Family Vacation in St. Louis

This year's big Akins family vacation was just a hop, skip, and a jump away (for us) in our friendly neighbor to the east - St. Louis. We hit as many highlights as the 12 of us could in a week (including Trader Joe's where I first learned of this St. Louis specialty - pretzel bread!).

bump shot at the arch

Sergio, my aunt Jetta, and three of the four kiddos journeyed to the top of the arch in those tiny little washing machines. (The Claustrophobia kept me from enjoying a ride in one of those when I wasn't pregnant - I didn't think I'd enjoy one much now that I take up even more room.) The rest of us stayed below and watched the documentary about how it was built and bought nostalgic bits at the 'mercantile shop.'

We all had a blast at The Magic House, had more chaotic fun at The City Museum and enjoyed a great time on our hot little excursion to something called "The Awakening."

Hollis and the Beanstalk (The Magic House)

musical (literally) chairs (The Magic House)

clowning around (City Museum)

Reuben on the run (City Museum)

Ling and the man who is "Awakening" (artist: J. Seward Johnson)

Minli says "thumbs up!"

And the kids LOVED (sarcasm) the Cahokia Mounds in Illinois, the site of the most sophisticated prehistoric native civilization north of Mexico and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. In all seriousness, it was a pretty amazing place to see. And actually, (no sarcasm) there were some things the kids enjoyed; perhaps not the mounds themselves, but the learning center is pretty well equipped with lots of interesting, prehistoric things to see.

Papa atop Monks Mound - the largest of the Cahokia Mounds. Curiously, Monsanto is in the background on the left.

In addition to ancient things above ground, we saw some incredibly ancient things below ground, too, at Meramac Cavern. The Claustrophobia didn't get to me here, nor to my dad, I don't think. We all enjoyed our long but cold tour (and it was hard to complain about the tour being cold, given how hot it was the rest of the week).

Ling and Tyler inside Meramac Cavern

And when we weren't out and about, we were all happy to hang out, make duct tape wallets, read, eat, chat, fiddle with our iPhones and play Scrabble. Or Bananagrams. Or Jenga.

Sergio teaching the kids Scrabble

Or hang out and watch movies...

Some Summer Highlights

Amid the summer's festivities and activities so far, there have also been some noteworthy vegetables (and dishes) - three of which I found particularly worthy of capturing "on film."

Earlier in the summer (but still too late to be spring), I bought peas from Bigg Blue Farm at Badseed Market. I had been hoping I'd find peas somewhere; after seeing so many farmers sell pea shoots all spring long, I figured there had to be a comparable number of peas to follow. But they are rare. There are sugar snap peas a-plenty, yes, but regular old shelling peas are few. So when I found the Bigg Blue peas, I snatched some up. I wish now that I'd bought every last pea he had.

recently shelled peas

I spent a very peaceful morning sitting in the sun on my church pew, shelling these peas - a little bit of zen. I had no idea how I'd cook them. I can't ever remember cooking fresh peas. I was considering mushy peas, one of my favorite bits of Britishness. But it seemed kind of a shame to boil and mush them, so tender and perfect as they were. I thought I might also blanch and freeze them for later - but that also seemed a shame. Ultimately, I decided to steam them with carrots for a plain and simple peas-n-carrots side dish for a "meat" and two veg. This turned out to be a perfect way to cook them while still allowing them their maximum pea-ness. Now I am just waiting for more peas in the fall; if I find any, I'm going to buy them all.

chioggas

Next up on the list of memorable veg were these beets. We got them in our CSA share, I think ... or maybe I bought them at Badseed. I can't remember; we had an assortment. At any rate, by the time I pulled them out of the fridge to cook them, I'd forgotten that they were Chioggas. Until I sliced them open and found their psychedelic swirls. They were like peppermint candies, except that we drizzled them in olive oil, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and baked them in a hot oven (425, maybe?) for quite some time. They were better than peppermint candies. By far. And so stunning.

Thomas Hart Benton zucchini

On my last shift at CSA distribution, a friend was complaining about how she'd run out of things to do with all the summer squash we'd been getting. True, there had been an abundance of squash at each CSA pick up and at Badseed. But I hadn't quite exhausted my options yet - and besides that, I couldn't turn away the interesting shaped ones so I had my share of an abundance, as well.

