For Tim on his Birthday...

Today is my husband's birthday, and sometimes with the busy-ness of life and the craziness of parenthood, I don't get to quite express how much he means to me. I thought instead of getting him a sappy birthday card, I'd write him a sappy blog entry....for all the world to see. :)

I love how you make me laugh and go out of your way to cheer me up on days I'm tired/stressed/grumpy.

I love that you are adventurous and encourage me to be adventurous along with you.

I am proud of how hard you work and how passionate you are about doing a good job.

It makes me smile when you unload the dishwasher and put things away in random spots. But it doesn't matter, because you are helping. :)

I love watching you with Sam. You are a great father. He loves you so much: I can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice when he says "Papa".

I love the way you hold me.

I love the way you dance with me.

I love the way you laugh and your eyes crinkle up in the corners.

I love you.

Happy Birthday.

Stewed Rhubarb: An Early Summer Treat

It's the time of year where rhubarb is fresh and ready to be harvested. I love rhubarb because it grows so easily in your own back yard. Really, it's as low maintenance as it gets! I have already pulled out several stalks from the patch in our backyard and have also received it for the last two weeks in our veggie basket.

There are lots of ways to prepare rhubarb - in pies, in baked goods (made some yummy rhubarb muffins yesterday!) - but my personal favorite is stewed rhubarb. With a little bit of sugar it's tart and just a hint of sweet - which goes well on its own, on ice cream or even over a freshly sliced banana. Sam loves stewed rhubarb, which makes it even more versatile. Here is how we prepare stewed rhubarb in our house:

1. Wash and trim rhubarb stalks. Chop up desired amount of rhubarb (let's say in this case it's 4 cups).
2. Place chopped rhubarb in glass dish (that is microwave safe).
3. Add ~1/8th of the glass dish's volume in water. So if in this case you had 4 cups of rhubarb in a 4 cup measuring cup, you would add enough water to fill up to the 1/2 cup mark (with the rhubarb already in the container!) *You have to eyeball this one and experiment a little bit, some people prefer runnier or thicker stewed rhubarb. Adjust water accordingly.
4. Place the glass dish in the microwave uncovered. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add some sugar/honey/maple syrup to obtain your desired sweetness. If you use honey or maple syrup, decrease the water slightly to compensate for the liquid nature of the sweetener.
6. Cook for another 4-5 minutes until the chunks have cooked down and the mixture has reached a boil. Stir at least once.
7. Let cool. Enjoy!

What are your favorite early summer recipes?