Well it’s Easter weekend. It has been a very busy week. Dan, Dan’s mom and I did a very thorough cleaning and re-organization of the kitchen, including moving all the cleaning supplies to an upper closet and making space for the recycling under in the cupboard. Dan’s mom also undertook (voluntarily!) the heroic task of cleaning the stove and oven – sans oven cleaner. I don’t think this appliance has been this clean in at least 10 years. I also cleaned the bedroom thoroughly and most of the bathroom too. We played around with re-arranging the living room but it still needs work. We put up a shelf by the crib and I have sort of organized everything for Kicky.
Last Sunday our friends at Curieux had a wonderful baby shower for us. There were super-cute baby socks hanging on the wall attached to papers for the people there to write advice for us and even though we told everyone we had everything and didn’t need anything, they still found a way to give us some great presents. We received many excellent books for all ages and some handy odds and ends.
We also received some very nice things from Dan’s family (via Dan’s mom’s suitcase). With all the clothing we have received from everyone, I think we officially have enough pink clothing to last for a very long time now!
We had a lovely Easter meal yesterday. Dan’s mom hid eggs for us to find and then we made glazed ham with cloves, soup and artichokes. The artichokes were a lot of fun, since there was an almond sauce to go with them and we had to go through all the leaves before we could get to the heart (the best part). Here is the recipe:
Artichokes with almond sauce
4 large artichokes
juice of 1 lemon
2 onions, peeled
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
Almond sauce
½ cup sliced blanched almonds, toasted
½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper
Cut the top quarter and the stem off each artichoke. Using scissors, cut the thorny tips off the remaining leaves. Wash if there is dirt or sand remaining. Place the artichokes top down in a large saucepan and add the lemon juice, onions and garlic. Cover with water and season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until the hearts are tender when poked with a knife, about 15 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Grind the almonds in a small food processor (or coffee grinder) and mix well with remaining ingredients.
To serve: pluck the leaves off the artichoke and dip in sauce. Use teeth to scrape the pulp off the leaf. Once all the leaves have been eaten, scrape the hair off the heart and dip pieces of the heart in sauce.
I’m 1 day away from my due date and feeling a bit apprehensive. Specifically, I would call it Fear of Being Induced – with good reason (see this description). I haven’t had a full night’s sleep in a while, partly due to that and partly due to a strange inability to fall back asleep after getting up at 2 or 3 AM. It’s quite a hormone cocktail I am on right now and a lot of feelings are coming out (including a rather embarrassing crying incident at the Frites Alors on St. Laurent) but I am trying to stay relaxed and positive.
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