Pun'kin Time

Every year, my friend R has a pumpkin carving party.

Pumpkin preview!

This year, about a week before the party, I got a craving for caramel dipped apples, so I asked if I could bring some.

R is vegan.  When we lived together, I was on top of vegan cooking and appropriate substitutions, but it's been... wow, about seven years.  So I'm not on my A-game anymore.  It didn't occur to me that the easy-peasy melt-down-some-caramels method of making caramel-dipped apples was not vegan.  (Caramels are, apparently, made with milk!)

I can make vegan caramel, I thought.  I went to the handy internet and started searching for recipes.  Many called for a wide variety of what seemed like they'd be difficult-to-find ingredients.  Like soy yogurt.  (When I was experimenting with the possibility of being allergic to milk protein, I went on a hunt for soy yogurt.  Not so easy to find.)

Then a friend gave me a caramel recipe that called for margarine, so I thought that swapping it for Earth Balance might do the trick.

Wrong.

The caramel looked good and smelled good, but it was seeping oil.  It didn't stick to the apples unless I pressed it on and waited for it to cool, and then it hardened into a solid caramel shield.  (I'm not sure if I cooked it too long, or if the seeped-out oil made it less pliable.)  I made two rock-hard apples before pouring the rest onto wax paper to make candy.  (The oil seeped out of that, too, all over my counter.)  The candy came out equally hard, but tasty at least!

So I tried another recipe that called for soy milk.  A cup of soy milk, which seemed like way too much liquid when the first recipe had been essentially the same, minus the milk, but I tried it anyway.  It never thickened up into anything useful, although again, if I'd wanted to drink it, the flavor was good.  (I didn't want to drink it.  Down the sink it went.)

After that, my time was getting short.  I gave up on experimenting and went with the tried-and-true caramel-melting method.  I actually had to run to the store mid-dipping to get another set of caramels, but I had success.  Two vegan apples and the rest... not.

The final result

These two (front) are vegan, but possibly hard as a rock.

All in all, the apples went over famously.  There was lots of delicious food, and then we got down to business.  Not everyone carved a pumpkin, but I think they all turned out great.

My owl

J was having a hard time coming up with something to carve.  She wanted to do a Disney princess off a stencil, but they all seemed too complicated (and too big for her pumpkin).  J is a statistician and loves math, so someone said she should do a math pumpkin.

"Do a calculator with hearts!" someone suggested.

"Numbers!"

"How about pi?" I suggested.  "Pumpkin pi!"

J's Pi and Steve's scared ghost

Then C started calling it Pun'kin Pi, because it's a pun.  Ha ha.

Lots of fun.  And I've got pumpkin seeds on the counter about ready to roast, which is a large part of the reason I carve pumpkins in the first place.  Yum!

15 Weeks

There's a small contingent of early-morning (as in, pitch dark outside) dog-walkers in my complex.  We do this elaborate dance wherein we try to be friendly to each other while simultaneously avoiding one another so our dogs don't get all riled up and excited while most of our neighbors are still sleeping.

This morning, one of my neighbors called, "Good morning, young mama!  I heard the news!  Congratulations!" while pulling his two playful King Charles spaniels in the other direction.

No outtakes today!

This week--I hesitate to say it, in case I jinx it all!--the nausea seems to be improving.

Every night I lay as still as possible in bed and try to feel baby movements.  I'm pretty sure I can't feel anything yet.  Sigh.

Because a few people have expressed concern over the amount of protein I'm getting since I haven't been eating meat, I counted up the protein I'll be eating today.  Between the 29 grams in the smoothie I had for breakfast, the 47 grams in various lunch and snack items for my workday, and the 12 grams in the last portion of leftover casserole for dinner, that's 88 grams.  The Internets tell me pregnant women need somewhere between 60 and 90 grams of protein per day.

I'm already encountering lots of people who are sure I'm having a girl, or positive I'm having a boy.  It's entertaining.

