Winner Winner...(Chicken Dinner)

F.Y.I. I didn't post it on here until now, but after using Random Number Generator, Jennifer from It's Not Easy To Be Green won the Yoreganics Giveaway. Enjoy!

I also won on Sunday...

I got to roast my first free range bird. (Okay, it was my first ever roasted bird in general, too.) This time the power did NOT go out, thank goodness, even though it did start flickering while we ate.

I was so nervous about roasting my first pastured bird that I actually e-mailed Hillacres Pride, the farm from which it came, and asked for directions. Well, how cool are they that they sent me some!

And here are the summarized directions... straight from Hillacres Pride Farm.

HOW TO ROAST A PASTURED CHICKEN

• If frozen, defrost the bird slowly. Yes, two full days in the refrigerator.
• Wash the bird, and clean up any last minute issues with the bird's cavity and neck.
• Dry the bird inside and out AND preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
• Place the bird into a roasting pan and rack.
• Season the bird with fresh herbs, salt, pepper, garlic, and/or paprika, etc. Stuff the cavity to your liking with lemon slices, garlic, onion, carrots, etc.
• "Tuck the legs under the fat flap or tie them up, and then dress the outside of the bird with olive oil or butter and salt and pepper. You can also dust with other ground spices, from a South Asian mix to humble paprika."
• "Put the bird in the preheated oven and forget about it for 2 hours."
• Basting optional.
• The bird is finished when the leg bones are flexible and the thigh juices run
clear after puncture with a sharp knife.

Option 1: For crispier skin, turn the heat to 400 degrees for the last 20 minutes of cooking time. Remove the bird from the oven and allow it to rest for 20 minutes before carving.
Option 2: Place potatoes and other root vegetables in the roasting pan with the bird.

Feeding Roasted Chicken to Baby

The chicken was really juicy, and it gave us two very full meals (one roasted chicken, one chicken salad with apples, grapes, and onions). Gabriel tried his first chicken, too-- I actually chewed it a tiny bit before giving it to him (Is that creepy and bird-like? Oh well.). He loved it!

He also loves NOT napping. It has been a rough struggle trying to get him to nap even twenty minutes per day. I would be okay with his wakefulness, but he gets so cranky and sleepy that it is imperative he get on the nap train. He really fights me on it-- temper tantrums and all.

Would you ever guess this little angel face gets so angry?

Food Edits: Thinking Green to Greener

Oh. Hi, Tower of Eggplant.

Looks delish, right? It was. And it was arguably a greener, healthier dish than I would have made years ago. However, I am in a big revamp stage in our cooking, and it has caused me to really identify how I can do better for our family.

Let's break it down by ingredient and origin.

Ingredients:
Eggplant, from farm roadstand
Mozzarella Cheese, from Whole Foods-- in the local section
Pasta, from Trader Joe's
Panko Bread Crumbs, from Trader Joe's
Basil, from our basil plant
Tomato Sauce, from a can (Hi, sodium!)

What's wrong here?
I can make bread crumbs. I can make tomato sauce. And I can find better options for pasta, maybe even from the farm market. I could take the cheese a step farther and get more personal as to who I buy it from.

What's not wrong here?
The recipe. Thanks, Mario Batali. I didn't follow it exactly, but who ever does?

I encourage you all to take some time to think about the little things you can do in your meals that might make them just a little more local and healthy.

Swing Low, Sweet Potato Pancake.

Gabriel has been quite the Goober over finger food... or any food thicker than the thinnest puree (other than cereal, which he loves any way you serve it to him).

And then there were pancakes. Sweet Potato Pancakes.


I made the recipe listed here with the two egg yolks option rather than one egg and just a pinch of cinnamon.

I was originally trying to do all sorts of weird alterations of the recipe because it called for milk. And, um, my Mad Scientist Mom concoctions were scary. The thing I learned when I researched further is that milk is a no-no before one, unless it is in a baked good. If baked, it's fair game at eight months. Thus, the Wholesome Baby Food sweet potato pancake recipe is safe for Gabriel. Of course, a cup of whole milk, is not. (Cheese and yogurt are just around the river bend, though. Yippee!)


The pancakes tasted awesome, Gabe ate them like a pro (and I do mean pro- pincer grasp, chewing, and all). And they froze/defrosted fabulously, too! Welcome, new staple carb/veggie option.

