I was home alone with Sadie and Jack and I was scared. I knocked myself out with the fall and it shook me hard. Thankfully, I worked on the Neuroscience Floor at the hospital, so as soon as I got to work, I got a head CT. A few moments after the scan, I was paged by the neurosurgeon who ordered the CT, he also happens to be a friend, and he said “…good news is that there is no bleed.” Relieved, I mistakenly interrupted him, thanking him for the help and nearly hung up the phone before he stopped me by saying that he and the radiologist saw a darkened area on the image that looked suspicious. I remember him saying that it was probably from a childhood fall, but that I should have a MRI to be certain. I nearly fell off the high stool I was sitting on.

Thoughts raced through my head…I had a one year old baby. I just went through brain surgery with my mom. I was terrified of the thought of a MRI. I read and then reread the radiology report. One of the impressions was that perhaps I had a childhood trauma, another that I have a demyelinating disease…I tried to push the thought out of my mind and move on. But, David knew I was scared…this was all happening too fast. It was too much. He abandoned the residency interview trail and drove home that afternoon, missing his interview at UNC.

My stubborn mind and determined nature pushed me forward through Christmas into the New Year and all the way into March. Then, I knew I had run out of waiting.

Much to my surprise, I revealed to the neurologist at our first meeting that the numbness and tingling were still there after trying so hard to block it out. After a complete neuro exam and a second look at the CT, he was convinced that I had MS. Yet, all I continued to hear from friends, colleagues, and David was…there’s no way. I don’t know if they were trying to be supportive or if they really believed that, but I felt alone knowing that I had been hiding my symptoms and feeling like it might be true.

I stubbornly put off the ordered MRI until April. I will never forget that day. It was Good Friday…how ironic. I was terrified. The MRI lasted over 90 minutes as they scanned my brain and cervical spine with and without contrast dye. For the entirety of the scan, I felt like I was floating on top of my body, thankful for my previous yoga practice and knowledge of deep breathing. When it was over, I was so far gone that I couldn’t even speak. I know shopping does not help heal, but that’s all I could think of to do. So, I stayed in my head and numbingly shopped, holding onto and processing my thoughts until I felt like I could drive home and talk to David about it.

At the MRI, I requested a copy of my images, but tucked them away for the Easter weekend. On Monday, I was nearly bursting with anxiety so I called a friend to ask her to take a look at the images. When I asked her if she thought it looked like MS, she slowly shook her head up and down.

I was back in the neurologist office the next afternoon. I didn’t want to hear it, but I knew I had to. I sat alone with a stone expression as he confirmed my MS diagnosis, telling me that I had at least a half a dozen lesions in my brain where the myelin was missing. He suggested that I start interferon injections immediately, supposedly the standard treatment for relapsing remitting MS. Or, he politely offered, I could just get pregnant since pregnancy seems to put MS into remission, perhaps offering the best protection against the disease.

What? Another baby? Now? No way…
I felt like shouting, like running away…my head raced, my heart pounded, I cried…a lot…and then I sort of shut down. It was the closest to depression that I have ever come and I stayed there for months.

I tried to learn more, but my research came to a screeching halt when the words across the top of the MS Society page read “MS stops people from moving. We are here to prevent that.”. Those words invaded all my thoughts during both wakeful moments and in the dead of sleep. I woke up many nights with a start, crying and making sure I could, indeed, still move everything.

And, because I had no clue what else to do – I made plans to race in the MS 150 Bike Ride, because I wasn’t “one of them,” but this is a way I could pretend to be connected. And, I called my best friends. I shared in the only way I know how to…through tears and pleas for support. Then, I told my family. I will never quite forget the shock on their faces and the absence of their response as they struggled to swallow the news and understand how best to help.

After we moved and got settled in Seattle, I finally got an appointment to see a neurologist. I spent the summer struggling with the same numbness and tingling in my right arm, leg, and foot and a new feeling of numbness in my face. My Seattle neurologist ordered a second MRI that showed that 2 new lesions have grown since April which may perhaps explain the increase in symptoms over the summer. He also consulted an MS specialist.

I started my treatment last week with a weekly injection into my thigh muscles of interferons. I responded very well to the first dose and experienced none of the dreadful flu-like side effects that I have been trying to prepare my mind and body for. This left me hopeful.

Life has a way of teaching you about yourself. During this past year, I have discovered that I am strong. Yet, I also need people. I need people to check in to see how I am feeling. To ask me about me. I can be incredibly headstrong, but I’ve learned to slow down, to take time for me, and to ask for help. I’ve learned to make decisions that are GOOD for US, not just to follow the expected path. I’ve learned that I’m a good wife and an even better mama. I’m still working on my other relationships and learning how to be more patient and understanding; I think I’m making a lot of good progress.

I’ve learned to seek out happiness. To hold on to those things that make me happy and to stay there. But, I’ve also learned to take it easy…not to beat myself up when the day doesn’t quite go as planned, when I didn’t relish in every moment with Jack. Because, I know that people say, “You only get this time once. They grow up so fast.”, but in all honesty, sometimes “this time” is hard. Really hard. And, some days, I feel the most freedom and relief when Jack is sleeping soundly in his crib. I’m not wishing this time away…no, not at all. But, I’m also not going to let the sentiment of “making the most of this time” leave me feeling stressed, crazy and incompetent. Every day brings great moments, funny moments, sometimes sad moments, and often frustrating moments. When life throws me a punch, I’m trying to roll with it to get by. But, when life feels good and right, I try to savor it and slow it all down.

I think that we have a way of creating happiness in our own situation. Our situation is unknown and that is the scariest part. I could be walking until I’m gray and 99 years old, or I could lose motor function in a few years and be dependent on a cane or bound to a wheel chair (I hope someone will volunteer to make me a cane full of bling and sass!). We don’t know what the future holds for our family…who does?… but I plan to embrace this Life we have and live it well, hard and real.

Writing here, sharing a bit of my life and nourishing you with photos and recipes of good food helps me– as does being outside, deep breaths, exercise, a peaceful home environment, caring friends, water in all forms, sharing a funny moment or a snuggle with Jack, and having date time-out and at home-with David.

Thanks for reading and helping me on life’s journey. I feel an enormous amount of gratitude for this space and the people that take part in it with me.
xxo.

My favorite food photos from 2011, with a link to their recipe:

Winter Farm-Fresh Stir Fry

Grilled Peanut Butter and Jelly

Grilled Salmon with Fennel and Lemon

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sour Cream Pancake

Blueberry Ginger Mojito

Blueberry Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes

Grilled Naan Pizza

Vegetable Ratatouille

Watermelon and Mint Skewers

Slow Cooked Pinto Beans

Roasted Tomato and Black Bean Salad

Pumpkin Muffins

Slow Cooked Lentils

Pea Pesto Pasta

Blackened Catfish