Forgot Password?

Candace Walsh    Read New Posts

a la mama

What I did with my asparagus craving

July 28th, 2010

Pappardelle with Peas, Asparagus, and Proscuitto

2 packages Trader Joe’s Pappardelle (or any noodley pasta, about 12 oz.)
3 ounces proscuitto, chopped
a healthy bunch of asparagus, trimmed, cut on diagonal into 1-inch pieces
1-2 chopped zucchini
2 cups peas (I used frozen petit pois from Trader Joes, go ahead and shoot me)
1 large onion (this one happened to be from the farmer’s market), sliced thinly into rings
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese plus additional for serving
1/3 cup half-and-half
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

I began, as I usually do, by putting a pot of water on to boil, for the pasta.

Then I sauteed the prosciutto in my new ginormous Cuisinart Green Gourmet saute pan. How nice not to have things slopping over the edges.

I removed it and threw in the onions, a few minutes later the asparagus, zucchini, and garlic. Let that get all soft, and found time to chiffonade the basil, stirring the veggies occasionally, added a splash of 2 buck Chuck Sauvignon Blanc to deglaze the pan.

I added the peas and a cup of chicken stock. At this point, the water was boiling and I added the pasta. Hey! Pappardelle takes 10-12 minutes to cook. Okay…had a little time to kill…did a little sipping on the wine…Laura and I priced bar stools for our counter-on-the-galley-kitchen, but they were all spendy or not cute. Honoree told me she wanted waffles for dinner instead so I said, knock yourself out, they go in the toaster.

About 9 minutes into the pasta cooking, I asked Laura for some sous-chef aid. Everything suddenly needed to come together really fast. She handed me the half-and-half, took the plastic choker off the package of parmesan, found me the pepper grinder.

I added the creamy stuff, the lemon juice [news flash: that lemon juice really brought it all to an extremely DIVINE level], put the proscuitto back in the mix, then drained the pasta and added that to the sauce, tossed it a bunch to get everything melded together, and at long last, tossed on half the fresh basil and the parmesan cheese. Stirred that in, plated it, ground some pepper on top, tossed on more fresh basil, and sat down for dinner.

It was
so
good.

And tonight, we’re having leftovers.


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 2 comments ]

Giveaway: Rock ‘n’ Roll Babies T-Shirts!

July 27th, 2010

THIS JUST IN: Rock ‘n’ Roll Babies has created a discount code for A la Mama readers: 15% off, plus free shipping! Isn’t that generous? The code is: Mothering.

*******************
Not just for babies, by the way–they go up to size 6T. So keep reading.

Rock N Roll Babies is one of my favorite hipster kiddo t-shirt companies. And they want to give away awesome t-shirts to two of you, my dear A la Mama readers. They’re “organic, funky and unique” for sure.

There’s Mom:
mom-T-studio
And Dad:
dad-T-studio

To enter to win, please leave a comment with your preference for MOM or DAD. And your preferred size: onesies are available in sizes 3-6m, 6-12m, 12-18m, 18-24m. T-shirts are 2T, 4T and 6T. Please specify.

Good luck! Now just don’t come crying to me if your child starts trashing hotel rooms and belting out “Whole Lotta Love” at inopportune times after you win this contest. ; )


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 289 comments ]

gDiapers gPants and gCloth Inserts Giveaway

July 23rd, 2010

Hey, y’all.

I have another cloth diaper giveaway, and it gGoes like this. (ha!)

Prize #1:
a) a pair of good vibe blue stripe little g pants in size small (8-14 lbs.)
good_vibe_boy_med
b) a 6 pack of gCloth inserts in size small (8-14 lbs.)
cloth_inserts_sm_medium
c) a package of 70 gWipes
GWIPES_MED_1

Prize Pack #2
Prize #1:
a) a pair of good vibe pink stripe little g pants in size small (8-14 lbs.)
good_vibe_girl_med_1
b) a 6 pack of gCloth inserts in size small (8-14 lbs.)
cloth_inserts_sm_medium
c) a package of 70 gWipes
GWIPES_MED_1

To enter, please leave a comment below, with your preference of prize pack #1 or #2. Good luck!