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In other news, Gabriel finally rejoiced in the bath with ultimate splashing tonight. It was awesome.

Naturally Vanilla Patriot Cake.

Happy Belated Fourth of July!

And with that in mind, here's my recipe for the absolutely delicious flag cake above. Yes, a cake with berries. I know with my berry obsession you are all very surprised.

Ingredients

Cake
2 boxes baked Trader Joe's All Natural Vanilla Cake in a 13 x 9 pan, cooled

Filling
1 10-16 oz. bag Trader Joe's Very Cherry Berry Mix, defrosted
1/4 c. water
2 tbsp. sugar
2-3 tbsp. flour


Whipped Cream
2.5 c. Heavy Cream
1/4 c. sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla

Toppings
Whole Lotta Strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
Plenty o' blueberries, preferably organic

Directions

1. Once the cake is baked, start working on the filling. Pour the thawed berries into a large sauce pan, add sugar, add water, and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, let the berries cook for about ten minutes. I was inspired to make my own filling after reading this raspberry filling recipe.

2. Pour hot berry mixture into food processor and pulse until it turns into a puree.

3. Push puree through sieve to rid the berries of seeds.

4. Pour the puree back into the sauce pan and begin heating again. Add flour to thicken. Once heated and thicker (filling should not slip through fork), pour into bowl and set aside.

5. While the filling cools, slowly release cake from 13 x 9 pan in order to slice it. Cut it in half. Then, turn knife sideways and slice cake in half so that filling can be placed between layers.

6. Return the bottom layer of the sliced cake to the pan, and spread the filling. Once the filling is spread, place the top layer of the cake back into the pan.

7. Place cake in refrigerator and covered until a few hours before serving. When it is within a few hours to serve, it is time to make the homemade whipped cream and decorating.


8. Make the homemade whipped cream. In order for cream to whip as nicely as possible, chill the bowl and mixing utensils for about twenty minutes before making the whipped cream.

9. While my sugar to cream ratio is less different from Paula's, I used Ms. Deen's directions here. Pour 2.5 c. heavy cream into chilled bowl. Start mixing on low speed with hand mixer. Slowly add 1/4 c. sugar and 1 tbsp. vanilla. As cream thickens, raise the speed of the mixer. Keep mixing until the cream is fairly thick, but be careful not to go too far or you will get butter.


10. Spread whipped cream over cake. You will have extra whipped cream to put on the side with fresh berries.
11. Decorate the cake with the berries.


12. Chill, slice, and serve. It's light and rich at the same time, so be ready for a serious treat.

Milk for Mama.

I've always liked milk. I like it skim, whole, as ice cream, half and half, chocolate, soy, strawberry, almond, in my coffee, in my chai tea, you name it. I'm a milk-loving girl, and so far, my bones seem to be strong so I will stick with the mentality that milk does a body good.

There's a lot of controversy over whether milk should be consumed pasteurized (or not), and I am starting to research that topic, but I'm a newbie to that debate so my opinions on that are far from worth reading.

What IS worth your reading or seeing or really TASTING is the smoothie I made for myself this afternoon.


Firstly, I used nonfat REAL frozen yogurt (made from all natural cows) alla Trader Joe's. This is not your typical "frozen yogurt." It is tangy, tart, and tantalizing-- so much so that it is kind of hard to eat without fruit.

The yogurt was awesome with strawberries last week, but I decided to shake things up (and literally put Gabe in his crib with music and toys, the door shut while I blended to avoid his fearful screams of blender use) by mixing the yogurt with some frozen organic wild blueberries and an organic banana.

It was AWESOME. So fresh and energizing. It was just what the doctor ordered after working the early part of the day and heading into Gabriel's bewitching hour.

The recipe?
Well, I didn't measure, but...

A little less than 3/4 c. frozen yogurt?
About 1/2 c. frozen organic wild blueberries?
1 banana. I know this.

It made the amount I have in the glass, minus a bite. *Wink.*

Bon Appe-yogurt!

Quinoa the King

Chilled Chile Corn Mango Salsa Quinoa
compliments of the guy working the Trader Joe's sample counter

(That last word is pronounced keen-wa, not quin-o-uh.)
((Oh yes I did use the latter pronunciation until about two weeks ago because I'm just that cool.))



