Pasta and Pool

This goes along with my last post where I admitted to referencing A Game of Thrones to help illustrate a life lesson for my kids (almost 5, 8, and 12...none of them watch or read the books so chill). Rob was all about my reference and that is when I realized how lost we are on this long lovely parenting road. Then this morning I was surfing (avoiding cleaning the house) the web and found out that perhaps my instincts are so off. How did I not know that Peter Dinklage is veg? I was totally blown away by Peter's acting several years ago in one of my favorite movies, The Station Agent. I started a blog post once about the movie and abandoned it because I just couldn't do it justice. Dinklage is the only reason I started and continue to watch The Game of Thrones. He has the best lines and is one of the only redeemable qualities about the show. I'm now hooked on the books which accounts for why I haven't been posting much lately. I stay up until the early morning reading since I don't get much time during the day. T Anyway, Peter is leading the 2012 Walk for the Animals (Farm Sanctuary) and now I can feel slightly better about my current guilty addiction and using some of Tyrion Lannister's words to help my kids feel good about being themselves. Thanks to our friend, Tasha, for feeding my latest obsession by supplying us with the books.

Speaking of feeding. I'm tired of thinking about the heat and I'm trying to just embrace it, but the drought is another story. Come on and rain already! We've been cooking up some simple meals. This one is an oldie, but a goodie. Whole wheat pasta with tahini sauce and veggies topped with walnuts. This time the veggies were from the freezer since we were in a hurry to get to the pool*. Seapoint Farms has a frozen organic veggie blend (edamame, spinach, green beans, asparagus, and broccoli) that helps us get out of our kale and sweet peas rut. The kids gobbled it up. I also added some Co-op Sauce (original/mole - vinegar, chocolate, chillies, walnuts, black pepper, sesame seed, cilantro, olive oil, onion, garlic, water, chilies, salt, sugar, and lime zest) to mine. I love this sauce, but it isn't for every dish. It does complement our tahini sauce very well. We are huge hot sauce freaks, we love local foods (this is made a few hours away in Chicago), we enjoy trying to live sustainably (the group helps kids in Chicago learn about the environment), and we care about kids so this hot sauce tastes even better when you watch the video about the organization. Truly this hot sauce stands on its own so not only are you helping out a good cause, but you are doing something nice for your taste buds.

*We are so spoiled to have our awesome neighbors, Vicky and Greg. They have a fabulous pool with a diving board, slide,  and loads of toys, floats, etc. to entertain us. I love being able to walk a couple houses away to cool off. On hot days it is the only thing that keep the kids sane (I'm beyond sanity). Josie is turning out to be a fish (or mermaid - she corrects me) like her brothers. Don't ever stress about learning to swim (or most things for that matter). It comes in its own time. Her latest thing is snorkeling in the pool. She took to it right away and she rarely swims without the flippers these days. So much fun!