So one night I made zucchini burgers (a la these eggplant burgers of 31 Veggie Burgers fame). Those almost-perfectly-round, ball-shaped squashes lent themselves well for this (one medium squash, two burgers), but you could use any of the zucchinis that have enough girth. I don't have a recipe for this dish, per se; all I can tell you is that I sautéed each relatively thick (1/4 inch or so) slice in a skillet until it was nice and brown, with thyme on one side and chipotle chili powder on the other side. (A good trick to remember: make some slices through the skin around the outer rim of each zucchini "patty" so the skin breaks easily when you bite into it.) Oh! And I added some cheese while the slices were still on the skillet. Any burger fixings are right with this - in our case I tossed in some meat-free deli slices for added protein. They were delicious burgers but all too short lived.

Good thing squash is still abounding this summer; I have a fridge-full of them and I'm ready for more.

A Month of Fun

July whizzed by at an unprecedented rate, sped up, I think, by a whole string of parties and celebrations. Sergio's cousin's daughter's quinceañera was the start of it all, bringing family from all over to celebrate.

a top Liberty Memorial: Sergio, Christy, Emilio, cousin Ana from CA, cousin Ceci from TX, and Joyce from the DF

In between and after the quince activities we found time to see the sites, taste the ice cream, enjoy the Fourth of July, and watch a bit of futbol on the iPhone 4.

at Glacé, rooting for Ghana

Christy's birthday came next, on July 10, and since this was a big milestone birthday, we had a huge party on the back patio, complete with Chef Armando at the grill, cooking enough great food for a small army.

the birthday girl and the chef

great gifts galore

By then, Sergio's aunt and grandmother from Nashville had arrived, as had his uncle from Peoria and the other cousin from Texas and his wife. Oh, and my mom and dad came, too. No one wanted to miss the big celebrations - first Christy's birthday and then a fantastic baby shower for us, hosted by Christy and Joyce.

sweet

pool party

This baby shower was a pool party, up on the fourteenth floor of our apartment building, with lots of great games, swimming, and lovely views out the big windows - not to mention all the friends and family, too.

happy

OH! And one last thing I don't have pictures of ... our informal photo shoot. Lindsey and Beto who were in town (for a second time this summer!) for Christy's birthday and our shower, are photographers and they were generous enough to spend some time photographing me, Sergio, and the bump. All of those stellar photos can be found here. Check them out and see just how happy we were/are.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

official birthday name plate

My dad turned 70 on June 26. So at the last minute, I decided to make a quick trip back to OKC to celebrate, and to see my brother and nephews, also in town for the time being. And I'm so glad I did.

Dad reading his list

For our gift for my dad, the whole family chipped it to create a book - "70 Things to Love about Winford/Dad/Papa." It was a great list - a great gift - and we had no trouble, whatsoever, compiling 70 distinct that we love about him. Our list was ample, and Dad was so surprised and delighted.

edging

One of the first things we put on the list was a lighthearted affirmation of Dad's "commitment to grass." This addition was inspired by the fact that he spent much of the afternoon on his 70th birthday edging and mowing the lawn. Which we thought was noteworthy.

After all, a man doesn't get awarded Bush Hills Yard of the Month (June 2007) just based on his easy sense of humor, his strong and steady nature, and his natural and genuine respect for all people. He has to work a little, too, you know. Even on his birthday.

Visit from Beto and Lindsey (a photo essay)

Sergio's cousin and his wife came to KC for a visit a few weeks back, in time to watch the opening match of the mundial between Mexico and South Africa. The start of the world cup and the start to a whole delightful weekend of quality time with Beto and Lindsey.

Beto and Lindsey in KC for the weekend, all the way from Texas.

Scrabble "IRL" - with iPad and iPhones

incredible ice cream at Glacé

fun with the fun-house mirror at Architectural Salvage

a classy night out at the roller derby where we picked out names for ourselves, should we ever join the KC Roller Warriors: The Serg-eon General, EMilitia, The Beto-nator, and Linz Flare

a wonderful weekend

Strawberry Weekend

the first quart of 14

Last Saturday Sergio and I went to pick strawberries at the farm. There were more strawberries than the farmers had time to harvest, so they opened it up to u-pick and we took full advantage, coming home with 14 quarts - almost more than we could carry back to the car.