1 c. uncooked organic red quinoa
1 ripe yellow mango, sliced and diced
1/2 jar of Trader Joe's chile corn salsa

1. Mix 1 c. uncooked o.r.q. with 2 c. water in pan. Bring to boil and cook 10-15 minutes.
Then, pour into serving dish.

2. Mix in sliced and diced mango.

3. Mix in 1/2 jar of TJ's c.c.s.
4. Chill 1-2 hours until slightly cold.

So easy and delish!

Did you know quinoa is actually related to leafy greens rather than grains? It's true, though it behaves nutritionally like a grain, but packed with protein. Quinoa is gluten free and high in calcium, too! It's an excellent sub for rice. Give it a try!

The Homemade Babyfood Play by Play

Gabriel has now tried rice cereal, avocado, pears, oatmeal, and sweet potatoes. And today we made the first batch o' apples for him to try later this week. Here's the play by play...

Babe Gabe's First Apples

3 Organic Golden Delicious Apples (OR Roma, Braeburn, Red Delicious)
3/4 cup water (approximate)
Small Pot
Steamer basket
Blender

1. Pare apples and chop into small cubes. Perfect, equal-sized cubes are not necessary.

2. Pour 3/4 cup water into small pot and place steaming basket in pot. The water need not overflow much into the basket. Adjust amount of water as needed.

3. Place apples into steaming basket and turn range heat to med-high.
4. Let apples steam/ cook in boiling water until very tender and can be mashed easily with fork.

5. Scoop steamed and tender apples and pour into blender.

6. Add small amount of leftover water from steaming (You can use breast milk to thin baby food, but this water retains some of the apple nutrients lost while cooking. I used breast milk to thin sweet potatoes and avocados, but not the apples).

7. Blend until smooth, adding more leftover water to adjust desired consistency as needed (the older the baby, the more textured and chunky it can be).



8. Pour into ice cube tray (3 apples makes just about 1 full tray), cool, and freeze in tray.


9. When frozen, pop out frozen cubes and store in desired container (Right now, we are storing food in breast milk sanitized freezer bags, and the dates on these bags are not the dates he tried these foods-- we do follow the 4 day rule).

To thaw (quickly):
Take out 1-2 cubes depending on desired serving and place in baby's bowl (Right now, we just use one cube). Heat water in tea kettle and pour into ceramic bowl. Place baby's bowl in ceramic bowl and allow hot water to melt cube. Turn cube over and break in half as thawing to speed process.

Great Resources for Homemade Baby Food Recipes
http://www.nurturebaby.com
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com

Easter Edible

Champage Cupcakes with Sweet Champagne Buttercream Icing

Try the recipe from Gimme Some Oven here. The cake is light, bubbly deliciousness, and the frosting is a tarty, posh dollop o' sugar. It was my first experience with a pastry bag so not every cupcake looked so lovely... but at a family brunch, taste is what matters, and between the cake, icing, and crystals, I was approved.

Organic, Local, and Free Range, Oh My!

Going... going... going... GONE!

That GONE! would be us, heading out the door of ye olde typical foodstore and into the world of organic, local, free range food. Actually, we are not quite gone yet, because it just is not so easy to figure out how to manage that sort of diet on the type of budget us young parents (one working full-time and going to grad school, the other about to start a 10-hour per week position, both with a yacht and a train and an airbus, or maybe two, of student loans) to manage. But we are going to manage it. And I am going to keep updating on the blog just how we manage to do it. Will I be a tipster, much? You betcha.

There's just no reason to allow your baby to eat this food, even through my breast milk. And it surely is not helping me or my husband eating food like this, either. Let's be clear here, though-- I do not judge anyone who does not eat organic because it IS going to be a hard monetary transition with a lot of calculation, strategy, and planning. Maybe after switching to cloth diapers, I feel like I can research and figure out something a little more complicated than fluffy baby butts, but I feel prepared to make this move. Maybe watching Food Inc. (WATCH THIS MOVIE!) went to my head, but I just don't think this switch is going to hurt anyone, other than hmm... McIdon'tcarewhatIfeedyouIjustwantmoney. And maybe, just maybe, having worked at a Whole Foods in high school somehow rooted a respect and aspiration for eating organic, though my neurotic and ignorant little high school self never would have expected to write this post in the future.

