We had so much to be Thankful for this year. Rhodes tops the list followed by Jen's pregnancy and a Thanksgiving visit from RoRo! We had a fabulous dinner prepared by Isaac. Our turkey came from a local farm in Chestertown and was delicious!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Thanksgiving
We had so much to be Thankful for this year. Rhodes tops the list followed by Jen's pregnancy and a Thanksgiving visit from RoRo! We had a fabulous dinner prepared by Isaac. Our turkey came from a local farm in Chestertown and was delicious!
Halloween
Rhodes celebrated his first Halloween by dressing up as the cutest little kangaroo! Isaac and I definitely enjoyed this more than Rhodes. We visited Grandma and Grandpa Valente and trick-or-treated at 3 houses in our neighborhood.
Llamas, Chickens and Turkeys...Oh My!
Ok...ok...so it is difficult to maintain a blog and take care of a 5 month old. Let's catch up. Prior to Halloween, we spent a weekend out and about visiting some local farm animals. I think Isaac and I enjoyed it just as much as Rhodes. We saw Llamas, chickens, turkeys, cows, goats and even a pig.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Baptism
Rhodes' baptism was in September. It was a beautiful day...we couldn't have asked for better weather. Many of our family and friends gathered to help us celebrate. We had a reception following the ceremony at Grandma and Grandpa Valente's house. Isaac did a great job catering as usual!
One of the favorite dishes was a delicious Spinach Pie. The recipe is from the cookbook "Arabesque: a Taste of Morocco, Turkey & Lebanon" by Claudia Roden.
Creamy Fillo Spinach Pie
1 pound young spinach leaves
7 ounces feta cheese, mashed with a fork
4 eggs
2/3 stick butter (or 5 1/2 tablespoons)
2 1/4 cups milk
12 large fillo sheets
7 ounces Turkish kasar cheese (or mature Cheddar), grated
1 pound young spinach leaves
7 ounces feta cheese, mashed with a fork
4 eggs
2/3 stick butter (or 5 1/2 tablespoons)
2 1/4 cups milk
12 large fillo sheets
7 ounces Turkish kasar cheese (or mature Cheddar), grated
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make the filling, wash teh spinach removing stems only if they are thick and tough. Put them to steam in a large pan with 4-5 tablespoons water over medium heat, with the lid on. Strain well and squeeze dry once they have cooled. Mix the spinach into the mashed feta.
Beat the eggs with a fork in a large bowl. Heat the butter in a pan. When the butter has melted, pour in the milk and heat until it is warm. Next, gradually beat this into the eggs.
Grease a rectangular or square baking dish a little smaller than the sheets of fillo. Open the sheets only when you are ready to use them and keep them in a pile so that they do not dry out.
Lay a sheet in the greased baking dish, pressing it into the corners with a pastry brush and letting the edges come up the sides of the dish. Pour a little of the milk-butter-egg mixture (about 4-5 tablespoons) all over the sheet. You will need a similar amount to pour between eacg sheet and a larger amount for the last one on top. Sprinkle on a little of the grated kasar or Cheddar. Lay a second sheet on top and repeat with the milk-butter-egg mixture and then the grated cheese.
Continue until you have used about half of the sheets, then spread the spinach filling evenly on top. To do this, press lumps of the spinach feta mixture between the palms of your hands to flatten them and lay side by side.
Continue laying sheets of filo, pouring over each the milk mixture and sprinkling with cheese until you are left with 2 last sheets. With a sharp knife trim the edges of pastry around the sides of the dish. Lay the remaining 2 sheets on top of the pie, sprinkling the milk mixture and cheese between them and tucking them down the sides of the dish. If there is too much to tuck in, trim with scissors. Pour any remaining milk mixture over the top.
Bake pie in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the top is golden brown - it puffs up & falls again. Serve hot, cut into pieces.
To make the filling, wash teh spinach removing stems only if they are thick and tough. Put them to steam in a large pan with 4-5 tablespoons water over medium heat, with the lid on. Strain well and squeeze dry once they have cooled. Mix the spinach into the mashed feta.
Beat the eggs with a fork in a large bowl. Heat the butter in a pan. When the butter has melted, pour in the milk and heat until it is warm. Next, gradually beat this into the eggs.
Grease a rectangular or square baking dish a little smaller than the sheets of fillo. Open the sheets only when you are ready to use them and keep them in a pile so that they do not dry out.
Lay a sheet in the greased baking dish, pressing it into the corners with a pastry brush and letting the edges come up the sides of the dish. Pour a little of the milk-butter-egg mixture (about 4-5 tablespoons) all over the sheet. You will need a similar amount to pour between eacg sheet and a larger amount for the last one on top. Sprinkle on a little of the grated kasar or Cheddar. Lay a second sheet on top and repeat with the milk-butter-egg mixture and then the grated cheese.
Continue until you have used about half of the sheets, then spread the spinach filling evenly on top. To do this, press lumps of the spinach feta mixture between the palms of your hands to flatten them and lay side by side.
Continue laying sheets of filo, pouring over each the milk mixture and sprinkling with cheese until you are left with 2 last sheets. With a sharp knife trim the edges of pastry around the sides of the dish. Lay the remaining 2 sheets on top of the pie, sprinkling the milk mixture and cheese between them and tucking them down the sides of the dish. If there is too much to tuck in, trim with scissors. Pour any remaining milk mixture over the top.
Bake pie in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the top is golden brown - it puffs up & falls again. Serve hot, cut into pieces.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Catching Up
Ok, so it's time to play catch up. Here are some photos of Rhodes from the past few months.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Tadaa...
So that wasn't so hard. Rhodes Edward Opalinsky was born on June 24, 2009 at 6:02 pm. He weighed in at 7 pounds 6 ounces and measured 20 inches long. I was lucky because he came 2 weeks early and was a little smaller that we had anticipated. The experience was amazing...one I will never forget!
It's Been a While
Ok, wow. So I have been a little busy. Taking care of a little one takes more time than I thought. But, things are settling down and I am finally able to make blog entry number 2! Rhodes is 3 months old and thriving. My goal today is to figure out how to post photos of him here. Stay tuned...
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Getting Started
I am so impressed with my friend Angela's blog, that I decided to start one myself. We have so many exciting things happening in our family this year - it seems like the perfect time to do this. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first child this summer. Around the same time, our family will expand even more as my sister, Jen, gets married! I am excited to be able to share this time with all of you.
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