50 things I love about my best friend (Happy Birthday)

I have to say since we started this blog its been pretty cool because my BFF Lo and I talk even more than daily now! Which I love! I love so much about this amazing human that I just cant put it all down it would take days or weeks even months! I love her so much! Now only because I have been best friends with her since we were 12 but because she is an amazing person! I thought for her birthday (its today!) I would write out 100 things I love about Lo ! Happy birthday my best friend!

1. She is such a good cook. Funny its the first thing I write but she is! Its one of her love languages for sure to show people her love. Thats why I love it so much.

2. You always see the other side. You are so empathetic that you always show me the other side to things (even if I dont want to see it ha)

3. You make me laugh. I have laughed so hard with you I was sure I was going to pee my pants!

4. I can always be honest with you no matter what it is and you will take it to your grave.

5. You have seen me at my best and worst and love me just the same! Because you rock like that!

6. You are such a good mother. The day you had children I was like WHOA! She rocks at this! (I have so many wonderful pictures but Lo is more private about her kids which I fully understand!)

7. I can stay at your house for a week and then say uhm work needs me for another week and you are excited I am staying more time! Most people would of kicked a friend out by two weeks ha!

8. You always give people genuine advice.

9. You have the best memory! Man! I mean you remember details that I dont remember till you bring it up!

10. You cry at good movies. I love that you are such a feeler!

11. You dont judge others. Most people do but I never see you judging others! Its refreshing!

12. You are funny. Like can be really funny!

13. It can be a week or a year and when we get together time is not lost. Thats a huge thing I love about you.

14.  You're fashionable! You are fun to go shopping with. You help pick out what will show off that persons best areas!

15. You are smart! Actually smart! I wont embarrase you with your actual IQ here but its high!

16. I love how you love to read. How you have your kids loving to read too. I love how you share books with me!

17.  I love telling the same stories and laughing about them all over again. Remember that one time we were stuck in the car? Remember the one time when you had to ask your boss to get off work to go to lamaze class but you werent pregnant? Remember the time....

18. I love that when we visit each other we always sit by or in the pool and talk till we are frozen. Just to go inside and talk some more. I never get sick of hearing us talk.

19. You are so caring to not only me but everyone.

20. You never give up. Even if you think you do....you dont. You end up doing it the next day or the next hour.

21. You are a secret keeper. You can keep a secret forever. Even where I have forgotten about it but you are still holding that secret.

22. You are so adorable and beautiful. Even without your make up you look still a 10.

23. You watch scary movies through your fingers.

24. You are so supportive to others. I know for a fact. If I down I know I will get an awesome quote from you to cheer me up.

25. You go along with my crazy ideas. Hey lets get a tattoo. You may not get one but you are there taking pictures as I get one!

26. Traveling with you is easy and fun! You make everything easy and fun.

27. You always try to see the best in things or people.

28. You love theater. I love that about you.

29. Laughing at our own jokes. We think its funny even though the world may not.

30. You tell me the truth no matter what!

31. You are a defender of those who cant or wont defend themselves.

32. You can talk about 5 different things, bounce around and we still get each other.

33. You definately brighten other peoples lives. You may not believe it but its so true.

34. You dance. While cooking. While doing laundry. While thinking.

35. You are a great hugger.

36. You encourage and praise others

37.  When you are around things just feel better.

38. Whenever we talk, we can talk about anything and its not weird. Even when we looked up how to's on google and the first ones were how to make slime and how to get away with murder.

39. You treat my children as if they are yours.

40. You share everything. Your food, your oils, even your bed when I dont want to sleep alone when visiting.

41. You are a great judge of character. People really should listen to you. You have always been right.

42. I trust your insincts sometimes more than my own.

43. We laugh a lot together and I love to hear your laugh. Its so geniune!

44. We can talk for hours and never run out of things to say.

45. When we start a series on Netflix we always watch the whole thing in like 2-3 days.

46. You are original and no one can be you or replace you because you really are one of a kind.

47. Those times though when we laugh together, breathe and sigh at the same time and start laughing again.

48. You are really thoughtful. You put a lot of thought into things and gifts.

49. You are my go to person! In everything. Because you are so good at everything.

50. You are so beautiful inside and out. You always have been and always will be.

Happy birthday Lo. I love you so much! Finally you are my age lol. If only for a few months! Cant wait to see you! I use a lot of !!! Because I mean all those so strongly. I hope you have the best birthday. Love always, Ro