Okay, Sharkie, here's the deal:

Ammonia, Pesticide, GMO-Free: Eating ORGANIC and GMO-free

I am seriously freaked out at the thought of eating chemicals. When you're little, you don't intellectually digest what you are eating. Now, I do. And when thinking about my baby consuming insecticides, rodenticides, herbicides, fungicides, and antimicrobials (ya know like bleach, chlorine dioxide, yum, yum, yummy stuff like that), I really do feel a sinking feeling in my stomach. I understand why and how the process of modern food production and distribution includes such chemicals, and though there are not many studies proving that regular old produce is extremely harmful, I feel a lot better removing my family from the production lines of e.coli-infested spinach. There are certain foods that have less crap on them (Here is a Shopper's Guide to Pesticides from the Environmental Working Group), especially thicker-skinned produce like avocados, so I am sure when cost comes to shove, we may still purchase some conventional produce.

I also feel there is just something to be said for produce as it was meant to be grown, produce as it was meant to be sized, chicken as it was meant to be fed, etc. etc. etc. And how I want to say something for that natural food, is to just plain eat it.

I also understand why genetically-modified organisms exist (it makes a lot of the ins and outs of food production easier and cheaper), but I do not want to eat them anymore. There's more to my rejection of GMO, and I will not even go into the politics of it right now, though. To be honest, eating GMO-free (Here is a GMO-free shopping guide.) is not going to be easy, because these products are in so much of everything. But we are going to try!

*The Eco-Friendly Family Blog wrote a great little post about eating organic which included both of the helpful links included in the section above. Read the post here.*

These Farms Exist: Eating LOCAL

No, maybe you have not heard of them, but they are there. At least in Southern New Jersey they are. In fact, I found two local organic farms (amidst many regular old farms) within 40 minutes of our home. One of them even sells meat-- though I am not sure of the logistics of the meat purchasing yet (we don't have the storage capacity or the money to invest in, um, an entire cow right now). I honestly cannot WAIT to get there. If you live in Jersey, please go here to find a farm near you.

Why is local so great?
Well, first of all, local is local. That produce and food was grown and raised right where or near you bought it. LESS pollution from distribution.
Secondly, when you buy local, you are purchasing something from a business in your economical area. Supporting your local farmers is one way to help them in this economy, and in return, you are helping yourself by circulating your cash into your community.
Thirdly, I am hoping that because this food is coming pretty much from the source, it will be less expensive than the produce and meat at a place like Whole Foods, where distribution costs are part of the price. A price comparison remains to be seen, but essentially, this should wind up being true.

To be fair, the drawbacks?
You have to eat what is in season. I.E. No fresh tomatoes in February. If we want to keep eating the recipes we eat now, we would have to buy most produce at stores like Whole Foods and Trader Joe's in off-season time.

Cheese and Crackers: Eating FREE RANGE
Frankly, I just can't handle the way most companies and large meat farms handle their animals. I love animals, and it pains me to read, watch, whatever, the conditions these animals live in while being raised, and I cannot handle the process used to slaughter animals.

am I not a vegetarian? Well, I tried it once in college, and I kept getting sick because I was not the best at managing my vitamins and protein. What I learned from that unsuccessful run is that I am not really against eating meat or animal products, but I am against how these products are provided to us. Because humans are naturally carnivorous. And humans need, in some sense of that word, meat.

I have no problem eating, say, some ham that came from a pair of pigs named Cheese and Crackers who were raised living in a healthy, happy environment on a farm in Vermont (I never ate these pigs, but they did exist at the Weston Priory when I was a little girl, and if my parents told me the truth, the monks ate them at some point). The other reason why I would not even consider going vegetarian or vegan at this point is that my husband is not getting on that wagon, nor would I put my children on that wagon, and I am not planning on maneuvering duo meal planning. It's not realistic.

So we go free range, eating animals that roamed around in a field and saw light while they were raised. We eat animals that were not so stuffed and fattened in small quarters that they could not walk while they were raised. Essentially, I hope we'll be eating animals like Cheese and Crackers.

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To be clear, this shift is going to be quite the process and we are in-
PHASE ONE: RESEARCH, EDUCATION, and FIRST PURCHASES.

Come on now and take a ride with us.
And please, wish us luck!

Snow, Beautiful Snow... and SOUP.

