Grilled Trout Sandwich

I love making a good fish sandwich, and this recipe is the best I have.  It tops a delicious grilled trout with a tangy mayonnaise sauce all between chewy ciabatta bread.  I paired the sandwich with chips and a super simple tomato salad.

I start with ripe tomatoes.

 Chopped and seasoned with Balsamic vinegar and Kosher salt:

Ingredients for sauce:

 Mayonnaise sauce:

A fresh piece of fish is a must.  This is a fillet of Steelhead Trout.

Smother both sides with some of the sauce.

Grill skin side up for 1 minute, then flip and grill for 5-7 minutes more.

Chewy Ciabatta!

Grill!

Slather on tons of mayonnaise sauce and top with bun.  Enjoy!

Recipe:

1 lemon
1/4 C mayonnaise
1/4 C fresh basil
1/2 lb trout fillet
2 ciabatta buns

Zest and juice the lemon into a small bowl.  Add mayonnaise, chopped basil, and 1/8 tsp each of salt and pepper.
Rub about 1-2 Tbsp of mayo mixture on both sides of fish.  Grill fish skin side up over medium-high heat for 1 minute.  Flip and grill for 5-7 minutes.  Remove from grill.  Grill halved buns, then remove.
Place fish on bottom bun and spread mayo mixture on top bun.
Serve with remaining mixture.

A day as a stay-at-home mommy

I decided to document my entire day with my son.  This is a typical day for us, and it's no wonder I'm always
exhausted at the end of the day!

6:30 am -- Nursed.  Nicholas fell asleep, so I took the opportunity to sleep too!

10:15 am -- Nursed.  Changed poo-poo diaper.  Played in bed with Tick.

11:00 -- Played in swing with links.  Played on couch with books.

11:30 -- Played in bouncer while Mommy took shower.

12:00 -- Played on floor with kitchen and monkeys while Mommy prepared lunch.

12:15 -- Lunch: Avocado and Rice Cereal

1:00 -- Nursed.  Got dressed for the day.  Played with crib toys.

1:30 -- Cried.

2:00 -- Played in highchair with Sophie and cup while Mommy ate lunch.

2:25 -- Napped.

2:55 -- Nursed.

3:30 -- Ran errands with Mommy. 

4:30 -- Played on floor.  Practiced sitting up and crawling.

5:30 -- Played in highchair with cup while Mommy cleaned the kitchen.

5:40 -- Played in jumper.

5:50 -- Daddy got home!  Welcomed Daddy!


Hard to picture, right?  Well, I will document with pictures too!

Good morning!

Getting my diaper changed!

Hello, Tick.

Getting a little crawling practice in before getting up for the day!

I swing while Mommy drinks much needed coffee!

I love my books!

Uh-oh!  I hear running water.  Time to wail while Mommy showers.  ; )

Mmmm, avocado is good!

All done!

Dressed and ready to play some more.

I feel so much better after a good cry!

I guess I'll let Mommy eat lunch now!  ; )

All this playing has made me tired.  Naptime!

At Walmart picking up fish and Valentine's Day cards.

Practicing my sitting skills!

I love playing with my toes!

 On the move.

On the move again!

I hear Daddy!!





Nicholas meets St. Nicholas!

This was such an exciting day for us: taking our baby boy to sit on Santa's lap for the first time!  I've been looking forward to taking my baby to visit Santa since before I was even married.  Christmas is such a fun and magical time of year and is my second favorite holiday (after Thanksgiving, of course!).  And I think Santa Claus just adds to the magic.  I have so many memories of trying to stay up on Christmas Eve and thinking I hear reindeer on the roof.  I loved running from my room to see what goodies Santa left for us, and he never disappointed.

There was Christmas music wafting through the air and it was a cold, crisp, wintry day--basically, perfect!  Nicholas was so cute when I carried him up to Santa.  Nicholas looked wary, but he just kept staring right up at him.  Santa lifted him up to his face and whispered in his ear, and it looked like the two of them were having a little secret conversation that only children can have with jolly old Saint Nick.  And Santa loved Nicholas' name too!

Thanksgiving 2010

This was our first year since being married for almost six years that we celebrated Thanksgiving completely on our own.  I was a little scared to do it, especially with a new 4 month old baby, mainly because I wondered how I would find the time between nursing, playing, and napping, to make a memorable and delicious meal for our little family.  Well, it turned out fantastic!  So fun to prep and cook.  So fun to smell such good things coming from the kitchen.  And so much fun to eat!  But the best part was knowing I had made everything with love and that made it taste all the more better.  My husband said it was the most delicious Thanksgiving he's ever had and that comment made me feel proud.  I love my little family and am excited to see what we will do for Christmas. 

Even Nicholas wanted to sample the food!

My first turkey!

We had Sage Roasted Turkey, Sausage Stuffing with Thyme, Mashed Potatoes with Homemade Gravy, Roasted Butternut Squash, Garlic Green Beans, Cranberry Sauce, Rolls, and a Pumpkin Pie.

Ramon carving his first turkey! 

New tradition for us: Trimming the tree after dinner

Will I really have the time?

At the suggestion of a friend, I decided to start a blog.  How hard can it be, right?  Two questions I can think of is "Will I really have the time to do this and maintain it?" and "Will anyone even read it or care?"  I hope so to both!  With everyone I know spread out across the US it's so hard to keep in touch, even with cell phones, e-mail, and Facebook.  So, maybe this will help keep people up-to-date on what our little family is up to.