Amazing Tomato Bisque

I'm surprised it took me this long to get to a post about food of some sort....I love food.  I love cooking and I love baking, I love talking about food and making you try food, I love tweaking recipes and doing taste tests and... yes my kids can be picky and refuse to even try.  I also abhor cooking dinner every night.  In a perfect world, I plan and shop on Saturday and cook happily on Sunday whilst the children flit about like angels,  in and out of the kitchen, bringing smiles to my face with humorous and clever quips.  This leaves me with a gorgeous Sunday dinner and two to three meals for the week ready to be cooked or reheated.  AND my world isn't perfect, the kids typically only make appearances to complain about each other or turn up their nose at the vegetable I'm chopping asking "Is that what we are eating? "(you hear the incredulous, unappreciative tone don't you?)
Just for reference, I feed those who appreciate being fed, those I want to show love/support to AND my children.  The kitchen is where I can share two love languages, gifts, and acts of service.  I feel like acts of service is an area I can work on (and thankfully neither child has that as a top two!), so I love that my obsession for food can help me in expressing my love (I linked the children's love language quiz below.)   Let's remember to take people food when they have a baby or surgery or -insert huge life event good or bad that requires extra time/energy/emotion-and share a meal.  Food is intimate, food expresses love, ok... it can express love.  And speaking of food for those in need or overwhelmed, let's try and express our needs,  to ask for help (I am admittingly horrible about this and trying to get better....work in progress.)  We ALL need help sometimes, gosh I'd say most of the time (I know that's not just me!)  People don't know when we don't tell them or ask them.  I recently ran across the street to ask my neighbors a quick question (yay to neighbors who you can run barefoot across the street in your jammies to!)  Well, the wife had just had back surgery 10 days earlier and could only tolerate 20-30 minutes out of bed. I don't even remember what my quick question was because it was so inconsequential in comparison.  They invited me in for dinner that someone had brought (I of course refused but I'm also working on being a gracious recipient, not taking that joy from people, so I finally agreed to a small bowl).  The dinner was delicious and a tomato bisque.  I make a great tomato bisque and despite my love for cooking and sharing I don't typically say I make something great......but, I do make a GREAT tomato bisque.  I politely asked if they enjoyed tomato bisque,  to which they replied yes.  I said I have a great recipe and I'd love to bring it to you.  So 4 days later I got to run across the street (barefoot) with the pot I made the soup in and bring them tomato bisque.  They have helped me so many times and I loved bringing them food.  Now, it also happens that I got a text that that was the BEST SOUP they had ever had and needed the recipe.  That made me light up even more that they had enjoyed it so much (and absolutely there is pride involved here, I love to hear rave reviews about my dishes and yet I can honestly say it's not why I make food for people, it's truly a bonus.)
so here is my most amazing "recipe" yah.... it's not really a recipe, sorry...I think its just two tips.....

FRESH Tomatoes (not canned, yummy fresh, different colors, mix and match types, from your neighbors? yes to it all)
I'll say 5-6 large, remove stem and quarter (don't need to do more)
I have used a ton of cherry tomatoes and pear tomatoes fresh from a garden with some giant heirloom also, don't be afraid
roughly chop a handful of fresh basil
*yes the tip is fresh tomatoes and fresh basil
cook this down with water (enough to keep it wet, not dry)
add Better than Bullion chicken stock (3 Tablespoons, bigger pot? add more)  (tip #2 Better than Bouillon has great flavor and I buy the organic and it takes up very little precious space in the refrigerator)
Possibly tip #3 cook the tomatoes and bullion on med (or med/high if you are around to keep an eye on it) making sure to add water as necessary until you don't need to blend it (in a hurry, feel free to pull out the immersion blender) the cooking down of the tomatoes happens over time, they will turn to a soup on their own. Yes, I'm talking about cooking down the tomatoes for hours.
when this happens, add half and half or heavy cream slowly until  a beautiful bisque color (start with 1/2 cup increments if nervous- I pour from container now)
add another handful finely chopped fresh basil and salt and pepper to taste ( heavy cream requires more salt to taste)
so the main thing is, take your time and cook those tomatoes down, use fresh basil and fresh tomatoes, and make food for someone who may be in need!
Make delicious grilled cheese with brie, or sharp cheddar and dip....yummmmm

https://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/children/

                                                                               -Lo


***THIS IS THE MOST AMAZING STUFF. Yes I yelled on purpose! So fresh and so good! And I dont even like tomato soups! Love, Ro

two little words that instill fear?

Cast Iron, do those words instill fear in you like they do in me?  No? really? You cannot use soap? not scary?
Ok, so to be honest I have plenty of cast iron pans, but... they are enamel coated...different story.  For years I have been trying to disengage with any Teflon coated pans for the health of my family... AND that non-stick finish is hard to beat!  I have let go (read "thrown in trash") every Teflon pan EXCEPT my 6" crepe pan.  Ever made crepes? The pan is a very important ingredient (not to mention my darling daughter has an egg allergy..yet I have a great recipe I'll link to)  My mom made delicious savory crepes so its a comfort food and I NEED to be able to make them.  Plus they are delicious and versatile!
Yes I was scared, am scared, of  caring for a cast iron pan, having heard " no soap", "can rust", "seasoning", "re-seaoning/stripping".  I don't want something that is a chore to take care of? no soap? is that gross? is it clean?  if I forget is it gonna be a rusty mess?
That said, this is what people used for years (but are those the kinds people who lived on ranches with 13 kids who helped??-yes I'm  scared to take on more at this point in my life....but what if being scared of change keeps me from trying something awesome?  I would tell my kids to keep learning and growing....DARN, ok i'll try)
My first "real" cast iron is a little griddle off Amazon (linked below, and no i didn't get paid or it free)

I chose this little guy because a great friend had it, I'd seen it in use many times....including eggs...not sticking... wait, eggs not sticking? ( I don't cook them often because darling daughter has an allergy but her brother LOVES so, I still cook for him)  Eggs even with a ton of butter in stainless steel or enamel coated cast iron is a pain to clean, a major, I don't ever wanna make you eggs again PAIN in the tuchus (not sure where I picked up Yiddish words but that means BUM, if you don't know)  so yes....I decided to try this little griddle, preseason-ed.  

Let me tell you, eggs....wow..like really wow, pancakes, amazing , bacon (a mess-walls not tall enough but I'll just say it was great for seasoning the pan and a learning experience), AND the peace de resistance? I saw a very culinary savvy 14 year old use that little griddle to make crepes, MIND BLOWN! The crepes were gorgeous, tasted wonderful....yes, I will say this little gem is the first in my (not coated) cast iron arsenal....and taking care of the little beauty is actually a blessing, I'm grateful for, a slow down to appreciate the love I put into cooking and now into my little cast iron army.

https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Griddle-Pre-seasoned-Pancakes-Quesadillas/dp/B00008GKDN/ref=sr_1_14/144-7317992-1892417?ie=UTF8&qid=1537140661&sr=8-14&keywords=lodge+cast+iron+grills

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/18100/eggless-crepes/

*I only use full fat milk and real butter when cooking so I sub out the skim milk


*** You are so much better than me. I am scared to death of using cast iron but you always coax me so now I actually look forward to it. Thank you to the BFF that helps get the other over their fears. Love, Ro

Nice to meet you

Well hello, I’m Lo ( and at this point tempted to rhyme my entire introduction....) I am a mother of two pretty alright kids who keep me on my toes but give me reasons to smile more often than not, so I’ll keep them. I am probably the sarcastic and tangential one in this lovely pair of best friends. I’m trying to live my life as a blessing, to those I love, those I work with, those behind me in the grocery store....emphasis on “try”. I’m a work in progress but I’m still showing up for the work, some days more than others. I love photography, cooking/baking, dabble in arts, animal lover (but need less to take care of not more), I love sunshine, hiking and hugs!       -Lo