In honor of this beautiful snowed in Saturday, and I do mean snowed in-- our car looks like a marshmallow ate it-- I am posting my two favorite soup recipes of late.

But first, here is the view out our condo sliding doors (I didn't open the doors to avoid the screen in the photo, but I didn't want to mess with snow getting all up in here):


The view here is much improved from our last bout with Jack Frost in December. It sure is nice to be home, sweet home.

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I should really call this blog post Soup VS. Soup because I am deciding which one of these soups is being served at my little one's Christening party. You could even call this, the SOUPberbowl.... oh good grief.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Black Bean Soup
So this first soup is from Stephanie Dea's slowcooker blog, A Year of Slow Cooking. You can access the recipe here. I served it to my husband, and I served it to my Mom. Both LOVED it.


It looks yummy, and it really is. The ingredients are all pretty basic-- chicken, one jar of salsa, mushrooms (I used baby bellas because I hate the dinky usual button ones), frozen corn, chicken broth, a zip of cumin, and two cans of black beans, of course. I love using the slow cooker. It makes the chicken so deliciously fall-apart-in-a-second-ish.


Carrot Ginger Soup

This soup is a knock off recipe of Whole Foods' Carrot Ginger Soup sold in their prepared food section. I worked in a Whole Foods in high school and early college, and I looked forward to winter and their scrumptious carrot ginger soup. I found it here.

It's a vegan recipe, though I am not vegan (yet... I am getting a little crazier with the green-minded how-can-you-treat-the-cows/chickens/insert lifestock or produce-that-way? every day. Luckily, my husband finds this interesting and not disconcerting. In his words, "as long as you are going to cook good food for me, I love it."), and it is really great. I did not make the vegan version this time because the food market in all its AAH IT'S GOING TO SNOW shoppers, was missing vegetable stock so I used low sodium free range chicken broth. It definitely altered the flavor from the pure veggie flavors I remember from high school, but it still was simply awesome.

It definitely did not come out quite as thick of a puree as I have had at Whole Foods or as it looks in the picture on the recipe's site, so next time, veggie broth and more carrots than this time!


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As for this soup choice duel, I am taking into consideration that the 'main' meal of the day will be baked ziti, meatballs, salad, and rolls. I want there to be a soup for people to be a little more choosey choosey, especially for those with more adventurous palates. Any votes as to which would be more of a crowd pleaser?

A Day Late... Not Really A Buck Short

Well, so much for being negative about the possibility of losing weight. I'm down 10 pounds! This is great. Just 14 more until I reach pre-preg. (I’m down 36 from pregnancy.) I'm going to kick that 50 pounds in no time, I hope. Weight Watchers, Gym time, and Nursing are my drill. And believe me, I make sure to eat for my milk supply.Here are some of the best 'healthy' meals of the month:


Southwestern Chicken and Potato Soup
This is an altered weight watchers slow cooker recipe with chicken broth, chicken, diced tomatoes, canned corn, salsa, and sweet potatoes.


What I Call, Nursing Soup
(because it is full of veggies, protein, and carbs-- good for nursing mommies!)
It’s so easy to make!

2 lb. baked and shredded chicken, (baked in olive oil, rosemary, and garlic powder)
60 oz. msg-free chicken broth (preferably free range or organic)
1 package frozen spinach, defrosted and drained
½ package frozen string beans
¾ box Ditallini Pasta

(Bake chicken for 30-40 minutes or until juice runs clear and chicken is no longer pink in the middle.)
Boil water and cook ditallini to al dente.
When chicken and noodles are done cooking, mix all ingredients other than chicken in pot and turn on medium heat.
Shred chicken.
Add chicken to pot, heat to a boil and then lower temperature to a simmer for 20 minutes. Keep heat on low until serving or briefly reheat to serve.




Chipotle Tamale Pie
Recipe here. Next time we will not add the chipotle chiles... so I guess it will be tamale pie.

slowcookermania

Take that, dinnertime!

I'm tired of not being able to have a warm home-cooked meal ready for dinner on a regular basis. But frankly, cooking in the late afternoon and evening is pretty near impossible with an angry infant.

And he's not always angry, and he is not angry every evening even, but he is not predictable and more often than not, he's a malcontent once 4:30 p.m. comes along.

Why? REFLUX. It hits him hard by dinnertime, and it means one thing.
I.WANT.MOMMY and I.WANT.HER.NOW-- NO, do not pass go. Do not sit down. And do not put me in my swing.

