Taga Stroller Bike

Pure beauty. And function.

This is the Taga Stroller Bike, available at www.giggle.com for presale (shipping sometime this month).

First.  It's a bicycle/kiddo carrier that converts to a stroller.

But, that's not all.  It is equipped to carry to kiddos, convert to a shopping cart, can adapt to carry a car seat for the tiniest types, and even can carry two kiddos in a covered, wooden seat. 

The $1500 base price tag is steep, but definitely justifiable if you and your kiddo(s) can and will utilize this amazing mode of transportation for fun and function. I think I need to start the Taga Stroller Fund asap.  

I want to emphasize that this item is not just for city dwellers.  As a suburbanite, I can definitely see my kiddo and I using this invention all over town...to the grocery, the park, around town, and for travel.  If you are thinking of making an "investment" into your stroller or if you are considering the purchase of a bike trailer, which are a considerable cost as well, definitely take a look at the Taga.  And...I will live vicariously through you.  Send pictures, ok.

Refrigerator Pickles

I can't say that I've had a bumper crop of cucumbers this season, but I have had more than we can eat before they shrivel up.  I've always wanted to make pickles; so, I sought out an easy, refrigerator pickle recipe.  This one from Prudent Baby seemed like just the ticket.  I loved the idea of a hint of curry flavor in pickles; so, I gave it a try.  My one caveat is that on the eve of making these pickles my closest grocer did not have any dill seed.  So...my improvisation was to use a little pickling spice to create a sweet n' spicy pickle. 

&

I can now officially say that it worked and I've created my very first tasty pickle.  I've been eating them up with potato chips, of course, rendering them an unhealthy snack.  But, heck, everyone deserves a little indulgence, right?!?

P.S.

The kiddo loves his boat shirt.  It was a present from Grandma; it's really a rash guard, but this little guy prefers to where it for all occasions, every day.  To quote, "boat shirt on".  Just had to share...

Dinner Deconstructed: Basil Cream Cheese Penne

Hello lovely readers. It seems that this has been a week of recipe posts.  Today, I'm introducing a new post series that I plan to do on a regular basis, 30does, dinner. 

I'm hopeful that over the next few months you will come along with me as I make some changes to my blog, the post quality, variety of post topics, and hopefully design.  I have lofty goals for this blog, but it's an evolving process. 

This recipe comes from my collection of vintage Better Homes and Gardens Cookbooks.  Collecting vintage cookbooks and home keeping manuals are a little hobby of mine; this little collection is from my mother-in-law and from a local library purchased for $.25.

What I love about vintage cookbooks is the dated vocabulary, ingredients (such as lard, MSG, and many pre-made "name-brand" goods), and interesting descriptions.  It's really a little piece of cultural history.  Often many of the recipes are not my thing, but every once in while, I come across a real goodie.

This "Green Sauce" is so quick, easy, and tasty that it has become a staple in my house when I'm "fresh out of dinner ideas".

Note: You can use fresh herbs; although the recipe calls for dried.  Also, I usually use whole wheat penne and add sauteed seasonal vegetables and crumpled, crispy pancetta. 

So, you seriously just mix everything together until cream cheese is melted and toss the cheese sauce with freshly drained, warm pasta.

For this version, I added farm-fresh zucchini sauteed with shallot in olive oil, a handful of fresh cherry tomatoes from our backyard, and of course the crispy pancetta. 

Delicious.

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Farmer's Market Fresh Tomatillo Salsa

Along with the 1/2 peck of peaches we picked up at the Farmer's Market, we also gathered some fresh tomatillos, poblano peppers and sweet onions, which, by the way, are so sweet and tasty you can eat them raw. 

What did I do with these fresh ingredients? 

I threw them into the food processor with 2 cloves of garlic, pureed them and basically drank the resulting salsa with a few corn chips in tow.  

If you would like to replicate this fresh salsa, 

take 5-6 tomatillos

2 poblano peppers (stems cut off, but seeds included)

1 medium-sized sweet onion

2 cloves garlic

pinch salt

place all items in a food processor and pulse until just pureed. Enjoy!

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Farmer's Market Peach Crisp

This past Saturday we visited the Wildwood, MO farmer's market.  While it is a smaller-scale farmer's market, it has just the right number of local farmers/gardeners selling just the right amount of fresh produce, herbs, eggs, and flowers.  Even better, a local BBQ joint serves up freshly smoked sandwiches for hungry husbands in tow and "take home" size containers for dinner.  There was even a nice Irishman crooning old Van Morrison songs and a friendly Hawaiian Ice peddler.  Overall, it was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. 

My loot was small, but purposeful; it included 1/2 peck of fresh Calhoun County, IL peaches, which has led to this tasty post. 

Farmer's Market Peach Crisp

1. Peel, pit and chop 7-9 peaches into hearty slices and/or chunks. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

(a quick way to peel peaches is to place them in boiling water for 30 seconds, let them cool, and peel away)

2. Mix peaches with 1/4 sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1-2 tsp freshly grated lemon rind, dash cloves and a pinch of cinnamon.  Place mixture into pie plate.

3. Mix 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup rolled oats (not quick-cooking), 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp cinnamon.  Cut in 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over top of peaches.  Bake about 25-35 minutes until topping is a crisp, golden layer.

(this recipe is for crisp lovers. we love the crisp as much as the peaches.)

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