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 614 comments ]

Thinking Mothers’ Summer Reading Memoir Giveaway

July 23rd, 2010

34552_10150218335060554_226636320553_13568892_4825531_n
Theo Pauline Nestor, brilliant author of bestseller How To Sleep Alone In A King-Sized Bed, has created a fantastic giveaway of 12 terrific memoirs (one of them, full disclosure, is my Seal Press anthology, Ask Me About My Divorce: Women Open Up About Moving On). The first drawing is this Monday, so enter now! Here’s how you do it. (Leaving a comment on my blog will not enter you in this particular contest).

Go to author Theo Pauline Nestor’s How to Sleep Alone in a King Sized Bed’s Facebook page.

“Like” it.

Leave a comment after you “Like” the fan page, at Theo’s facebook page’s contest thread.

And you’re entered!


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 17 comments ]

The winner of the Sprout Change cloth diaper is…

July 20th, 2010

April! Congrats, April, author of the 171st comment.

Thanks to everyone who participated, and thank you for sharing your cloth diaper info and fave colors. I’ll be posting more cloth diaper giveaways in the next couple of days: stylie gDiaper covers with cloth inserts, and super cute Charlie Banana cloth diapers.


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 2 comments ]

Book Giveaway: The Diaper Free Baby

July 19th, 2010

Hi, All!

This Monday morning giveaway is Christine Gross-Loh’s signed book, The Diaper Free Baby. Christine is a longtime Mothering writer, and the author of Mothering’s current cover story, “Wear Your Baby!”

The winner will be picked on Friday, July 23.

61772214.JPG
The Diaper Free Baby was written for parents who are interested in practicing elimination communication (EC), or gentle infant pottying. Christine, who has EC’ed all four of her children, encourages parents to practice EC in a way that makes sense for themselves and their families, and helps parents and babies engage in mutual communication with each other while also reducing their dependence on diapers.

You can also read her blog at Origami Mommy, “The adventures of a family living abroad in Japan.”

To enter this drawing, please leave a comment below. Feel free to share your diaper-free adventures, wisdom, advice or challenges…


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 147 comments ]

And the Delicate Soles winner is:

July 19th, 2010

Amy J. !

She requested the Onyx (black) Delicate Soles and I think that’s a great choice. Thanks to everyone for participating.
TODD LANGLEY--3


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ Comments Off ]

Cloth Diaper Party Like a Rock Star!

July 16th, 2010

Moms have forever been getting the spiel to host and give Mary Kay parties, Tupperware parties, and (lately) even sex toy parties. I recently found out about a new way to make money having a party…and I have a feeling it’s going to be a hit, given the level of passion women I know in life and through this blog have about the coolness of cloth diapers.

Cloth diaper parties. Explain, Lucy… I am going to pull in the press release here, because it’s written quite well and y’all don’t need me to sit here and reword it when I could spend that time setting up future product giveaways. I want to know what you think of this…are we spotting a big trend here?


Everything Birth, Inc., owned by Falmouth resident and mom of three, Crystal White, has been offering customers an online selection of birth supplies, cloth diapers and organic baby products for over nine years. But now it is the company’s Diaper Party concept that is getting all the attention.

So what is a Diaper Party?

Most of us are familiar with jewelry, cooking and other home-based parties. A Diaper Party, based on a similar concept, is an opportunity for a group of moms (and moms-to-be) to come together to try out cloth diapers and other baby products. There are even products available to pamper new moms. Each diaper and accessory comes with its own “cheat sheet” so you can read about the product and how to use it, while seeing, touching, and trying it!

How do I host a Diaper Party?

Give Everything Birth a call at 1-800-370-1683 or visit www.diaperparties.com/contact.htm to see if there is a Representative in your area. Diaper Party Reps are willing to travel up to two hours to your home to coordinate a party. Your Rep will help you with planning and will provide flyers and invitations to spread the word and make the most of your party. Don’t have a Rep in your area? Consider becoming one! Diaper Party Reps can make money and even new friends while educating moms about cloth diapering options.