Cookin' Fool

I like to prepare as much of the week's food on Sundays as possible, but yesterday I spent an unusual amount of time in the kitchen.

First, talking about those pumpkin spice muffins encouraged me to use up the rest of the can of pumpkin I'd had in the fridge from making pumpkin waffles last weekend. 

Mmm, pumpkin spice muffins.

This pregnancy is doing some unusual things to my palate.  I've never been a die-hard carnivore, but I wouldn't be surprised if this child ends up a vegetarian, based on the amount of meat I've wanted to eat.

I used to be content with a turkey wrap every day in my lunch, but lately lunches have been more difficult.  No turkey for me, and to make matters worse, I'm not able to eat the same thing week after week anymore.

Time to get creative.  This week?  Quinoa salad with cucumbers, onions, and sweet plum tomatoes (my newly discovered favorite type of tomato).

Improvised quinoa salad

Once the muffins were out of the oven and while the quinoa was cooking on the stove, I started on baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese (for me) and leftover spicy ground turkey (for Steve) for dinner.

And then, did I mention this pregnancy is messing with my taste buds?  I was browsing through a slow cooker cook book for dinner ideas for the week, and I came across a ravioli casserole recipe that looked good. 

Me!  The girl who doesn't eat pasta!

I made my first ever mostly-from-scratch pasta sauce in preparation, to pair with frozen spinach ravioli (I'm not quite ambitious enough to make my own pasta...) in the crock pot to cook during the day today.

Our refrigerator is packed. 

Pumpkin Time

Our New Things for 2012 continued this weekend with October's activity: the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival.

Fun fact: Calabasas is derived from the Spanish word for pumpkin or gourd, calabaza.  I'm taking the Internet's word for it that that's an accurate translation.

(Of course, I forgot my camera and it never even occurred to me that I could have taken pictures with my cell phone, so this post has no photographic evidence.  Darn.)

But! There were local artists and crafters, which I love.  The day was overcast and a little dreary, but very fall-like.  It involved parking a bajillion miles away, so we got a good walk out of it, and, and!  There were pumpkin treats.  Of course!

I'm a sucker for pumpkin anything (a tall, skim, decaf pumpkin spice latte is my special treat this autumn, and can of pumpkin + box of spice cake mix = a favorite seasonal dessert), and this festival was like a gold mine.  Similar to the Oxnard Strawberry Festival, but more creative with the food options.

We tried/tasted/shared savory pumpkin empanadas, pumpkin stew, a not-too-sweet dessert pumpkin tamale, and topped it off with a pumpkin shake, made with real pumpkin and spices.  There was also fried pumpkin, pumpkin beer, pumpkin tempura, Greek pumpkin pie, regular pumpkin pie, roasted pumpkin seeds,

Oh. My. Goodness.

It reminded me of the time in college my roommate Aarti and I bought a pumpkin and figured out how to turn it into pumpkin soup. I might be motivated to try it again this year.

I think I'd like to make the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival an annual tradition. 

14 Weeks

I'm halfway to my next doctor's appointment.  Dr. H was right when she said this is the Faith Period, and boy is it hard!  It's hard to wait a month without evidence the little Bean is doing well.  We lost the first baby and didn't know it for two weeks; it's hard not to wonder and worry.  I can't wait until I can feel movement!

(I almost didn't remember my "weeks" board.  In fact, I took an entire set of pictures without it, and only remembered when I went to upload them.)

Last week you got an up-the-nose shot.  This week's outtake: Artful Blur

This is what happens when, I imagine, the camera focuses on you right up close as you push the timed start, and then isn't focused at all on the place you'll be when the picture is actually taken.  (Also notice: no board.)

New this week?  Not much.  Still nauseated several evenings a week, but I think it's maybe getting better?  Maybe.  Still pretty tired a lot of the time.  On Tuesday, I fell asleep on the couch at 7:00 and missed the last half-hour of the debate.

I've told most people at work now.  It's such an awkward thing to bring up!  I know gossip spreads like wildfire, so I wanted to tell my offices myself, but I find myself stalling and putting it off.  One of my coworkers made it easy; I'm not Facebook friends with her, but I am friends with her brother, who spilled the beans to her for me.

A post about my awesome time visiting with my family last weekend to follow.  For now, I need to start emptying my closet of clothes that don't/won't fit, so I don't spend twenty frustrated minutes every morning trying to find something to wear.  I got some fabulous new clothes, thanks in large part to my mom, to take over some of the space I'll create.

Side note: Even though I didn't think I was bump-y enough for them, I've stepped into the world of maternity pants.  My sister talked me into trying them, based on her friends' experiences, and they are actually far more comfortable than wearing my regular work slacks with the fly rubberbanded shut and a Bella Band to hide it.  Score!  A pair or two of those and some stretchy dresses and I might just make it through this pregnancy in work-appropriate style.

13 Weeks

13 Weeks

What's new in Week 13?

Aside from a bad hair day, and the fact that I bought a board to write "13 weeks" on to have in the picture, and I completely forgot...

Not a lot.  I'm mentally rearranging our two-bedroom condo to fit a third human, which will likely involve Steve and me moving into the guest/computer room as our bedroom.  As much as I hate the thought of sleeping just a few feet away from our computers, I haven't come up with a good alternative to keeping them where they are. 

Despite the fact that all the pregnancy websites assure me that morning sickness should subside after that magical twelfth week, my nausea seems to only be getting worse.  Lucky me!

And, because I think it's kind of funny, have a shot straight up my nose:

First try with without the timer...

My family is coming out to visit this weekend, and they arrive tonight.  I can't wait to see them!

On a Roll

I had the day off yesterday in honor of Mr. Columbus, and I was all gung-ho on being productive.  I got up at my usual weekday time and had cleaned both bathrooms, vacuumed the entire house (including the stairs--I hate vacuuming the stairs!), dusted, de-pet-haired the couches, and done three loads of laundry before I ate lunch.

I made enough egg salad for lunches for both Steve and me for the week (avocado and tomato sandwiches are out, by the way) and the fillings for the breakfast burritos Steve was craving.

I made my 18-week ultrasound appointment with the perinatologist for November. (We get to bring a blank DVD with us and they'll record it for us to keep!)

My friend Elaina urged me to announce our pregnancy in a "cute" way, so she scoured Pinterest for ideas.  (For the record, I may have cried looking at the lot of them.)  I took some pictures outside, hit up Goodwill to see if they have maternity clothes for future reference (they don't seem to), and went to the produce store for the week's fruits and veggies.

Pregnancy announcement

 And then I hit a wall.

I fell asleep on the couch around 4:00 and woke up when Steve got home from work.  And I woke up feeling pretty gross and pukey.  (Not that I puked, let's be clear.  But feeling like I might is just as bad.)

I couldn't eat anything for dinner until Steve talked me into letting him go to the store for cous cous.

So this marks the first time Steve's had to run out to satisfy a craving, if you could call it that. (Is it a craving when it's just the only thing that sounds stomach-able?)  

(This post brought to you by parentheses.  Seriously.)

12 Weeks*

I've been holding my breath for the last four weeks.

Last time, it was in between weeks 8 and 12 that we lost the baby, and we didn't know about it until our 12-week appointment.  This pregnancy has been 180° different from the last one: (thankfully mild) nausea every day starting around 11:30 in the morning and lasting through most of the rest of the day, no bleeding (knock on wood), etc.

But still.  I worked myself up into a nervous wreck before the ultrasound, enough that the nurse taking my blood pressure commented on it.  Again.

And then the doctor came in and asked if we wanted to hear the heartbeat.  Um, yes please!

She couldn't find it.

"This seems like cruel and unusual punishment," Dr. H said.  "Let's just take a look."

And there on the ultrasound screen, bouncing around like a tiny, flailing jumping bean, was our little bean.  Kicking and flinging limbs around with that perfect little flutter of a heartbeat.  And it looked like a baby!

I let out an audible sigh of relief.  (They should really take your blood pressure after you know things are okay.)

Once we knew everything was good, Dr. H went back in with the Doppler and, after a lot of searching, found the soft bump-bump-bump of a heartbeat.  (My amateur explanation is that this difficulty might have something to do with my tipped uterus.)

Starting to get a baby bump

Dr. H calls this the Faith Period, when you're (hopefully) feeling less queasy but you can't yet feel the reassuring baby movements.  She invited me to come in for a quick five-minute ultrasound if anytime this month I start feeling like I can't wait another day to know that the baby is okay. 

So.  Cautiously excited!

*~*~*

Telling the boss.

I don't know when you're "supposed" to tell your boss you're pregnant.  For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to do it until after I'd had this last good ultrasound.  I couldn't teller her before I knew it seemed to be sticking, after the way things went down last time.

"I kinda figured," she said when I told her.  "When are you due?"

"April."

"Given your history, they'll probably put you on bed rest if there are any complications."

Um ... okay, yeah, maybe, but...? "There haven't been." I said.  "This pregnancy has been completely different from the last one.  Everything's been okay."

"Well, if they do put you on bed rest, you'll have to go out early."

Yeah, I guess so.  I didn't know what to say!  There was finally a congratulations somewhere in the middle of the conversation, and then she seemed to loosen up and talked about maternity clothes and those parties people have these days where a friend gives the bakery a sealed envelope with the gender, and the parents find out if they're having a boy or a girl along with all their friends when they slice the cake.

*~*~*

Telling my grandparents they're going to be great-grandparents was a lot more fun.  Grandma said she'd come up with a list of names in case we don't find one we like, so that the baby doesn't come home from the hospital without a name.

They said they'd like a boy or a girl, or both!  I said this one's just one, and Grandpa said he'd love for us to have two or three or more.

This little bean is already loved by several generations of my family.  Even if it's an inconvenience to my boss. ;)

* By my calculations,  my weeks roll over on Fridays.  My doctor's office has that happening on Thursdays.  Just goin' with the flow.

World Vegetarian Day: My Day in Food

Yesterday, October 1st, was World Vegetarian Day.  Lately, I've been eating very little meat, mostly in the form of ground turkey with dinner.  So it wasn't a stretch to eat like a vegetarian.

Every day, I have Greek yogurt with a cut-up apple and honey for breakfast, cottage cheese with pineapple and/or a banana for my mid-morning snack, cucumbers in a sweet/spicy vinegar sauce and a piece of fruit (along with some kind of sandwich/leftovers) with lunch, and carrots and a second piece of fruit as my mid-afternoon snack.  Dinner is the big variable.

I decided to switch up my usual breakfast and have a spinach-banana smoothie.  1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk, a big handful of spinach, one frozen banana, and two tablespoons of Weight Watchers coconut smoothie protein mix.

spinach-banana-coconut

It was so delicious, I might have another one this morning.

For the last week or two, I've been on an avocado-and-tomato sandwich kick for lunch.

This picture was taken in 2007, but it's the same idea.

I've gotten better at making this sandwich pretty, but I didn't have my camera with me at lunch, so have a picture from my 2007 Photo-a-Day.

And dinner!

Veggie Bowl

A rice bowl with 1/2 an avocado, grilled green peppers and onions, corn, and black beans topped with salsa and sour cream.  Pretty tasty.  Admittedly, a lot of avocado for one day.

Last but not least, I was playing Draw Something with Steve (as you do) and I had to draw a s'more.  Which sounded really, really yummy.  And we totally had all the ingredients.

Pre-sandwiched s'more

All in all, a fairly successful Vegetarian Day.  If I was going to do this more frequently, I think I'd have to get a bit more creative than avocado and more avocado though...