Christy, Nina, and Emilio came along, too, and enjoyed every bit. At first Nina picked indiscriminately but we intervened to show her which ones were ripe and then she proceeded to eat two for every three she put in the basket. Even Emilio, not quite ripe enough himself to pick strawberries, enjoyed the adventure, sitting with Tio Sergio and letting the grass tickle his toes.

our crew

We already had plenty of strawberries to go around at home, as I'd bought some extra at the CSA distribution on Wednesday. So to start our strawberry picking morning off before heading to the farm, we had a strawberry licuado and we finished what I thought was the last of the strawberry jam from last year (although I subsequently found another jar that I'd stowed away for safe keeping; the strawberry jam was our favorite last year and I wanted to make it last).

jam and licuado

The next day the strawberriness continued as Farmer Tom and I taught a Jams and Jellies canning class at Badseed complete with 20 quarts of strawberries. We also had oranges and mint, and by the end of the five hour class, me, Tom, and our 12 students had completed three full batches of strawberry jam (one batch no pectin slow cook, one batch with pectin and one batch of freezer jam), one batch of orange marmalade, and one batch of mint jelly.

jams for sampling

berries ready for jamming

I still had quarts upon quarts of strawberries to contend with at home so I froze 6 quarts for later. I had intended to take a picture of the berries in the freezer, but I seem to have forgotten. I had cleaned them of their green tops and laid them out upside down on a cookie sheet and left them in the top of the freezer overnight. The next day they were a beautiful flat forest of fat little red bushes with a dusting of frost on the top of each. I gathered them into zip lock bags for safe keeping. With some of the remaining unfrozen quarts, I made my own batch of strawberry jam (with pectin) on Tuesday. Then on Thursday we had some out of town visitors so we made dinner and - for dessert - the long awaited strawberry dumplings. My favorite.

dumplings (what's left)

I forgot to take a picture of the dumplings, too, before we devoured them, but to be honest, they're not all that photogenic. They are, however, delicious and all gone. Not to worry, though. Some of those 6 quarts of frozen berries in the freezer will be the next delicious batch of dumplings sometime this summer. Can't wait.

Strawberry Dumplings

Baked strawberry dumplings are similar to a cobbler, made with fresh strawberries and sweet dumpling dough.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 pint (about 2 cups) strawberries, hulled and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Preparation:
In a saucepan, combine 1/3 cup sugar and the water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in vanilla extract.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, the 2 tablespoons sugar, the baking powder, and salt. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture is crumbly. Add milk and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Place strawberries in a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish; pour hot sugar mixture over strawberries. Immediately drop dough evenly in 8 to 10 spoonfuls over strawberries. Sprinkle dumplings with the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar (and a little cinnamon, if desired). Bake at 450° for 25 to 30 minutes, or until dumplings are lightly browned. Serve hot with whipped topping or ice cream, if desired.

Makes 4 to 5 servings.

Memorial Day Weekend

We traveled to Oklahoma last weekend. Our first stop was in Tulsa for a surprise graduation party for our friend Jon (of ThanksVegan fame) who has just completed his masters degree. Erin pulled off a very nice surprise complete with many homemade cupcakes and big, vegan pizzas. Jon never had a clue until he walked into his kitchen and saw us all standing there surrounded by streamers.

dog's-eye view of Jon and some lettuce and grass

Sergio at the Philbrook

We had a nice (but too short) visit. We spent some time scampering with the canine entourage through Jon and Erin's substantial back yard garden, and then enduring the heat amid the phenomenal edible landscape in the garden of the Philbrook Art Museum. When we weren't watching food grow we were eating food, and otherwise having a splendid time catching up - as we always, always do.

tofu bacon and vegan yum yum pancakes for breakfast (yum yum indeed)

Erin and delicious fries in hibiscus sauce at Hibiscus

I wish we could have stayed longer. But late Saturday night we whisked ourselves a little further south to OKC in order to see my family, particularly my grandmother who celebrated her 89th birthday on Memorial Day.

