Yum yum

Haven't made this yet, but it feels very 'spring' to me. And will go well with my deconstructed kitchen. I am experimenting with making a pot of beans that will last for a few recipes. I dont see what is so bad about canned beans? I like them.

Cannellini Bean Salad With Shaved Spring Vegetables

Time: 30 minutes

FOR THE VINAIGRETTE:

3 tablespoons lemon juice, or as needed

Finely grated zest of half a lemon

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon ground fennel seed

4 to 6 anchovy fillets, rinsed and chopped

Salt and pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE SALAD:

2 cups cooked cannellini beans, drained

Salt and pepper

Pinch red pepper flakes

6 to 8 large, fat asparagus spears, snapped and peeled

6 radishes

1 small fennel bulb, trimmed

1 small sweet spring onion, or a few scallions, finely chopped

Chopped parsley, basil or dill, for garnish.

1. To make the vinaigrette, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Adjust lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste.

2. To assemble the salad, place the beans in a large bowl. Pour half the vinaigrette over the beans and toss lightly. Season with salt, pepper and

red pepper flakes.

3. Using a sharp mandolin — and a hand guard — carefully slice the asparagus spears lengthwise to about the thickness of a penny. Slice the radishes and fennel to the same thickness. Lay the shaved vegetables and chopped onion or scallions in a shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper, and dress them very lightly with a few spoonfuls of vinaigrette, turning gently to coat.

4. Spoon the beans onto a serving platter or individual plates, then cover the beans with the shaved vegetables. Add a little more vinaigrette over the top. Sprinkle with chopped parsley, basil or dill.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Meredithisms

We were strawberry picking this weekend. For the first time as a parent, the big girls 'got it'. They ate berries, they picked, they ate, they picked, and they actually had a decent amount in their berry boxes at the end. And those berries were good berries, not all white or bug eaten or anything.

Meredith, now is another story. First thing she said to me when we got to the field was ' my tummy hurts', which is code for, i need to go poopie. Thankfully, I keep a chinatown 99 cent kiddie potty in my car. That problem was solved.

The worst part was, when I had my back turned from her she WALKED THROUGH MY BERRY BOX. It was a largish rectangular box filled with freshly picked strawberries. There were three footprint sized areas of squished strawberries. Seriously child!

Advice needed

Mad is 7.5 years old. She has lots of playdates and we are noticing lately that some of these little girls are SO FREAKING ANNOYING WE CANT STAND IT. There is backtalking to us, slamming doors, not listening, leaving the house and wandering down the street, saying things like " this is the worst playdate ever" (bc we didnt go to the pool), and asking repeatedly ( maybe 25 times) for another popsicle. None of this behavior is coming from our own child. Its not like its that bad that I want to cut them off ( well actually one of them I cant bear to have over ever again) but I dont know how to handle this. Meg has had a friend over for the past four hours- they have been playing needing no supervision while I have done my own thing, which is really nice. J starts to try to parent them but I feel like you arent going to be able to change these bad behaviors in OPK- if their parents let them do it at home, then they will keep doing it.

Yesterday #1 did have 4 friends over ( 2 neighbors, 2 kids that go on to soccer which is an hour after school right in the park). Probably that was too many, and they got too high energy and were all spazzy because it was so many of them. I dont know- I need advice on how to deal with annoying children.

Camping

With the exception of the large factory to our right and the nuclear power plant to our left, AND the tornado/severe thunderstorm and 70mph winds, our first camping trip with Mere was really fun!

Old Mimi

Megan told me last night she is sleeping with her scorpion paperweight and keeping it with her all the time "because it reminds me of Old Mimi". I asked her why, and she said, "because it feels old and sick". And later "because its shrivelly". It reminds me of what Grandma said once, "I dont mind what you guys are saying about me, because at least you are remembering me". Love you Grandma.