Hummus

Last week Jonah was walking through the kitchen carrying his tool bench and saying "hummus, hummus, hummus, hummus." Glenn was in the kitchen and said, "Hummus?" To which Jonah replied, "I was trying to say 'moving sidewalk' but instead I said hummus."

That's got to be one of the more bizarre conversations I've overheard recently! Jonah loved the moving sidewalks in the airports we visited a couple of weeks ago... perhaps he was wishing he had one to carry his heavy/awkward tool bench on?

Have you ever wondered what's in hummus? I have to thank the main vegetarian in my life, my sister-in-law, for introducing me to many a tasty thing. And hummus is one of them.

Here's a standard recipe we use, always best served with toasted pitas. I recommend Pita-Break whole wheat pitas. YUM! But in a pinch, almost any kind of cracker or bread will do, and actually, hummus is nice to use as a spread on a sandwich too.

1 clove of garlic
1 (15oz) can of black beans, drained & rinsed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8-1/4 cayenne pepper

Basically, throw it all in the food processor. If it's too thick for your liking, add more lemon juice, tahini, or even add olive oil or water . If you don't like your food spicey hot, leave out the cayenne pepper. If you love garlic or cumin, add extra! Avoiding salt? Leave it out! Don't want to buy a jar of tahini? You could substitute olive oil instead!

Let me know if you try it... In fact, invite me over for the taste test! Mmmmmm...

A good bass player always stays with the drummer...

I always love it when Glenn pulls out his bass and plays along with Jonah's drumming, because it makes Jonah sounds SO awesome! A good bass player always stays with the drummer, and so Jonah is definitely helping Daddy hone his skills. And vice versa, no doubt.

Enjoy this clip and stick through to the end to find if Jonah thought he was a "steady drummer."




p.s. If you have trouble seeing the video, check it out on facebook!

Downtown Winthrop

On Friday Jonah and I spent much of the afternoon downtown. It's a really neat place - they have all the storefronts set up so it resembles the "old west". The streets are nicely paved though! Here are a few pictures so you get the idea...

A gas station

Restaurant and stores

Sheri's candy, chocolate and ice-cream!

In one store you could watch a man
create all kinds of glass things, unfortunately
he wasn't making anything when we came by.

Jonah loved the giant lollipop at Sheri's and was
disappointed that I wouldn't let him buy it. Rest assured,
he enjoyed some other gummy candy of his choice instead.

Saddle up, partner!

I was rather surprised Jonah complied with
my suggestion to rub noses with the wooden guy!

A few more highlights

A new friend for Jonah...





A golfing victory (notice Jonah is in the air, and so is his golf club)...



Jonah discovering the joy of foosball (and me hoping not to puncture his neck during the game)...

Sunday, September 2nd Highlights

The main event for us on Sunday was a hike up and down a mountain. Jonah spent most of his time riding in a backpack on Glenn's back so that we could keep up with the pace of our group.

Saturday, September 1st Highlights

On Saturday afternoon we headed down to the house where we stayed our first year in Winthrop (see my September 2005 archives) so that Jonah could throw rocks in the river. [He has really been wanting to throw rocks and mulch into the outdoor water features but we're not allowed, so we hoped this would get it "out of his system" so to speak.] Heather Germain came too, since it sounded to her like "good Canadian fun".

And indeed we all did have some good Canadian fun!

Jonah found a "saxophone" afterwards!

Next we went into one of the employees' garden on the property to enjoy some of the fruits of her labor. There are so many deer here that all gardens like hers are fenced in with very high fences!

The plums were tasty!

As were the apples

And the cherry tomatoes too! And some
of the blackberries were amazing, but
Jonah wouldn't try any of those.

And Jonah got a kick out of hiding in the corn!

First days

Here are some pictures of the goings on during our first few days in Winthrop...

Jonah with two new friends

Glenn is helping them jump down

Glenn reading Jonah his new love,
Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr. Fox

Jonah made us "pancakes"

Jonah called this rock and pinecone creation
a "body" and talked about blood, valves, the heart
and lungs... I'm not sure what is what though

Jonah and Daddy played golf!

I took Jonah for a swim in the hot tub.
It was only about 90 degrees at the most.

You may be able to see in the picture below that
there are 4 waterfalls that come from above the hot tub
and then water spills over that sloped wall on the left
into the lower portion. Jonah has been swimming
in here at least 3 times now!

The bathtub in our apartment is very deep and
low so after Jonah's first bath in there, we decided
to try the laundry sink next time. It was a big
hit and is definitely the site of all future baths.

Our accomodations

This week we are staying in "the apartment" which is attached via a tunnel to the main building which contains a large kitchen, a music recording studio, several bedrooms, a living area, etc. All the buildings here are absolutely beautiful inside and out. There are so many natural materials used in the construction, down to many small hand-made details. The view from every window is lovely. Here are some pictures of our apartment (which we will be sharing next week with Marc). There are two bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a laundry room, kitchen, dining area and living area. Jonah is sleeping in his usual tent in our walk-in closet.

Our king-size bed! The quilt and pillows are hand-made.

Dining!

The big screen TV is hiding

I'm loving the kitchen... It's just so beautiful!

Scenic Drive

In case I haven't really mentioned it, it's time for Centricity Records' Annual Artist Retreat. It's always a highlight of our year and this year is no exception.

The retreat is held at their facilities in Winthrop, WA. After flying to Seattle you take a very scenic drive heading east (and north) from Seattle through the North Cascades and although I have it in my head that it's a 3-hour drive, it's actually more like 4, or more. I was the driver this year and that really helped to eliminate the nausea that I usually experience. Unfortunately Jonah ended up with nausea by the end but we managed to prevent any vomitting! Here are some pics of the drive...

Jonah got a big kick out of pretending
to talk to Jeremy and Erin via my cell,
even though they were IN the van with us

Glenn snapped this picture from the passenger seat.

Jonah LOVED the tunnel

We stopped for a SHORT hike & view

Jonah spending quality time with Jeremy & Erin

The view from the trail

Jonah playing his rock drums
and tree branch cymbals

For those of you who know Jer, you won't be
surprised find out that, while trying to help
Jonah fall asleep, he actually fell asleep first!