Rebecca, Author at Daily Rebecca

Celebration Weekend!

September 5, 2011

Not only is this weekend about Labor Day, but, for our family, it’s about celebrating the birth of two wonderful women.

Aunt Becky and Mom

My mom and Aunt Becky were born 8 years and 1 day apart. Sisters who share a common love of family, laughter and antiques.

Aunt Becky and Mom circa 1957

Growing up watching my mom and Aunt Becky together has been especially special for me because my sister Ellen and I are also 8 years apart (although it’s more like 7 years 11 months and 21 days apart, but you get it).

Two generations of sisters :)

The big sister/little sister dynamic is very special. I think I feel an underlying sense of camaraderie with my Aunt Becky because we’re both the big sisters. We treasure the friendship of our younger sisters and also feel the need to watch out for them and be the shoulder for them to lean on.

Sisterhood is a precious gift. One that I really hope my little Grace will be able to enjoy someday.

Sisters “get each other” in a way that friends just can’t quite seem to. Sisters have grown up the same way, experienced the same history and family dynamics and have stories that go way back.

This weekend our family got together to celebrate these sisters, and here’s a few pictures of our celebration…

The Cake. It’s from VG’s :)

The Birthday Girls

Andrew and Amy (Caleb in the back)

Meggie and Nora

Chris and Meghan

Sam and Me

Andy and Cal

Kate and Me

Belting out “Happy Birthday”

Making a wish

Trying not to inhale ALL THE SMOKE ;)

Trick candles ;)

Serving up the goods

Me and Andy

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

September 2, 2011

I heart quinoa.

It’s affordable, nutritious, quick cooking and tasty! Also, it’s pronounced keen-wah, not kwi-noah. You’re welcome.

I also love roasted veggies. The prolonged heat brings out their sweet side and makes a good thing even better. If you haven’t roasted veggies before, this recipe is a great reason to try it for the first time.

This is another Budget Bytes recipe. It serves 8 for only $10 which is a hellava reason to drop the Bic Mac, blow the dust off a baking sheet and get busy.

I’ve got to admit, while I was making this dish, I was a little nervous about it. The ingredients were so simple and relied heavily on the flavor of the individual parts. Sure I like all the ingredients, but could they really come together to create something amazing without the help of a bunch of fancy seasonings?

Yes.

Yes they could, and they did.

So, without further ado, here it is:

*Adapted from the original Budget Bytes recipe found here.

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

Roasted Vegetable Quinoa

Author: adapted from Budget Bytes

Recipe type: Main Dish/Vegetarian

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 45 mins

Total time: 55 mins

Serves: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 large yellow squash
1 large zucchini
1 medium red onion
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
4 medium roma tomatoes
4-5 cloves fresh garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups quinoa
4 cups chicken or veggie broth (I used chicken but you could use veggie to make this vegetarian)
small bunch fresh basil (skip it if you only have dried, it wouldn't be as good here)
block of feta cheese, crumbled (get a block and crumble it yourself. it's way better than the pre-crumbled stuff...trust me)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and chop the vegetables into large chunks (bell peppers, squash, tomatoes, onion). Peel four cloves of garlic but leave them whole.
Toss the chopped vegetables and garlic with 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Spread them out on a baking sheet (or two) so that they are in a single layer. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Use 2 pans if you can't get all the veggies into a mostly single layer on one pan.
Place the vegetables in the oven and roast at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. If you have two baking sheets on two different racks in the oven, you'll need to switch them half way through to ensure even cooking.
While the vegetables are roasting, cook the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa first using a mesh strainer or colander with very small holes. Then cook the quinoa in the broth per the package directions.
After the vegetables are finished roasting, let them cool a few minutes, then transfer them to a cutting board (except for the garlic cloves) and roughly chop. Gather the four garlic cloves you set aside and chop them well. They are probably so soft that they'll just smoosh, but that's okay. You just want them to be able to distribute evenly throughout the salad.
Roughly chop the fresh basil. Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Combine the quinoa, roasted vegetables, and basil in a bowl and stir to combine. Season with more salt and pepper if desired, top with crumbled feta. Serve warm or cold!

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roasted vegetable quinoa with feta and basil

Vitamin Z

September 1, 2011

Yesterday I took a random day off work to hang out with Andy and Grace. Andy started his Fall semester today, so yesterday was his last day of “freedom” until Christmas Break.

He was a doll and let me sleep in till 9:30 and then we had pancakes and bacon for breakfast. (Two pancakes with a total of 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup (measured!) and 2 slices of bacon for a total of 541 calories for those of you wondering if I measure my food :)

Grace went down for her morning nap, I took care of a few things around the house and then, after lunch, we headed out to Royal Oak to visit the Detroit Zoo.

It seemed like a relatively balmy day, but boy was it HOT! We pounded the pavement for a few hours having fun watching Grace discover all the animals.

It was a really nice family outing, but I have to say…

I think the zoo is depressing.

I know, I know. Start throwing rotten tomatoes at me.

It feels almost unAmerican to say that the zoo is depressing.

It’s like saying apple pie is gross or that baseball sucks.

But seriously, every single animal looked mangy and sad. All cooped up behind fences or glass. Hanging out in their man-made environments in the middle of the city.

I wanted to run around letting them all out like the gorilla in Grace’s Good Night, Gorilla book.