Mema and me

I spent some good quality time with Mema, also in her garden. We picked a few blackberries, admired the poppies (so numerous), and she helped me to imagine what her wealth of roses, all gone now, looked like in their full bloom just a few short weeks ago.

blackberries and poppies

And, while I was visiting, my mom and I even made enough time to go to the fabric store to look for some things for the baby's room and to talk all about the impending arrival.

Tyler says, "You've got a lot of reading to do."

It was a wonderful visit, but so, so short, as always.

Yann Martel

About 5 years ago, I came home to find a delivery from amazon.com on my doorstep. As I hadn't actually ordered anything and it wasn't my birthday, the box was a bit of a mystery. Until I opened it and found a note on the packing slip from my friend Lauren that said something like, "I just read this book and really want to talk about it with someone. I thought you might like it too..." The book was Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

I've had people suggest books to me, perhaps loan books to me. But I'd never had someone make a recommendation by actually purchasing a copy of a book for me. I suspected it was truly a must read. So I read it. And it was.

The curious illustration of a silhouetted boy in a life boat with a tiger, turned out to represent one of the most profound stories I've ever read in my life. And here I thought it was just going to be a book about a kid and a vicious animal. Never judge a book ...

I have been in constant awe of Life of Pi (and Yann Martel) ever since and have recommended it to everyone I know. (Perhaps I should be buying them all a copy as well). Martel hadn't published anything since that book - until this year when his latest, Beatrice and Virgil, was released. So he's on book tour now, and came to Kansas City this month, (thanks to Rainy Day Books and the KC Public Library) and, as you might imagine, I was there. With bells on.

He was as compelling a speaker as he is a writer. And I was amazed at how broadly instructive and enlightening his talk was - even when he spent a lot of time talking about the new book which I haven't even read yet. He did discuss Life of Pi, sharing (among other things) that the zoo, a significant plot element, seemed to him to represent the parameters that religion provides, versus the vast, wide, and - for some - uncomfortable freedom of secularity.

I am realizing that Life of Pi deserves another read. And, after Martel read for us the stunning section of his new book where the monkey (Virgil) tries to describe to the donkey (Beatrice) precisely what a pear is like, I am anxious to read Beatrice and Virgil too. Well, anxious, but hesitant, due to some contentious reviews of the disturbing nature of the latter 1/3 of the text.

In answer to the queries about the way his new book ends, he explained his goal as a writer is to be both "entertaining and elevating." Though I can't vouch for B & V (yet), L of P certainly hits that mark perfectly.

KC Symphony - Simone Dinnerstein

It's been so gray and dreary today. Wet enough to feel like spring, but down right cold for May. After being out all day, I came home and was pleased to stay nice, warm, and dry in my apartment for a little while. I kind of wanted to stay here the rest of the night, but we had tickets to the symphony. We haven't been in many weeks and tonight's guest soloist was Simone Dinnerstein, and I've been looking forward to her performance all season long. So even though I kind of wanted to stay in, I went out.

The four pieces on the docket tonight were Schubert, Mahler, Mozart, and Strauss - all Viennese, each so distinct. Dinnerstein played the Mozart piece - Piano Concerto No. 21. Before she came on stage, wearing a watery, fluttering blue and purple iridescent gown, I had been reading in the program that this concerto, when it was written and performed in 1785 "held an expressive undercurrent that would not continue to please the Viennese public" and that they were "bewildered by this music and its incipient Romanticism."

Romanticism. They say that like it's a bad thing, but it was precisely these things that I loved about this piece - and that I have always loved about the second movement of this piece, a movement I know so well and always associate with spring. Every time I hear the music of the second movement, I think of rainy spring. Which might explain why the first and third movements also fit so well with the weather today, too. The entire piece is rich with emotion and felt so right on a night like this.

And as for Ms. Dinnerstein - her performance was so expressive and varied, both clear and complex, indeed as iridescent as she was.

Happy Mother's-To-Be Day

Today marks the half-way point in my pregnancy - 20 weeks - and everything I read says you can start to feel the baby move by now. I was so anxious to feel it, to feel something. But what, I wasn't sure. Maybe the baby's moving and I just don't know how to recognize it? BabyCenter suggests that the feeling is like a goldfish swimming or a butterfly fluttering or - my favorite - popcorn popping, all of which are only mildly helpful since I have never had a goldfish swimming in my belly, a butterfly fluttering in my belly, and certainly not any popcorn popping inside my belly.

