Friday Favorites (on Saturday)

I love Friday nights. There is something about the start of a few days with no commitments, no obligations, and only the possibility of filling it with whatever you choose to do or not do, as the case may be.

Somehow Friday was the longest day ever. Usually, the day flies by pretty fast for me, but not yesterday. Maybe it is because I was so anxious for it to be Friday night. But the afternoon finally arrived and then…the afternoon and evening flew by too fast!  What the…

So my Friday Favorites never happened. But here they are, in all their tardiness, for your weekend enjoyment.

1. Favorite super-healthy thing Kidzilla discovered to drink this week: We found a recipe in an issue of Whole Living magazine a few weeks ago that Zilla decided looked cool and so we tried it this week. We made kale, pineapple, and almond milk smoothies. Yes, my Kidzilla drank it and she loved it. I love that my four year-old drank something so good for her and knows about such healthy foods. But Zilla has always had pretty grown-up and gourmet taste. Anyway, the smoothies were quite good and visually satisfying as well.

We’ve dubbed them “Frankensmoothies” because, well, since the Frankenfinger incident, we pretty much call everything Frankensomethingorother. Plus, look at the color. See? Frankensmoothie.

Fab Hub wanted nothing to do with them – his food interests and appreciation have grown dramatically over the last few years, but I think kale may be a bit much for him. Either that or it was the banana that killed it – the man loathes bananas.

2. Favorite poem I was reminded of that I wrote a million years ago based on a hatred of bananas: “The Banana.” (What a clever title!) The truth is that I actually do dislike bananas intensely. But, much like my battle with peas and lima beans, I have chosen to win a battle of the wills against them and prove that I can rise above and eat things that are good for me, even if they aren’t all that appealing.

Would you like to read it? I do not promise poetic greatness, but it’s fun. Here you go:

“The Banana”

Sickly green – not even fresh-looking –

turns a horrible yellow.

Not juicy.

Not sweet.

Not crunchy.

And I’m supposed to eat this?

Food for monkeys,

starts out mushy,

turns brown on the countertop.

Still mushy.

Turns brown in the fridge.

Still mushy,

slimy, disgusting brown,

not even a decent shape.

Damn, I hate bananas.

And there you have it – my poetic debut. Signed copies of the book will be available soon.

3. Favorite healthy thing we ate for dinner that Fab Hub loved:  A modification of the brown rice and goat cheese cakes recipe we found some time ago. They are quite tasty, quite healthy, and they freeze beautifully. (See? Steel Magnolias quotes are always appropriate. Do you know the scene?)

This time, Fab Hub suggested we use our very exotic Forbidden Rice rather than the equally impressive-sounding Volcano Rice we used the first time we made them.

Photos of the actual cakes did not happen, but I did snag some of the rice in process. This stuff is beautiful – it looks black out of the bag, but after cooking takes on more of a deep, shiny purple – almost like eggplant.

 

4. Favorite moment that I pretty much missed getting a photo of – twice: I saw two spectacular sunsets this week on my way home. On the first evening, the sky looked as though it were on fire – lovely blues surrounded a small area of white-ish-orange-ish blazing sky. I was driving, though, so a photo shoot was out of the question (at least a safe photo shoot was out of the question). I did find an opportunity, but the shot is really mostly blurry and it looks nothing like what I saw. Fail.

On the very next evening, I saw an equally stunning end to the day’s light – vibrant pinks and oranges mingled with the thin clouds to produce a breathtaking 3-D sight that looked kind of like rolling ocean waves. Kidzilla loves a good sunset and our back deck is a perfect viewing spot. So rather than attempt what would likely be a less-than-effective photo, I quickly called Fab Hub and asked him to take Zilla outside so she could see it. Teaching my kid to stop and watch a sunset? Priceless. Score!

5. Favorite sweet things the Fab Hub/Fab Dad purchased for His Girls this week: Heart-shaped noodles and honey.

Zilla loves fun pasta shapes and colors and on a recent trip to our local Fresh Market, Fab Dad spotted the last bag of these…

The label says they have things like spinach, beetroot, turmeric, and tomato in there. Delicious. They are from Maestri Pastai and their website has all sorts of fun things. Zilla the gourmet chef will love finding something to make with these.  I love that the Fab Dad is so smitten with his Little Girl that he buys her heart-shaped noodles just because she will love them.

For Me, the Fab Hub brought home some honey. Honey is not remarkable. But last weekend, I was fighting a cold or something and broke out the Sick Tea. When I am making Sick Tea multiple times in succession, the garlic/lemon/honey stores deplete rather quickly. Fab Hub came home with this…

You laughed out loud, right? I know I did. That is quite possibly the largest bottle of honey on the planet (the quart of milk is for perspective and was not part of the purchase).

I love it. This is just one of the many reasons why the Fab Hub is awesome – he may not do typical romance and flowers stuff, but he hits the mark every time on truly sweet. Everybody say “awwww…”

Have a great weekend, friends!  Share your week’s favorites in the comments!