Coffee With A Friend

This morning while Sydney was at preschool, I got together with my friend Lianne for coffee.  It was such a treat to sit and have a coffee and chat with a friend on my own. I actually can't remember the last time that I had such a lovely, leisurely visit and it was such a nice change of pace from the frantic errand-running that I usually do during this free time!

I was commenting to Lianne about how easy it is leaving Syd at preschool these days.  She is getting more and more comfortable each day she's there and this morning I literally said goodbye and gave her a kiss and she waved at me and walked off to start playing with the toys.  It was awesome!  I have been helping her feel less sad about me leaving her there by promising to bring her a treat when I come to pick her up.  Every time I leave, I tell her that I have to go and get her treat, which is, most often a chocolate chip cookie.  This trick seems to be working like a charm, when I come to get her, she often is happier to see the little baggie with her cookie than she is to see me!  Too funny!

Sydney's speech has been developing in leaps and bounds the past week.  It literally is like a light switch has gone off in her head and she is suddenly saying so many more words than ever before, it's fantastic!  She is getting really good at parroting me, today I was trying to get into a parking spot at Paul's office which was a bit too small and said, half to myself, half to her "Oh Shoot, it's too small!"  She spent the next ten minutes saying "Oh Shoot!" loudly in the backseat and laughing at how clever she was.  It was very funny and very convicting, we are really going to have to watch what we say around her going forward!!

We spent a couple of hours at Daddy's office today helping out with some things and poor Syd fell asleep before I could get her home so she had her nap on the floor of Daddy's private office with my coat and pashmina as a blanket!  She slept really well actually, and it gave me the chance to go out and run a couple of errands on Broadway while she was dozing.  Worked out well for everyone!

Zach's Mom happened to be at Paul's office today, and gave us this yummy jar of Italian Pesto Alla Genovese.  I can't wait to try it!  It reminded me of this great recipe that I have for Sun-dried Tomato Pesto that I've been dying to try and haven't gotten around to!

Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try, although it hasn't been tested in my kitchen, I'm pretty confident that it's going to be delicious! Let me know how it turns out if you do try it yourself!

Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto

4 ounces Sun-Dried Tomatoes
2 TBSP chopped fresh basil
2 TBSP chopped fresh parsley
1 TBSP chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped pine nuts
3 TBSP chopped onion
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 TBSP tomato paste
1/3 cup crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt to taste 

Place sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with warm water for 5 minutes, or until tender.  In a food processor or blender combine sun-dried tomatoes, basil, parsley, garlic, pine nuts and onion; process until well blended. Add vinegar, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and red wine, and process. Stir in olive oil and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt to taste.