My Day, by Rachel

Today's Recipe: Brussels Sprouts with White Beans

This is how yesterday went...
3:30 - woke up in a panic because I thought Don was late getting up
4:40 - Don actually gets up and (noisily) gets ready
5:00 - I ask in a grunty, sleepy voice for Don to bring the baby to me and demand that he change her first
5:15 - Bing starts yowling in the living room, and I ignore him
6:00 - more cat yowling - still ignoring
7:50 - Lily Ruth starts waking up, but is mostly asleep, so I keep my eyes closed
8:20 - we're both awake and I realize that I have a TON of things to do before my bi-weekly housekeeper gets here
8:40 - I have managed to get Lily Ruth nursed and am dressing her (still in my pjs - better than the time I was still in my bra) when Janie arrives
8:45 - I am a whirling dervish of activity as I tidy the hideous mess left from the weekend so that Janie can clean when I realize that IT SMELLS LIKE POOP IN MY HOUSE - and when I say smells like poop, I mean REALLY smells, This is when I discover that there is CAT POOOOOOOOOO on the sofa - and when I say cat poo on the sofa, I mean lots of it... a big puddle (that's right, PUDDLE)... next to the pee...
9:30 - I put Lily down for her nap (again - Janie got her up the first time - 'she was crying, Mama') and head for the pet supply store. Their options are sorely limited, but I grab a 'NEW' oxy-clean product and race home
9:50 - I nurse Lily and put her down AGAIN ('She was crying, Mama' - I think Janie just wants to hold Lily) then douse the entire sofa in harsh, stinky chemicals. Note: IT STILL SMELLS LIKE POOP, but now it smells like poop and chemicals and is soaking wet.

May I add that it was kind of downhill from there? Well it kind of was. I mean, nothing overtly bad happened, but it is so very hard to recover from early morning furniture poop. Add in the fact that Bing felt so bad that he refused treats (and you know that Bing NEVER refuses treats), and you are left with no one to blame. I mean, he tried to tell me that he felt bad, and I chose sleep.

*sigh* At least the Christmas tree is up and decorated! And it is lovely. Now I just have to wash the tree 'skirt', find a tree topper and place the other decorations around the house... easy-peasy...



And Lily Ruth and I had a good time at Central Market. And I finished 3 more pairs of baby leg warmers during Lily's afternoon nap. And I made a yummy dinner that included my favorite winter vegetable dish - in fact, I shall share it with you now!

Brussels Sprouts with Beans:
1 bag (1 Lb?) fresh Brussels Sprouts
4-6 slices of bacon
1 can white beans (I like Progresso's Cannellini)
broth
Parmesean cheese

cook the bacon in a good sized skillet. while the bacon cooks, cut the ends off the sprouts, remove any yucky outer leaves and halve each sprout. when the bacon is done, remove it from the pan, turn the burner to medium and add the sprouts to the drippings - if you think that there is too much grease, drain some! I put the sprouts in cut-side-down first to brown them, but if you aren't as OCD as me, then just throw 'em in. turn the sprouts after about 5 minutes (or when they are nicely browned on that side) and add a bit of broth (I've used all kinds, it doesn't matter) to cover the bottom of the pan - you are going to let them simmer/steam, but you don't want them boiled, and you can always add more, but it's hard to take it out if you add too much. while the sprouts cook, drain and rinse the beans, and chop the bacon into bits. when the sprouts start to turn bright green, add the beans and bacon, mix and cook until heated through. top with Parmesean cheese, and serve immediately. this would make 4 reasonable side dish portions, but around here, it serves 2 pig-people and leaves enough for me to have lunch.



By the way - Bing felt better by mid-afternoon, and even wanted treats...



BUT, my couch still REEKS of poop and chemicals. We had to drag the futon into the back room to watch t.v. on. Sad, yet we did it... and I would do it again. In fact, I may have to.