All Things Supercinski

A few weeks ago, we got the quarter of a grass-fed cow we ordered and had processed. Our freezer is overflowing with ground beef, steaks, roasts and cuts of beef I’ve never prepared before.

So far, it is delicious. You can read more about some reasons why we chose grass-fed beef here. We were pleased with the service and price we got from this local farm, so I’m happy to recommend them.

We managed to make it to the Farmer’s Market last week, and Josiah loved every second of it. I let him pay the farmer and carry home our finds. Here he is showing off the longest green bean I had ever seen.

These were delicious green beans, though amazingly long. I also stocked up on the best honey ever from a local beekeeper who sells unprocessed honey while sporting a cool beekeeping hat.

I finally finished my “essential” list of baby sewing items, I think. I just ordered some PUL so I might go ahead and make some diapers as time permits, but we’ll see. Preparations for teaching my first Bradley series are quite time consuming these days.

First, I ripped apart my old ring sling, added some brown backing fabric and made myself another pouch. I like my old pouch sling, but this one is a little roomier.

Then I made a new ring sling with a lighter fabric.

And a nursing cover…

I finally finished a mei tai carrier for myself. I revamped how I sew them (padded the shoulder and waist straps, added an adjustable crotch area so that you can carry baby forward-facing and put on a sleeping hood) and have gotten a lot of practice by making them as gifts. The first one is mine and the second one is one I made recently for a friend.

I gave my Moby Wrap away, so I need to get some material for that (or purchase some from a friend with extra?), but it takes no sewing. Now Baby will be adequately carried around while I chase Josiah!

This may not be as authentic as the couscous you would get where people are really Mediterranean, but this is a quick and delicious meal that I wanted to share. I originally got this recipe from my friend, Jessica, and it’s in our regular rotation as long as we have fresh basil growing somewhere.

Mediterranean Couscous
1 box couscous (I use the Hodgson Mill Whole Wheat-Garlic with Flax Seed)
1 1/4 cup chicken broth
about 3 cups chopped cooked chicken (like 2 breasts, or use some leftovers)
about 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 (4 oz.) pkg. crumbled feta cheese
about 2/3-3/4 of a pint of grape tomatoes, halved
juice of half a lemon
some grated lemon rind from that half a lemon
about 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Prepare couscous on stove with broth according to package directions. Stir prepared couscous with remaining ingredients in large bowl. That’s it!

We got everything in the ground this week–better late than never. I’m not quite sure what we were thinking by expanding everything by almost double when we’ll have a newborn joining us during harvest-time.

This is our garden last year:

And this year:

This year we planted: 12 Roma tomato plants, 4 bigger variety tomatoes, 8 bell peppers, 6 cantaloupe, 6 small watermelons, zucchini, squash, spaghetti squash, green beans, potatoes (in the trash cans), and there is a lot of lettuce and spinach that was planted some time ago. We also have rosemary, basil and oregano in the herb garden.

This isn’t much of a recipe, but this is my latest pregnancy craving. I think it is absolutely delicious, so I simply must share it with everyone. I say this all the time (to Thomas), but during pregnancy, I can find the most appetizing things out of nothing. I think that I make the most tasty snacks and treats, and I think that no one should ever turn down something a pregnant lady thinks is delicious. This said by someone who doesn’t crave weird things, just good things.

Anyway, onto the recipe! This is a great sweet-tooth satisfier and it has a good amount of protein and a serving of dairy for you Brewer Dieters out there. You can chose to layer all these things together, but this is the easiest way and fastest way to make them. I can’t believe I posted pictures of this stuff… Can you tell I really enjoy food these days?

First, assemble your ingredients: some type of vanilla yogurt (my favorite is pictured), some Honey Bunny Grahams (if you live where we do, you can only find them at Kroger–every other graham cracker has high fructose corn syrup in them), and some chocolate chips–semi-sweet is best, but milk chocolate works well, also.

Put a good-sized handful of Bunnies in the bottom of a cup or bowl.

Top with a not-so-generous handful of chocolate chips.

Scoop a bunch of yogurt on top. If you are really hungry, add some more. I’m guessing it’s about 3/4 of a cup or a cup.

Stir. Eat and enjoy every wonderful bite. Taste how amazingly the graham and chocolate compliment the slight bite of the yogurt… I just ate one and now I’m wanting another!

I’ve answered questions about cloth diapering and what we do via email/real life conversations to so many friends and blog friends in the past; I figured it will be easiest just to put it all in one place. And since Lynsey asked for more information, here is more than you probably ever wanted to know.

We went around and around about the whole idea of cloth diapering when I was pregnant with Josiah. It would save on trash, but what about water? What kind do you get? How do I know if they are good ones? We ended up putting off our decision until we met some people in real life who actually used them, let me watch them in action, and even let me borrow a few to try out. We bought our first set of diapers when Josiah was seven months old and haven’t looked back.

The cost has probably been the same as we would have spent diapering him in the cheapest disposables full time, but New Baby and Subsequent Baby(s?) will be diapered for almost free. It isn’t nearly as much work as you probably imagine it to be, and Josiah has a nice, healthy little bum. Our water use has stayed almost the same, in the summer we use one more unit of water than we did before we had a kid, so I know it isn’t just wasting tons of water and we don’t live in a place prone to drought. Read more »