Conundrum! How does one safely cook with le bebe attached? It's just not happening for me. And I NEED to cook healthy food.

But he's happy in the morning ALWAYS. He's a one-stop smile monster at 9:30 a.m. sharp. If only I coulc cook then; he would sit in his bouncer and laugh at me as I told him about bell peppers.

It dawned on me. SLOW COOKER. Not such a novel idea for the busy Mom, but a new one for me-- love that crock pot, but mostly use it if a fave recipe needs to stay warm long-term.

And here's another great thing-- Weight Watchers (I joined online to help with the mcfatness) has a stash of low-point-per-serving slow cooker recipes that will be easy to make and healthy to eat!

So... healthy, easy, warm, and wonderful. Slowcookermania, I'm in.

Tomorrow's menu? 3-bean Pork Chili. I'll let you know if the mania works out.

Happy New Year with Erin's Edibles...

Welcome to a new feature on A Mom Writing! Erin's Edibles will be a collection of posts about what? FOOD. And not just any food, but food that is worth the effort of writing about it. So it might be so awful I tell you about it, but more likely, it will be awesome or a time-crunch-easy-to-make blessing.

For now, we'll discuss this little item I decided to make with my Dad in mind, and it's called...

BACON FUDGE
You can go here to read the blog entry that inspired me.
I also used the directions there. As for ingredients, I halved the amounts listed, utilized an 8 x 8 pan, used maple smoked bacon, and sprinkled regular old sugar.

So this bacon fudge thing was a bit of a curiosity to me, and like the curious cat I am when it comes to food and life itself, I decided to take a culinary adventure and make it. Being the daughter of a bacon-lover, I figured if I hated it, at least Daddy-O would probably like it. Well, he has not tasted it yet (he will on Sunday), but my husband and I have.

It's different... sort of like a chocolate covered pretzel gone... pig. Or pork belly, if I should be precise. My husband and I keep joking it brings umami to fudge (and if you have seen the later episodes of The Next Iron Chef 's second season on the Food Network, this might amuse you, too.) I guess all in all, I would describe it as savory, rich, and chocolate. Bacon-y, too. Possibly even a party for your taste buds, if they can figure it out.



My recommendation? Give it a try. It's easy to make and a surprising treat for your family and friends to munch and discuss. A perfect addition to any foodie's dessert spread.

And a one, a two, a one, two... two.

Two months old and a Two months check-up that is.

It went, er, well? How well can a check-up go when you have to watch your precious baby's thighs be injected with 3 shots/5 vaccines. I was THAT mom who teared up and sniffled while the whole thing went down, and my husband, who luckily is off this week, was there to squeeze my arm back to reality to soothe Gabriel.

The babe is sure gaining well, though-- he is 13 lb. 9 oz. now, up from 10 lb. 15 oz. at one month. This is assuring especially because of his reflux issue.

And the reflux issue is a whole other barrel of monkeys. The doctor we saw for his well check-up was not happy with the doctor who met with us last week and offered Gabe the Baby Zantac as a solution for his 'reflux.' This doctor, who I much prefer, wants Gabe to have a chest x-ray of his upper GI tract to confirm his reflux and to eliminate all other possible stomachish problems. I really am happy this whole investigation is thorough, but I have to give my baby barium in a bottle.

Barium in a bottle. Now, if you have been following this blog at all, you know my baby HATES bottles. Tell me how I am supposed to get my baby to drink liquid chalk out of his most-hated thing in the world.

Well, we'll get through it, right? Of course, right.

Other good things? Gabe is meeting his milestones like a champ. Lots of cooing and smiling and attempting to move forward/roll over. (Yeah, he rolled over at 6 weeks-2 days, but we are yet to see this happen again!)
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In other news....
Gabe LOVES his rainforest playmat (part 1 of the Evenflo triple fun jungle), and he talks to the koala, butterfly, and whatever else he can attempt to whack with his little arms like a crazy fool. He squirms and wriggles his little butt as he kicks his legs and squeaks out lots of random syllable combos and sounds. It is truly awesome watching him learn and blossom and all that. It's just plain fab.
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Stay tuned for my first entry of "Erin's Edibles." It'll be a fun one, too... an interesting and strange little sweet treat I made to kick it off.