Turnips and Crayons

I get an organic CSA box once a week. It is lovely. You can customize your order online, and last week I chose turnips as one of my vegetables. I was expecting to get a bunch, but I only ended up with one. I couldn't make a whole dish of turnips as planned, so I just threw it in with my braised carrots. And it was fantastic. I so often neglect the old-school root vegetables like turnips, parsnips and rutabagas. But they are great! I just cooked the turnip and carrots up in a little chicken stock and a very small amount of butter and brown sugar, and they were delicious. It seems like so often these days, vegetables are supposed to be "crisp-tender," but I love carrots cooked to their soft, creamy deliciousness. And I think I love turnips that way even more. Plus, toddlers love them. Porter still claims to hate turnips, but this is primarily due to the fact that, even after last night, he has never actually tasted a turnip. I'm working on it.

While I was cooking non-crisp vegetables last night, Bryce pointed to Molly and asked if she did "that" a lot. I looked over, and she was drawing with crayons. Not with a lot of dexterity or skill, but she was drawing. Absorbed in it. I was surprised as I had never intentionally given her crayons before. And I remembered when Porter was a toddler, sitting him down with drawing materials, trying to coax him into it while he chewed on the implements. Come on, see? It's fun! And age-appropriate! I feel like I spent too much time trying to get him to do the right, educational activities, and here Molly is figuring the whole thing out on her own while I'm not paying any attention. She amazes me every day, that girl. Even if I did catch her eating the crayons 15 minutes later.

I'm Cooking:

I had a play group meeting here today, and cooked lunch for the brood. It turned shockingly loud at one point, but much fun was had by all. I made homemade pizza (thanks mom for the best crust recipe ever) and broccoli cheddar soup.

Tonight we're having pork with diced tomatoes and pasta. And steamed broccoli (yes, I also got a lot of broccoli in my CSA).