T~ and Bernie (my grandma named him, blame her) 

The sweetest puppy! 

Butternut Squash Tea Bread

1/2 C. (1 stick)butter or margarine, melted, plus more at room temperature for pan
1 1/2 c. all purpose flour, plus more for pan
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs or egg replacement
1 c. buttercup squash puree (or any other puree, I assume)
1/2 c. coarlsley chopped pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour a 9x5" loaf pan. Into a large bowl sift
together the flour, baking soda, spices, and salt; set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, eggs, squash puree, melted butter, and 1/4 cup of water. Fold squash mixture into flour mixture. Stir in pecans.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, and bake until toothpick comes out clean when inserted. About 1 hour. Turn bread out onto wire rack, let cool completely.

Fun Links

Queen Spoof

Presidential Horror Show

I just thought this was too funny!  

What Do You Think?

I stole the quiz below from Chelle's wonderful Kevin. I actually think it's somewhat rediculous to label someone as liberal or conservative based on a very brief quiz, but I took it, and here it is, regardless of it's accuracy. Try it.

Where do you fall on the liberal - conservative political spectrum? (United States)
brought to you by Quizilla

Recipes

I think occasionally I will post a recipe here for you-know-who. And because I am a pitiful cook myself, the recipes will be fairly simple.

3 Tbsp veg oil
1c. diced onions
1/2 c. diced bell pepper
1/2 c. peeled and grated carrots
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. dried dill
1 cake firm tofu drained
1/3 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. dried breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. Tahini
1 tbsp. light miso
1 tbsp. soy sauce (I used tamari)
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 deg.

Heat oil in pan. Add onions,peppers,carrots, oregano,basil and dill. Sauté on med-high heat for about 7 minutes until the vegs are just tender. Crumble pressed tofu into a large bowl. Stir in the walnuts,bread crumbs,tahini, miso, soy sauce and mustard if using. Add sautéed vegs and mix well.

Carefully brush or wipe any soil from mushrooms and twist off the stems. Rinse mushroom caps and pat dry, and brush w/remaining oil. Place caps cavity up,on nonstick lightly oiled baking pan. Fill each w/ generous amount of stuffing. Bake uncovered 25-30 min. Until the mushr release their juices and the stuffing is set and slightly golden.

Their is enough stuffing to stuff 4,41/2-5 inch with 3/4 c. filling for each or six 31/2-4 inch mushroom caps using 1/2c. filling for each.

Clearing Things Up:

Per Previous Post:

I am excited about the Tofurky, not in the least about my in-laws.

It's cold. It's rainy. It's foggy. It's serene. I love this time of year. Colors have peaked in the trees. The grass smells damp. My head is clear. Life is grand.

Did I mention I want another baby? One more, to make our family complete. Another boy would be nice. If I had a choice, I mean. P~ really does not want any more children. And I really don't want to have an only child. If you think about it: pray for the right thing to happen.

I think my wanting to be a 'good' daughter-in-law, is forcing me to host Thanksgiving dinner at our house this year. Which seems far too much like a "grown-up" thing to do. We will be having Tofurky, I'm so excited.

T~ Autumn Photos 

Home vs Work vs Me

A tough decision:

My manager at work has asked me to look into day care for next spring. He would really like to have me back. Don't get me wrong, it feels really good to be needed. The thing is, I feel equally or more needed at home, by my son. I love my job, I love what I do, I love the people I work for and I love my son. It's difficult. I have to wonder though, if a little peer interaction wouldn't be such a bad thing for T~. Every kid needs to be pushed down by a bully, right? And then I ask myself, "Am I being too selfish?". I really don't know what to do.

Oh yeah, the thought of searching for a vegetarian-friendly daycare, *ugh*. I guess it wouldn't be much different than a child with a special diet, such as a diabetic.

The three of us 

T~ 8months 

I'm Back

Things are once again, blissfully normal. Well, normal, considering I destroyed my computer and have now ressurected it. As much as possible anyway. I went linux for awhile, losing all stored data, while repartitioning my harddrive. Meaning, I lost all my saved passwords, including my password for my previous webpage. That's why I'm here. I can't even get into http://vacantmemory.diaryland.com to put in a redirect code. So if you found me, job well done, and if you didn't, well, you aren't missing much.

Things are beautiful here, autumn is upon us. Cool nights, fields upon fields or corn ready for harvest, dew-covered mornings, and the turning of the leaves. I love the smell of fall in Indiana.

My son, T~, is nearly 9 months old now. He's developing so quickly. In the past week he has:

1. Cut his first tooth
2. Started crawling
3. Learned to clap his hands
4. Said mama

Motherhood is a wonderful thing.