family reunion

This past Sunday was the Durant family reunion. I couldn't decide what to bring but knew I wanted to make a salad and dessert that used seasonal produce.

So I decided on Anna Olson's Corn and Blueberry Toss from Fresh. This is the salad of this summer for us, so I had to share the good word on how wonderful it is. The corn and half the blueberries are from Inn the Pines farm stand. The other half of blueberries are from what we call the "German Farm Stand" in Ridgeville.

Woah! They have a lot of great produce here. They are located at Canboro Road & Effingham Street. I then made another Peach Buckle from the rest of the peaches on hand.

I also was dying to try these everything-but-the-kitchen-sink style cookies. After making them I'm not sure I'll make them again. They are a thin and crispy type of cookie made with pricey ingredients like super-nice bitter sweet chocolate and dried cherries. They baked up perfectly and everyone at the family reunion was buzzing about them. So they are a crowd pleaser.

I had a lot of family asking how I could bring three things with a baby. For me it's easy. I made the corn and blueberry toss at 10:30 at night with Nuno's help and baked all afternoon at my parents place after visiting Flat Rock. I have a great sous chef in my husband who will always come into the kitchen and ask, "How can I help?"

My family who hosted the reunion have live-in help with two amazing Filipino girls. They cooked amazing food (who shared their secret to a delicious salmon) and kept things clean. They watched the children and did everything with a genuine smile. How amazing to host 60 guests and actually spend all your time mingling and making sure everyone is comfortable.

This got me wondering, are there people out there who wonder if caring for Owen is somehow compromised while spending so much time in the kitchen? I want to make it clear, I'm cooking, tiding and blogging all while Owen naps. If he's awake and it's dinner time he's happily bouncing in his jolly jumper as I cook and we sing and dance together in the kitchen. It's a great set-up.

Since becoming a parent I find myself with limitless inspiration as well as energy (which I guess explains how I eat through three different desserts a week). I'm up at 6:30am every morning and sometimes late to bed. I have to confess, I don't watch much (if any) T.V. anymore and I can't sit through a movie. It takes a lot for me to get through a show and I'll have to have PVR'd it and watch half in fast forward to devote time to it. Luckily, Nuno got me out to Inception while we were on vacation, so I think I'm learning to take it easy.

A lot of parents say, 'What did I do with my time before I had kids?' I'm totally on board with this statement as I truly have to look back on this blog and wonder how much time I wasted before being a mom. What a marked improvement Owen has made on my life. He makes both Nuno and I so happy.