Somewhere over the rainbow...

is my home...Honestly, I was so happy to be home from Vermont last week.  Nice welcome...

I love to travel.  Road trips with the kids are actually becoming fun!  But we've been spending a lot of time in the car, and since Jason's shoulder surgery, I've been behind the wheel.  I appreciate his love for driving so much more now...

As sad as I am to see summer come to an end, the stress levels in all aspects of life (home, work, etc.) are starting to rise in anticipation of upcoming work events (Fall Start! Heart Walks!) and of course, Back To School!  Maddy starts Kindergarten this year, in a week and a half, and then the week after, Emma goes back to Montessori. This had got me in the mood...

The mood for FOOD!  

I need to get back in to my organized zone.  Back to prepping ahead, back to packing not just my lunch, but now Jason's AND Maddy's!  And getting used to whatever our new schedule is going to be.  

So today is Sunday.  Bring it on.  I am ready to get ready...

But first, check out yesterday's deliciousness...

This was lunch - chicken salad made with non fat plain greek yogurt, madras curry powder, champagne grapes, celery, and leftover grilled chicken breasts from the other night.  Totally hit the spot for a quick lunch after running lots of errands with Uncle Sean!

Here is the man of the house helping with dessert prep!  That bowl there is about all the poor guy can lift during his shoulder/bicep rehab, but he can lay out one heck of a cobbler!

But before dessert...you have to eat your dinner...

Fresh out of the new Cooking Light magazine, fresh fettuccine, heirloom tomatoes from our share at Springdell Farm this week, garlic, olive oil, a dash of sea salt, fresh ground black pepper, and shaved Parm Regg cheese.  

I've discovered that I love figuring out what to cook based on what we get in our weekly share.  We're really moving toward being a busy family with crazy insane schedules that may actually be able to manage eating locally.  I mean, my sanity sometimes means a bit more than where our fruit came from...especially when we're screaming for pineapple, but I'd love to make it happen!

Now, for the evening ender...peach blackberry cobbler (made with fruit from our share!!!)

Here's how I we made it:

3T butter

3T canola oil

(melt those in a 9x13 baking dish, in a 350 degree oven, about 5-7 minutes until melted)

1C organic whole grain pastry flour

1.5t baking powder

1t sea salt

(mix together in a bowl)

Then add:

1C skim or reduced fat milk

1/2C sucanat

1t vanilla

(and mix well)

Add melted butter/oil to batter and combine.  Pour batter into the hot baking dish.

Artistically arrange sliced peaches and blackberries (or other fruit) in the batter as seen being done by the very talented Jason above!

Then bake in the 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes, until its all set, crunchy on top, and a beautiful shade of brown.

We happened to enjoy ours with some Hagen Daas five vanilla ice cream and good company.  Our friend Steve stopped by on his way home from lunch with Adam Lambert.  Yeah, some of us have rough weekends...

Check out what else Steve is up to here.  If you're in need of a good laugh, he is the perfect guy to catch on stage, or on The Batters Box, or Community Auditions... he's everywhere.

OK - off to plan the week's menu and next weekend's Never Never Land (Peter Pan and Tink) Birthday party for the girls.  Perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday!