You say tomato; I say tomato

Good morning blog friends. Did you miss me? What can I say, I think I took Wordless Wednesdays to heart and forgot to reappear. Here I am...

Bean has been teething so she has sucked all the the energy out of me. At least the horrible mood has an explanation. The tooth did break through and soon we will be able to see the top middle one. I can't believe that in two weeks she is one. Where did the time go? One minute she was a newborn and the next she is entering toddler years.

Now for some adventures in eating......A recipe that I have been meaning to make is one from Kelsey at The Naptime Chef. By the way, have you guys read her posts on Babble? If not, you really should visit her over there. Okay, back to the subject on hand....Baked Tomatoes with Parmesan and Herbs. Tomato have been a staple at the farmer's markets these days. When Bean and I went for our weekly trip some beautiful beefsteak tomato were calling my name. This was the prime opportunity to make a delicious side dish that can be used for a variety of main entrees. The steps to make this dish were very simple and it uses staple ingredients in my pantry so it was easy for me to prepare without having to run to the grocery store as well. My summary of the process in pictures is below, but if you visit Kelsey's blog she has a webisode that details the process of making this wonderful side dish.

Health, Happiness, Hamstrings makes The Naptime Chef Baked Tomatoes with Parmesan and Herbs.

Ingredients
5 large tomatoes
1 cup EVOO
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese (recipe calls for freshly grated, but I had already grated on hand)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (recipe calls for plain or panko, but I had Italian herb plain bread crumb
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley



I followed Kelsey directions:

Her directions called for preheating the oven to 350 degrees. I wasn't going to be cooking the tomatoes until later that day so I started by cutting up the tomatoes:







Next I scooped out the seeds. Since I didn't have a grapefruit spoon like Kelsey suggest I used the next best thing on had.....one of Beans spoons. Was the perfect size and made it a breeze to get in the crevices. Then, nestle the tomatoes with the cut side up in a baking dish.



I drizzled the olive oil like she says and patted to make sure the tomatoes are nicely coated.



Then, I mixed the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and parsley. I patted even amounts into each tomatoes. Since I wasn't going to make them until that evening I covered them with plastic wrap and put them in the refrigerator until dinner time. Here is what they looked like:

Since Kelsey's recipe indicates it take about 25 to 30 minutes to bake. I preheated the oven while I gave Bean a bath and put them in the oven while I read Bean her bedtime books. About 30 minutes later I opened the oven and this deliciousness greeted me:

I served the tomatoes with grilled chicken and of course a staple in this house Roasted Eggplant.


Enjoy your day blog friends. Mr. Man, Bean and I are off to lunch. Naptime Chef thank you for a fabulous summer recipe that utilizes staples at the farmers market and pantry (at least my pantry).

Wordless Wednesday

Where Did 5 Years Go

Mr. Man and I just celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary. It is amazing how quickly time goes by.....Thinking back it is unbelievable in just 5 years we lived in Chicago, New Jersey (two towns), and New York (two towns), but the biggest and best thing that has happened in these five years is the birth of Bean (who is going to be one in less than a month).

Our wedding was celebrated in Tarrytown, New York at Tappen Hill. It was a beautiful affair where Mr. Man and I exchanged vows in front of friends at relatives.

For me marrying Mr. Man was truly the first day of the rest of my life......

On our 5 year anniversary Mr. Man and I went back to Tarrytown (our roots). The funny thing is for 2 years we lived just miles from where we said our vows. We celebrated by sending our little Bean off with her grandparents and we took advantage of some R&R. Well that is what we thought......At the Sheraton we ended with a room right across the hall from the bridal suite. Perfect! Getting woken up at 2am was not my kind of R&R.....On a high note we received a comped stay and a gift certificate to stay one night with free breakfast. While we sacrificed some sleep the free night more than made up for it. Night number two was spent at The Castle On The Hudson. The grounds were magnificent and the pool was spectacular.

While in Tarrytown we stopped at a local wine store and bought this:

We tried this Acai vodka with seltzer. In the words of Mr. Man....Delicious! Great on a hot summers day especially with a squeeze of lime.

Mr. Man, happy anniversary! I am so proud to call you my husband.

Hello world

Hello world, it is nice to meet you. After reading healthy lifestyle blogs for the past year I realized it was my turn to take a shot at it. I have tried blogging in the past, but never found a subject I was passionate enough about to keep me committed. For over 30 years I have dealt with GI issues that haunted me. Instead of viewing eating as a way to nourish my body it was a constant battle to figure out what will give me the best bang for my buck (high nutritional value and low GI distress). The ONLY time my GI track liked me was when I was pregnant with "Bean".

Additionally, I knew that "Bean" needed a good example of someone balancing sensible nutrition with sensible exercise. Since my husband just started a new business and was feeling pressure left and right, healthy eating went down the drain. That being said, someone had to take on the challenge and be an example for her. I was up to the challenge.

So, welcome to Health, Happiness, Hamstrings (aka exercise). Join me for my journey to find a blance of all three.