The Tomato (last week's nickname based on BabyCenter's food corollary) - 5.3.10 - 19 weeks

Then on Thursday morning I was at work writing an email, minding my own business, and I felt the funniest ping in my abdomen. Not a ping, like a twinge. Or maybe like a twitch? Kind of a spasm ... sort of sensation. An itty bitty, split-second spasm. Or flick. But like a soft, padded flick. Kind of... Anyway, I consulted with a couple of pregnant/previously pregnant co-workers and confirmed. That had to have been the baby.

I have spent the days since then getting to know all the subtleties of the baby's movements. (And yes, I admit I can kind of get the goldfish/butterfly comparison. Still no popcorn.) How funny that I felt nothing before (or just didn't know how to feel it before) and now I feel something every day, several times a day. What a kick. Literally.

AND, just in time for Mother's Day.

So today we celebrated - Mother's-To-Be Day, the first feel-able baby wiggles, the 20-week milestone - with a delightful lunch at Happy Gillis and long awaited Fresher than Fresh snow cones for dessert.

Creamy Tomato Soup and the*new* Tartine sandwich (featuring hummus & arugula)

Opening weekend at the snow cone stand!
(clockwise, starting with the pale pink: Ginger Rose, Agave Hibiscus (daredevil!), Pineapple Serrano, Espresso with Mexican Cane Sugar, and Green Tea Pear)

It was a very Happy Mother's-To-Be Day indeed.

5.9.10 - 20 weeks

Sailing in the Sea of Cortez

at sea in our vessel, the "Caribbean Reef"

Last week we went sailing off the coast of Baja California Sur, our second "babymoon" (our first was to London). Our friends, Ben and Jieun, who live outside of Seattle are big fans of the nautical vacation and we were delighted when, earlier this year, they invited us to accompany them on a boat for five days in the Sea of Cortez. It's not everyday your friend calls you up and says, "I'm going sailing, want to come?" We said yes post haste.

boats, bouganvilla and cactus

We set sail last Monday morning out of La Paz, BCS, from the Moorings marina that was inundated with bouganvilla - my favorite non-mid-western flower. There were cactus everywhere, too - the climate in Baja is so arid, though the nights on the boat were so humid. It was like New Mexico plopped down smack dab into the ocean. Our journey took us up and down a short piece of the coast and in and out of several islas. Our captains were my friend Ben and his dad who sailed and motored us adeptly while the rest of us did our best to help "batten down the hatches," "unfurl the jib," learn to tie a "bowline" or - at least cook dinner.

practicing the bowline at night

at anchor during the day

Our vessel was a 4 cabin Catamaran - Sergio and I had the bunk at the front of the boat on the right side - er, uh - the "starboard berth in the bow of the boat?" (Still learning my nautical terminology.) The boat was fully stocked with food and had a well appointed though tiny kitchen; we all took turns prepping and cleaning, and we easily fed seven people almost three meals a day for five days. (Despite the itsy bitsy grill.)

Sergio's guacamole with the freshest of avocados

a mango, superbly fresh and local in Mexico

We did make several stops along the way, including a nice dinner (Captain Denny's treat!) at the Playa Pichilingue restaurant on the night before our return where I had delicious garlic fish and tried to practice my Spanish by telling the waiter that "Over there where our boot is there are many pots." He knew I meant boat and waves. I think...

The Gringo's whale skeleton on Isla Coyote

But my most favorite stop of all was a tiny - and I mean tiny - island called Isla Coyote or Isla Pardito. It is a simple slab of rock jutting out of the sea where there live twice as many sea gulls as pelicans and ten times as many pelicans as people. There are only six families living on Isla Coyote plus "The Gringo" and his wife who collect whale skeletons. They all live in and among the closely clustered 8 or 10 buildings visible on the north side of the island (the south face is uninhabitable rocky terrain) and everyone there fishes. Including the pelicans and sea gulls. I have never seen anything like this tiny island and I was amazed.

And when we weren't exploring tiny islands, or mangroves, or cooking food, or successfully enduring a few nights of really rocky waters ... we all spent a lot of time reading.

What a way to vacation.

Bloodroot, by Amy Greene (L), Better Off, by Eric Brende (R)

PS: LOTS more pictures on Flickr