What are the perks of hosting a Diaper Party?

Aside from getting to actually see and feel many different cloth diapering options, there are other incentives for a Diaper Party hostess. First, you will receive a 10% credit on the total purchase from your party. So if your guests order $500 worth of diapers from the party- then you receive $50 in store credit… $1,000 sold, you receive $100 in credit! Plus, everyone who orders at the party gets free shipping – that includes almost all the items you purchase (organic toys, breast pads, slings, birth supplies and much more!) [note from Candace: You do have to pay $25, the shipping to return the box of party items/samples]

1-800-370-1683 www.diaperparties.com
info@diaperparties.com

—–
Mamas, tell me if you’ve been to one of these, if you have had a diaper party, or if you plan to! I want some on-the-ground intel. –xo Candace


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 4 comments ]

Bambino Mio WINNERS Announced!

July 16th, 2010

Pack that beach bag, winners! Thank you ALL so much for sharing your beach and pool memories…it’s been a true pleasure to do this giveaway. I’ll be sending out an email pronto to get your addresses…

Swim Nappy winner #1
Deanna Atkinson
pink dots, size medium

Swim Nappy #2
Susan F.
blue dot, size medium
“Our family goes to the beach twice a year and for every little one we love seeing their faces when their feet first hit the ocean!”

Swim Nappy #3
Kris
medium, no color preference

Swim Nappy #4
Sarahgrace
Size XL, no color preference
“My favorite beach experience is when I lived in Florida and was pregnant. We lived very close to Anna Maria Island and when I was about 6-7 months pregnant I went swimming. Lucy (my daughter, who was in-utero at the time) LOVED it! She wasn’t a very active fetus, but she went absolutely wild when I was in the water. It was so much fun playing with her even though she was an “inside baby.” One of my favorite experiences ever.”

Bathing Suit #1
Tonya van Tol
Lime bathing suit in size XL
“My kids were both born in water. My 2 1/2 year old loves the pool as did I as a child. Summer is great time!”

Bathing Suit #2
Trisha Kalous
Large Red Fish Print Nappy-Suit


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 2 comments ]

Giveaway: Delicate Soles Shoes for MAMAS

July 14th, 2010

Enter by: Sunday, July 18th
Winner will be announced: Monday, July 19th

What we’re giving away: a pair of Delicate Soles flats, you pick the size and the color. They come in pink, black, silver and red. Yeah, baby!

Pixie Dust Pink Delicate Soles

This is probably not the time in your life when you’re spending a lot of time tottering around in stilettos or platform shoes.

But that shouldn’t keep us from digging Delicate Soles. They’re sleek ballet flats that you can roll up and store in your purse, and change into them whenever you’re tired of the sneakers, flip flops, or pink fluffy slippers you’re currently wearing.
TODD LANGLEY--3
Going to weddings when I had small babies was a whole different experience than going as a single non-mom. Between the (suddenly “simple will do”) makeup, grooming, locating a nice dress that I could nurse in…then strapping on some heels? I did it. I wish I had Delicate Soles in my purse at the time, I would have changed into them as soon as the heels started to get old (maybe in the car on the way over).

So, enter to win by doing the following:
-”Like” Delicate Souls on their facebook page
-Leave a comment below with your preference of size and color. They come in three sizes: S (6-7), M (7.5-8.5), and L (9-10).

And just out of curiosity, do you have a favorite comfortable yet stylish shoe? If so, what is it?


Subscribe to the Mothering.com Blogs Feed

[ 251 comments ]




     DISCUSSIONS             JOIN NOW or SIGN IN
Label Reading Workshop - Feb 15th - HMN Mercer Co, NJ Meeting posted by LianasMom, Yesterday 09:04:53 PM
film on baby's eye? posted by muschiCat1, Yesterday 08:38:39 PM
New to Composting - Some Questions! posted by nstewart, Yesterday 08:29:21 PM
How to decide if my toddler is old enough for a dog? posted by Ma Cactus, Yesterday 08:26:59 PM

Bottom Box