Daily Ada: 20 July 13

Ada is a (mostly) good helper. Though of course dropping the sponge into the bubbly water is way more fun than actually washing the motorcycle.

Daily Ada: 15 July 13

I had to run into work today on my non-working day, so Ada came with me. She was super shy the whole time,  but finally warmed up at the end enough to play with some pebbles in the plant by the front door.

Daily Ada: 1 July 13

I have started asking Ada if she needs a change and sometimes she will answer (and sometimes correctly). But what she will definitely do more often now is come and sit on the changing mat when I get it out in anticipation of a change. Especially if she thinks she's going to get to watch videos on my phone,  as I often let her do!

New fish recipe number one: Salmon with Pepita-Lime Butter

We want to eat more fish than we have been lately so I went on a hunt for easy fish recipes I think we'll actually eat more than once.

Here's the first recipe we tried, which we had Saturday night. We liked it. I could only get regular pumpkin seeds, not "pepitas" but it was still good. I bought two salmon fillets, rather than getting a big one and cutting it up and taking the bottom skin off. Otherwise, I did everything as instructed.

It was super fast to make. We ate it with steamed broccoli and sugar snap peas and wild rice, as recommended, and it worked well. We'll definitely do this one again.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/salmon_with_pepita_lime_butter.html

Salmon with Pepita-Lime Butter

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons unsalted pepitas (see Tip)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated lime zest
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 pound salmon fillet, skinned (see Tip) and cut into 4 portions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

PREPARATION

1. Toast pepitas (see Tip). Place in a small bowl with butter, lime zest, lime juice and chili powder.
2. Generously coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Sprinkle salmon with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook until browned and just cooked through in the center, 2 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the salmon to a plate. Add the butter-lime mixture to the hot pan; stir until the butter is melted. Serve the salmon topped with the sauce.

TIPS & NOTES

• Pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) can be found in the bulk-foods section of natural-foods stores or Mexican groceries.

Place pepitas in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

• Place a salmon fillet on a clean cutting board, skin side down. Starting at the tail end, slip the blade of a long, sharp knife between the fish flesh and the skin, holding the skin down firmly with your other hand. Gently push the blade along at a 30° angle, separating the fillet from the skin without cutting through either.
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Hornucopia 2013 from the Vallentines' point of view.

Starring Ada, of course.

Mark is blogging again.

Mark is trying out instagram and has resurrected Muffin Monster's blog to share his results:

http://anthropomorphicisethis.blogspot.com/

The first post is up!

Daily Ada: 23 June 13

Today I ran a 5K. Mimi, Ada and Take Home Ted came along to cheer me along. Ted wanted to run too, which was fine, but Ada wanted to make sure he had sunscreen on. Ada likes sunscreen.

And then she took a bunch of selfies on the drive home.